Tuesday, July 1, 2014

4 Reasons Why Buyers Should Be Happy

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014
Home shoppers may find there’s good reason to breathe a sigh of relief this summer, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin. They pointed to higher inventories, fewer bidding wars, and slowing home prices as welcoming signs for home buyers this year.
In particular, home buyers this summer are finding:
  1. More options: Inventories of existing-homes are 6 percent higher than year-ago levels—currently representing a 5.6-month supply at the current sales pace, according to May housing data from the National Association of REALTORS®. The higher inventory levels of homes for-sale means that buyers have more choices this summer.
  2. Less competition: As inventories rise, buyers also are facing fewer bidding wars. Bidding wars are down by double-digit margins in many markets this year, according to Redfin, which conducts anannual bidding war report. In March, 63.4 percent of offers written by Redfin agents across 19 markets faced competition from other buyers, down from a bidding war peak of 73.4 percent a year prior, according to Redfin’s report.
  3. Price rises are slowing: The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $213,400—a 5.1 percent rise above May 2013, NAR reports. Home prices rose by double-digits last year. In 2013, home prices rose 11.5 percent over 2012, according to NAR. “Home buyers are benefiting from slower price growth due to the much-needed, rising inventory levels seen since the beginning of the year,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
  4. Low borrowing costs: Mortgage rates are averaging about 4.1 percent, less than half the historical average of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is 8.7 percent, Redfin reports. “For a $500,000 house, this is worth more than $500 a month in mortgage payments,” savings, Redfin notes on its blog.
Source: “4 Reasons Why Homebuyers Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief,” Redfin blog (June 27, 2014)



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Monday, June 30, 2014

'Zombies' Make Up 21% of Foreclosures

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014
Zombie foreclosures are still haunting the housing market, representing one in every five foreclosures nationally, according to RealtyTrac, a housing data firm. “Zombie foreclosure” is a term coined to describe properties where the foreclosure process has been started and the home owner vacates, but the foreclosure has never been completed. As such, the distressed home owners who vacate eventually find they still own the home, and are often unaware they are still responsible for it.
The vacated properties can become eyesores in neighborhoods and drive down nearby property values. They also take a big chunk out of local government revenue in the form of unpaid property taxes. RealtyTrac estimates that more than $400 million in property tax revenue is likely delinquent due to zombie foreclosures. Still, the zombie foreclosure rate has shown some improvement, falling 7 percent compared to the first quarter of this year and dropping 16 percent from year-ago levels.
Florida has the highest number of zombie foreclosures, accounting for more than one-third of all zombie foreclosures nationwide. New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Ohio also have some of the highest numbers of zombie foreclosures across the country.
“Most of these states have seen an increase in new foreclosure activity over the past year, creating a more fertile breeding ground for zombie foreclosures,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.
Some states, such as Florida and Illinois, are looking to combat zombie foreclosures by weighing legislation that could help “fast track” foreclosures and move the abandoned properties through the system more quickly, RealtyTrac reports. New York is also considering legislation that would make lenders responsible for the upkeep of zombie foreclosures. Some local governments—such as in Cleveland and Detroit—also are creating land banks that would include zombie foreclosures, allowing city officials to rehab properties or demolish them.

Where Zombie Foreclosures Are Highest

On a metro level, the seven markets with the highest number of zombie foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac’s second quarter report, are:
  1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.
  2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
  4. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
  5. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
  6. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
  7. Jacksonville, Fla.
Meanwhile, California posted the largest drop in zombie foreclosures, down 57 percent in the past year. Other states posting large decreases are Arizona, Nevada, and Washington.
Source: RealtyTrac




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Friday, June 27, 2014

Sparking Buyer Urgency? Redfin Debuts ‘Hot Home’ Tool

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014
The brokerage Redfin has launched “Hot Homes,” a feature that identifies the homes that are likely to sell within two weeks. The homes will be highlighted throughout Redfin.com and on a map so that home shoppers get an idea of which homes they particularly need to act fast.
The most desirable homes are selling in two weeks or less, according to Redfin Fastest Markets Report, which means buyers need to be prepared to move fast.
More on market momentum:
So, what makes a home “hot”? Redfin says a home will be added to its “hot homes” list when it identifies that there is an 80 percent of chance that the home will have an accepted offer within two weeks of it being listed. Redfin’s algorithm analyzes numerous attributes about the homes, including square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot sizes, views, and location, as well as buyer preferences for those attributes.
“It’s hard to tell when you have to jump,” says Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, about the new website feature. “Which home will get three offers this weekend, and which will still be for sale in September? … Redfin crunches more than 500 different attributes of the house, the neighborhood – and what home buyers are looking for in that neighborhood. Our goal as Redfin agents is to make sure you never miss a shot at your dream home.”
Source: Redfin



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Thursday, June 26, 2014

10 Biggest Rebound Cities Since the Recession

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the economy.
Eight of the top 10 cities in the country that have rebounded the most since the recession are in the Lone Star State, according to a new analysis by financial site NerdWallet. Texas has seen large economic growth, and its housing market has been following the upward trend.
What Does a Recovery Look Like?
With the recession officially coming to an end in June 2009, NerdWallet looked at data over the last five years to see which cities improved the most since then. In its analysis of the 510 largest U.S. cities, the site considered factors such as the performance of the labor market, median household income, and median home values.
The following cities were ranked in the top 10 for largest recoveries since the recession. (Each city is listed below with the change in median home values since the recession.) 
  1. McAllen, Texas: 15.61%
  2. Midland, Texas: 21.67%
  3. San Angelo, Texas: 20.92%
  4. Fargo, N.D.: 13.30%
  5. Bryan, Texas: 10.81%
  6. Chattanooga, Tenn.: 14.04%
  7. College Station, Texas: 3.67%
  8. Odessa, Texas: 5.87%
  9. Edinburg, Texas: 6.50%
  10. Amarillo, Texas: 11.87%
Source: “Recession Recovery: Cities That Have Improved the Most,” NerdWallet Finance (June 23, 2014)




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New-Home Sales Surge Nearly 19%

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2014
After a sluggish start to 2014, new-home sales posted a strong rebound in May. Sales of newly built single-family homes soared to the highest rate since May 2008, jumping 18.6 percent last month, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Good News Has Been Building
"This increase is a welcome sign after a slow start to 2014," says David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders. "As job creation continues, we can expect further release of pent-up demand and continued gradual growth in the housing recovery."
Across the country, regions posted big gains in new-home sales, with the Northeast leading the pack. Sales of new-homes jumped 54.5 percent in the Northeast, 34 percent in the West, 14.2 percent in the South, and 1.4 percent in the Midwest.
Inventory levels mostly stayed flat, as builders continue to be cautious about overbuilding. The inventory of new homes for sale held steady at 189,000 units in May, representing a 4.5-month supply at the current sales pace.



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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

First-Timers: Take a Class, Save on Your Loan

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
The Federal Housing Administration will be ending its public comment period  in mid-August on a proposed program that would allow first-time home buyers to get a discounted mortgage if they enroll in housing counseling classes.
The program, called Homeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK), was announced last month by the FHA as way to curtail home buyers' mortgage insurance premium costs. FHA is operating under the assumption that the more borrowers understand about home ownership, the less likely they are to default on their loans, thereby decreasing their lending risk.
To be eligible for the discount, borrowers must take several courses before and after closing. FHA says consumers could save an average of $325 a year or nearly $10,000 over the life of the loan.
“It may not seem like it, but $10,000 is a lot of savings for a $30,000-a-year household,” says Kimber White, state government affairs chairman for the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals. “It can make the difference between qualifying or not qualifying to buy a home.”
The courses will be taught by agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA hopes that borrowers will be able to apply for the program by the end of the year.



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10 States Ready for the New Economy

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
Which states are poised to fare the best in the “new economy?” According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the “new economy” is marked by “globalization, technological innovation, and entrepreneurial development.” And often, booming economies lead to booming housing markets.
Find out how Fannie Mae seesthe "new normal" for the housing industry.
To determine a state's potential success in the new economy, ITIF used 25 indicators among five categories (knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism, the digital economy, and innovation capacity). The following 10 states were at the top of ITIF’s list:
  1. Massachusetts
  2. Delaware
  3. California
  4. Washington
  5. Maryland
  6. Colorado
  7. Virginia
  8. Connecticut
  9. Utah
  10. New Jersey
Source: “The Best and Worst States for the New Economy,” Forbes.com (June 17, 2014)



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