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Tag: New York City Real Estate

When Will The Buyer’s Market Return?


Housing market conditions are always in flux. One year, there will be more homes for sale than there are interested buyers. And the next, there will be more buyers than available homes. If you’re thinking about entering the market, it’s good to know where things currently stand and what’s likely to happen in the coming months. That’s because it’ll determine what price you pay and for what. These days, buyer demand is outpacing inventory and, because sellers may have more than one offer to choose from, they can expect to get a higher price for their home. But, since the market is ever-changing, eventually the tide will turn. Because of this, a recent analysis asked 100 real estate economists and experts for their best guess as to when the market will once again favor buyers. Their answers varied. Mostly because where you’re looking will determine the exact conditions you encounter. For example, buyers in the Midwest may already be seeing signs of a shift, with home price increases beginning to slow due to a higher number of available homes than there are in other areas. Overall, however, respondents saw buyers regaining some leverage sometime in the next year and a half, depending on where they’re looking and what they’re looking to buy. More here.

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More Evidence That Home Price Growth May Be Slowing


Over the past few years, rising buyer demand combined with a lower-than-normal number of homes for sale has led to higher home prices in markets across the country. And, though the rate at which prices have increased may differ from one market to the next, affordability conditions aren’t what they were just a few years ago. However, new data may indicate that change is on the way. That’s because there is evidence that home price growth may be starting to slow. In fact, according to one recent analysis, price increases are slowing in almost 75 percent of the nation’s largest markets, including Seattle, Orlando, Boston, Los Angeles, and Portland. In some cases, the drop has been dramatic. For example, in Seattle – last year’s fastest-appreciating market – the rate at which prices grew fell from 14.2 percent to 9.1 percent. But, though this is undoubtedly good news for buyers interested in purchasing a home, it doesn’t mean we’re headed for a buyer’s market any time real soon. That’s because, year-over-year growth is still faster than historically normal. More here.

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Steady Mortgage Rates Lead To Increased Demand


According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates were mostly flat last week, with little movement seen across all loan categories including 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. The lack of volatility in the mortgage market led to an increase in demand for both refinance and purchase loans. In fact, mortgage demand was up 4.2 percent over the week before. But Joel Kan, an MBA economist, told CNBC that, despite boosted demand last week, overall purchase application volume is still being hampered by “persistent problems of affordability and low inventory.†Still, demand for loans to buy homes is just above where it was last year at this time and buyer demand remains high – though home sales remain strongest 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. More here.

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Do You Need An Agent To Buy New Construction?


Buying a newly constructed house from a builder is a little different than buying an older home from its owner. To start with, you aren’t able to choose from a list of upgrades and customizations when buying an existing home. You’re also entering a transaction with someone who has an attachment to the home they’re selling and probably a different set of motivations than a builder whose livelihood depends on making a profit. In other words, it can feel, to a buyer, like the process of visiting a builder’s sales office is so wholly different than buying an existing home that they may not need an experienced real estate agent to represent them. This, however, can be a mistake. After all, you’re still entering into a major financial transaction with many variables and risks. You’ll want to have someone with experience who can look after your best interests and make sure you’re getting the best deal. Otherwise, you’ll be working with a team employed directly by the builder you’re buying from. That doesn’t mean you won’t get a good deal but it does mean you’ll be the only one whose top priority is getting what you want at a fair price. More here.

Sign indicating new construction at a site with dirt and ground visible.

 

Number Of Million Dollar Metros On The Rise


As everyone knows, real estate is mostly about location. What $500,000 buys you in one neighborhood will be far different than what it affords you in another. Put another way, your money will go a lot farther in the Midwest than it will on the West Coast. Which is why a recent analysis showing a growing number of cities where the median home value is $1 million or more isn’t quite what it initially seems. Though it’s true that the number of million dollar cities has doubled over the past five years and that, within a year, there will likely be 23 more, a closer look at where these cities are will help explain the numbers. That’s because most of those new million dollar cities are located in areas that are already among the most expensive in the country. For example, more than half of the new metros added will be in the areas surrounding major cities like Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and San Jose. Which means, while it still represents an increase in home values across the country, the growing number of million-dollar metros doesn’t necessarily reflect an acceleration in home price increases. More here.

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America’s Homes Are Growing Older

You can tell a lot about the way an area grew by the age of its homes. The pace of suburban sprawl, for example, can be mapped just by observing the way homes get newer as you get further from the city’s center. Houses built in the 1920s give way to homes from the ’50s and ’60s and so on. But that’s not all you can learn from paying attention to the collective age of the country’s housing stock. You can also tell a lot about the housing market’s ups-and-downs. One example can be found in a recent analysis from the National Association of Home Builders. According to the NAHB, the median age of owner-occupied homes is now 37 years, which is up from 31 years in 2005. In fact, more than half of our homes were built before 1980 and 38 percent were built before 1970. In other words, America’s homes are getting older. But why? One reason is that there have been fewer new homes built over the past decade, mostly due to the housing crash and financial crisis. That has caused an increase in the median age of the housing stock. It also has caused a boost to the remodeling industry, as older homes require more renovations to keep up with new technology and features desired by home buyers. More here.

What Today’s New Home Buyer Wants


Naturally, home builders need to keep up with what buyers want. If they’re building homes without incorporating the features home buyers desire, they won’t be in business very long. And that’s why it’s good to check in with builders if you’re curious about the latest home design trends. For example, according to one recent survey conducted by home builder Ashton Woods, buyers no longer prefer an all-white kitchen. In fact, today’s home buyer is more likely to choose natural wood cabinets, with white cabinetry coming in second followed by distressed wood. Other trends cited in the survey include buyers’ desire for hobby rooms and home offices. Hobby rooms that provide a space for homeowners to pursue their favorite past time were named by 76 percent of participants, who said they’d pay extra for a home with a bonus space. Offices were similarly popular with large majorities of respondents. Today, we can work almost anywhere and that includes our homes. So it comes as no surprise that home builders are seeing an increase in the number of buyers who want a home office in their next house. Overall, respondents expressed a desire for customization, with two thirds saying they’d choose a builder who offers options over one that doesn’t. More here.

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Where Homeowners Have The Most Extra Cash


Your financial health isn’t really about how much money you make. It’s more about how much you have left over once you’ve paid all your bills. After all, if you make $1 million a month but also spend $1 million, you’re still struggling financially. And no one likes worrying about money. For that reason, a recent analysis took a look at the 50 biggest cities in the country and – based on household income, home prices, and cost of living – tried to determine where homeowners were able to live most comfortably. Fortunately, the results show that in 44 of the 50 cities included the average homeowner had money leftover at the end of the month. But surprisingly, the hardest places for Americans to put away a little extra cash weren’t necessarily the most expensive places to live. In fact, cities in the Midwest and South were among the toughest, rather than pricier areas on the coasts. For example, Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, and Cleveland were four of the six cities where residents showed a negative balance. Philadelphia also made the list. The number one spot, however, was Miami, where a high cost of living and a low median income make it a tough place to save. More here.

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Mortgage Activity Mostly Flat Last Week


When the economy was struggling following the financial crisis and housing crash, interest rates were kept low to encourage economic activity. However, as the economy and job market have improved, the Fed has gradually begun to raise rates. This is part of the reason mortgage rates are higher than they were last year at this time. But, though there has been a slight upward trend, more recently, rates have been somewhat flat. Joel Kan, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s VP of economic and industry forecasting, told CNBC there’s a reason for this and it can be seen in the results of the MBA’s most recent measure of mortgage application demand. “Treasury yields were up slightly thanks to the Fed signaling more rate hikes this year, the strong economy, and low unemployment,†Kan said. “But continuing trade tensions between the U.S. and China kept Treasury rates down, which meant mortgage rates were unchanged from the week before.†In short, though the economy is strong, global economic uncertainty has been keeping rates from moving significantly higher in recent weeks. Still, despite flat rates, the MBA found demand for mortgage loans was also relatively unmoved from one week earlier. More here.

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Home Buyer Must Haves Mean Compromise

Searching for a home to buy can be frustrating. Mostly because it’s not always easy to find a house in the right neighborhood with every one of the features you dreamed of. If you find the perfect kitchen, the house will have too few bedrooms. Or you’ll find a house with the right number of bedrooms and the kitchen will be too small. In other words, buying a house means compromise. And, in today’s market, buyers are having to make difficult choices. For example, a new analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website found that for 73 percent of recent buyers school district was an important factor in deciding which house to buy. But, among those buyers, nearly 80 percent said they had to give up other home features in order to find a house in their preferred district. Some of the features these buyers said they gave up included a garage, a large backyard, an updated kitchen, and an outdoor living area. In short, you might not get everything you want in one house. So prioritize your wish list and know what’s most important to you. More here.

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