best property managers Archives

Which Areas Are Most Popular With Buyers?

Home buyer preferences are usually pretty consistent. What home shoppers are looking for in a house or neighborhood doesn’t change all that much from year to year. But, while that’s typically true, the pandemic caused a shift in what buyers are looking for and, two years after its initial onset, the effects are becoming more clear. One recent example can be seen in an analysis of home-price growth and inventory levels in more than 1,000 cities nationwide. The analysis – which aimed to pinpoint the country’s most popular markets – found that all of the top 10 most popular areas were suburban locations about a half-hour from the nearest city center. That’s a change from the pre-pandemic era when urban areas saw faster price growth and higher demand than neighborhoods outside cities. The reason for the shift is fairly easy to see. The pandemic led to an increase in remote work, and with more Americans able to work from home, buyers began looking to live further from city centers, where they could have more space and privacy. (source)

House

Home Prices Increase But At A Slower Pace

These days, housing market conditions are fairly easy to understand. There are fewer homes for sale and, because of that, home prices continue to rise. It’s simple supply and demand. When there are fewer homes for buyers to choose from, the ones that are available go for a higher price. But while that’s been the case for a while now, the most recent S&P Case-Shiller Indices – considered the leading measure of U.S. home prices – offers some encouraging news. The index found that, while prices are still climbing, they’re now increasing at a slower pace. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P, says, in many of the cities the index tracks, price increases have slowed. “We continue to see very strong growth at the city level,” Lazzara said. “As was the case last month, however, in 14 of 20 cities, prices decelerated – i.e., increased by less in October than they had done in September.” But while the rate of increases has slowed, prices are still rising at a double-digit pace. In fact, October’s gain was the fourth-highest reading in the 34 years S&P has been tracking price data. (source)

Money

Mortgage Rates Fall To Four-Week Low

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell to a four-week low last week. Rates were down for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances. The decline helped push refinance activity up 2 percent from the week before. But while refinancing homeowners were more active, home buyers weren’t. In fact, demand for loans to buy homes fell 3 percent from one week earlier. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the high end of the market is seeing more activity these days. “The average purchase loan increased for the second straight week to $416,200 – the second highest amount ever,” Kan said. “The elevated loan size is an indication that activity is more on the higher end of the market.” The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications.