For the first time in nearly a year, declining housing affordability topped lack of inventory as realtors’ number one concern, with 26% stating they were concerned about low housing affordability. However, worries over a tight housing supply were not too far behind, with 19% indicating their concern. Looking toward 2017, the California realtor … [Read more...]
It’s A Revolution: Millennial Buyers
Millennials are finally expected to unleash their buying arm in 2017. They are predicted to make up 61 percent of first-time home buyers under age 35 in the new year. The top motivators getting millennials moving now are getting married or moving in with a partner, growing tired of their current living space, and planning to increase their family … [Read more...]
Get It While It’s Hot
While recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that household incomes rose strongly last year, home prices are still outpacing incomes in many metro areas because of the persistent shortage of new and existing homes for sale. Without more supply, the U.S. homeownership rate will remain near 50-year lows. As outdoor temperatures slide into … [Read more...]
Home Flipping in California
Nearly 40,000 people flipped their properties in the second quarter this year – the most since the second quarter of 2007, according to a recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions. The company analyzed public sales deeds of more than 950 counties, representing 80% of the U.S. population, on homes that were bought and then sold within a 12-month … [Read more...]
Real Estate Firms Remain Optimistic
Good news: the vast majority of real estate firms have an optimistic outlook for the future of the industry’s profitability and growth, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) 2016 Profile of Real Estate Firms. Profitability expectations have declined from the 2015 survey, mainly due to inventory shortages and home-price growth, … [Read more...]
The Importance of International Real Estate Activity
International real estate activity remains positive as foreign buyers continue to view the U.S. as a desirable place to own property. According to the National Association of REALTORS®' 2016 Profile of International Activity, U.S. residential real estate sales to international clients accounted for $102 billion between April 2015 and March … [Read more...]
It’s Time to Buy
Good news for current and potential homeowners: while renters are paying more, affordability is improving for those who own their homes. The number of cost-burdened homeowners declined in 2014 for the fourth consecutive year while today low-income renters are getting squeezed out by the more affluent. Three of California’s cities appear on a … [Read more...]
Loan Originations at a High, More Homes For Sale Soon
Real estate predictions for the coming years are generally positive. With strong home sales, near-historic low interest rates, a refi boom, and steady home price appreciation, Freddie Mac's economic team projects that mortgage loan originations will scale nearly $2 trillion for 2016. The projections from the current edition of the company's … [Read more...]
Housing Barely Budging
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has conducted its Housing Market Index (HMI), which it produces in conjunction with Wells Fargo, for the past 30 years. The HMI is derived from new-home builder survey responses which in July reported an utterly static outlook. "For the past six months, builder confidence has remained in a … [Read more...]
The Fed’s Possible Interest Rate Increase
The Federal Reserve's path to a rate increase is a treacherous one: a path paved with easy money from other global central banks and lined with a gauntlet of possible hazards. The markets may not believe the Fed will actually raise interest rates this year, but it may surprise them with at least one hike late in the year. In fact, there could be … [Read more...]
