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Home Price Climb Means Buyers Need To Prepare


It isn’t news that home prices have been headed upward for awhile now. And, according to the latest S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, they are continuing to climb at around the same pace as they have been in recent months. Which is to say, the price increases haven’t yet slowed. Of course, how quickly prices are increasing depends on where you’re looking to buy. Large metropolitan areas – and especially those in the West – are seeing the sharpest increases, while the price gains are more muted in the Midwest. But, no matter where you are, the best way to prepare for higher prices is to know what you want, what you can afford, and where your limits are. In competitive and higher priced markets, having a firm idea of what you can spend and where you’ll compromise will make it less likely that you’ll end up going over budget because of a bidding war or buying more house than you can comfortably afford. Making sure you’re prepared before heading out to look at homes also means securing financing in advance, so you’ll be ready to make an offer when you find a home you love. More here.

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Forecast Sees Little Change On The Horizon


Depending on the results of the most recent monthly housing report, you might get the impression that the market is horrible or just fine. Mainly, that’s because monthly real-estate reports often show an exaggerated amount of volatility. In other words, month-to-month results are typically far more up-and-down than what you’d see if you took the longer view. According to Fannie Mae’s most recent Economic and Housing Outlook, that’s especially true these days. Conditions have been pretty steady for the last year and will likely remain that way for the upcoming year. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, says the real estate market will likely remain unchanged despite changes to tax laws and monetary policy. “The new tax laws are likely to motivate a mixed response in the housing market: Increased disposable household income should lead to greater housing demand, but changes to deductions essentially reduce the subsidy for homeownership,†Duncan said. “On balance, we expect the housing market in 2018 to encounter many of the same challenges as last year, including inventory shortages, particularly in the middle and lower-end of the market, and affordability headwinds.†More here.

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Improvement In New Home Market Is Good For Buyers


The number of new homes being built and sold has become an important indicator for the housing market in recent years. That’s because, a shortage of homes for sale has caused prices to steadily increase. And, since the quickest way to add inventory to any particular market is to build new homes, there has been a lot of focus lately on the new home market and how it impacts home buyers and sellers. According to the latest numbers, last year saw an 8.3 percent increase in new home sales over the year before. That’s good news for real estate, as an increasing number of sales should lead to an increasing number of new homes being built. And, to that end, there were 295,000 new homes for sale at the end of December, which is the highest level since April 2009. In short, if builders continue to build more homes, the increased inventory should help moderate price increases which will make affordability conditions more favorable for the rising number of Americans who say they’re interested in buying a home. More here.

Newly built suburban houses on a clear day.

Eager Home Buyers Get Jump On Spring Season


Home buyers may be getting an early start on the spring buying season this year, according to new numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association. In fact, demand for purchase loan applications was up 6 percent last week from one week earlier and at its highest level since April 2010. And the increase comes at a time when mortgage rates are higher than they’ve been since March of last year. So what explains the high level of buyer interest? Lynn Fisher, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, told CNBC she thinks buyers may be trying to get a jump on the competition. “A combination of being left on the sideline last summer due to a lack of inventory for sale and the prospect of slowly rising interest rates over the near term appears to have buyers in a hurry to start the spring buying season,†Fisher said. Whatever the case, the number of potential home buyers requesting loan applications to buy homes last week was 7 percent higher than during the same week last year. More here.

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Showings Up As Home Buyer Interest Remains High


If you had any doubt that there’s been a high level of home buyer interest lately, new data on the number of showings across the country should convince you. That’s because, according to the ShowingTime Showing Index – which tracks the average number of appointments an active listing receives – showings were up 8.5 percent last year. In other words, homes on the market last year received a lot of interest from potential buyers. Daniil Cherkasskiy, ShowingTime’s chief analytics officer, says last year’s numbers may be an indication that 2018’s housing market will feature a high level of home buyer demand. “While, unsurprisingly, December is always the slowest month for showings, activity in December 2017 was substantially higher than the previous year due to lack of inventory,†Cherkasskiy said. “This points toward higher demand in early 2018 because of new buyers and those coming back to the market from last year.†More here.

Sign announcing a new listing coming soon.

What To Do If You Live In A Competitive Market


These days, competition and affordability are two of home buyers’ main concerns. This isn’t surprising, as no one likes to pay more for less. Naturally, we prefer to find a bargain and we certainly don’t want to have to fight off other interested buyers to get it. That’s why recent research looking at the country’s most competitive markets is of interest. The results show the most competitive markets are located in the West, though in just about any desirable neighborhood you could find more buyers than available homes. That means, even if you aren’t living in San Francisco or Seattle, you should be ready for the possibility that you won’t be the only home buyer interested in the house you choose. So what’s the best way to increase your odds of beating the competition and getting the house you want? Preparation. Be prepared and get prequalified before you start shopping. Buyers with financing in place before they start looking at houses are more appealing to sellers. If you’ve got your financing in place and a firm idea of what your price range and budget are, you will be in better position should you find yourself in a bidding war. More here.

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Builders Confident 2018 Will Be A Good Year


If anybody knows the new home market, it’s builders. After all, they are the ones supplying the homes and, if there’s no demand, they likely wouldn’t bother doing the work. So, when it comes to assessing the health of the market for newly built single-family homes, asking a builder is a pretty good place to start. For that reason, the National Association of Home Builders has been doing exactly that each month for the past 30 years. And, according to their most recent Housing Market Index – which measures builder confidence – builders are feeling excited about the year ahead. Randy Noel, NAHB’s chairman, says builders are particularly optimistic about the economy and the growing demand for new homes. “Builders are confident that changes to the tax code will promote the small business sector and boost broader economic growth,†Noel said. “Our members are excited about the year ahead, even as they continue to face building material price increases and shortages of labor and lots.†So what does this mean for home buyers? Well, it means more new homes will be built, which increases choices and also dampens price spikes. In other words, optimistic builders are a good sign for home buyers in 2018.

A partially built house under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Mortgage Rates Rise, So Does Application Demand


According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased last week, reaching their highest level since March of last year. Rates were up across all loan categories – including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. But, despite the rise, borrowers drove demand for mortgage applications higher than the week before. In fact, total mortgage application demand was up 4.1 percent from one week earlier. So what’s going on? Well, one theory, is that buyers are motivated because they feel conditions may be as good as they’re going to get. Joel Kan, an MBA economist, told CNBC borrowers are looking to take advantage of conditions while they’re good. “Despite the increase in rates, applications increased for both purchase and refinance,†Kan said. “These increases were partly due to an upswing following the holiday season lull and potentially more borrowers trying to refinance before mortgage rates increase further.†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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What To Know About Real Estate Disclosures


If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home any time soon, you should probably know something about disclosure requirements in your state. In short, disclosure requirements are put in place to make sure homeowners selling a house let potential buyers know of any and all issues there are with the house that might not be otherwise obvious. Things like defective appliances or systems, roof leaks and age, foundation problems, existence of radon or asbestos, water damage, neighborhood issues, termites, etc., are the types of things that a homeowner must let a buyer know about before the sale. This is to protect both the buyer and the home seller, as it also safeguards against any possible litigation after the home’s sold. As a home seller, you won’t be liable for anything you didn’t know about but disclosure requirements are meant to ensure that a home buyer has as much knowledge about a property as reasonably possible before signing any papers. That means, you should always err on the side of too much information, rather than too little. To learn more about your state’s requirements, click here.

A close-up of a 'SOLD' sign outside a house.

Buying More Affordable Than Rent In Most Markets


When it comes time to make a move, most of us are choosing between renting a place or buying a house. And making that calculation has a lot to do with where you are in your life and what your goals are. But it also has a lot to do with your financial situation. Because of this, ATTOM Data Solutions analyzes the average rent for a three-bedroom property, weekly wage data, and home price information in 540 counties nationwide in an effort to determine whether renting or buying is the more affordable choice. According to their most recent Rental Affordability Report, buying a home is still the more affordable choice in a majority of markets. However, the data is a bit more complicated than that. In fact, though buying is more affordable in the majority of markets, it isn’t in a lot of the country’s most populated counties. The data shows that many markets where the population is above 1 million have affordability challenges not seen in areas further from major metropolitan centers. More here.

A 'Home For Sale' sign with a red arrow pointing left in a residential area.

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