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Showing posts from April, 2019

What Would Make You Sell Your House?

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There are many reasons why a homeowner decides to sell their house and move. The latest  Generational Trends Report  from the  National Association of Realtors  asked recent home sellers to share their reason for moving. The younger the respondents, the more likely their top response centered around needing a larger home (ages 29 to 53). Relocating for a job was the top reason for those ages 54 to 63 and the second most popular response for those under 53. The chart below shows the breakdown for these two reasons. For homeowners over the age of 64, wanting to be closer to friends and family served as the top motivator to move. Downsizing to a smaller home or moving due to retirement came in as a close second and third. Have you outgrown your current house? Are you a homeowner who can relate to wanting to be closer to family and friends? Is your house becoming a burden to clean now that the kids have moved out? Bottom Line Contact a local real estate professional who can

This Week in Real Estate

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ATTOM Data Solutions released its Q1 2019 U.S. Home Sales Report  This Week in Real Estate ,  finding that homeowners who sold their home in the first quarter realized a 31.5% return on their investment.  Below  are a   few highlights from the  fourth  week of  April  that influence our business : *  New Home Sales Rise in March with Lower Rates.  Contracts for new, single-family home sales increased almost 5% on a monthly basis to a 692,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau.   The months’ supply number improved to 6.0, which indicates the market is stabilizing after the fall off in sales last Fall due to higher interest rates.   For the first quarter of 2019, new home sales are running 1.7% higher than the first quarter of 2018. However, while sales were up 9.6% for the quarter in the South (the largest region), sales were down 5.9% in the West, 8.1% in the Midwest and 17.6% in the Northeast. Full 

How Quickly Can You Save Your Down Payment?

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Saving for a down payment is often the biggest hurdle for a first-time homebuyer. Depending on where you live, median income, median rents, and home prices all vary. So, we set out to find out how long it would take to save for a down payment in each state. Using data from  HUD ,  Census  and  Apartment List ,  we determined how long it would take, nationwide, for a first-time buyer to save enough money for a down payment on their dream home. There is a  long-standing ‘rule’  that a household should not pay more than 28% of their income on their monthly housing expense. By determining the percentage of income spent renting in each state, and the amount needed for a 10% down payment, we were able to establish how long (in years) it would take for an average resident to save enough money to buy a home of their own. According to the data, residents in Kansas can save for a down payment the quickest, doing so in just over 1 year (1.12). Below is a map that was created using the dat

Existing Home Sales Slow To Start Spring [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Some Highlights: Existing Home Sales  slowed to an annual pace of 5.21 million home sales in March. Low inventory levels are still impacting home sales! The current month’s supply of homes for sale is 3.9-months. Median home prices were up 3.8% over last March at $259,400. This marked the 85 th  consecutive month with year-over-year price gains. APRIL 26, 2019 / BY  KCM CREW

Renters Paying Substantially More While Owning Costs Less

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In a recent  Insights Blog ,  CoreLogic  reported that rent prices have skyrocketed since 2005. Meanwhile, the typical mortgage payment has actually decreased. “CoreLogic’s national rent index was up 36% in December 2018 compared with December 2005, while the typical mortgage payment was down 4% over that period.” Why the difference between the costs of renting versus owning? It makes sense that rents have risen. However, how did mortgage payments decrease?  CoreLogic explained: “It’s mainly because mortgage rates back in December 2005 were significantly higher, averaging 6.3% for a fixed-rate 30-year loan, compared with 4.6% in December 2018. The national median sale price in December 2005 – $190,000 – was lower than the $220,305 median in December 2018, but because of higher mortgage rates in 2005 the typical monthly mortgage payment was slightly higher back then – $941 – compared with $904 in December 2018.” Additionally, a recent report by the  National Associa

New Study Reveals One Surprising Reason For The Inventory Shortage

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There has been a great amount written on millennials and their impact on the housing market. However, the headlines often contradict each other. Some claim this generation is becoming the largest share of first-time home buyers, while others claim millennials don’t want to own a home, blaming them for the dip in homeownership rate. While it is true that millennials have achieved milestones like getting married, having kids, and buying homes later in life than their parents and grandparents did, they are not solely to blame for today’s housing market trends. Freddie Mac’s  Insight Report  explored the impact of the Silent and Baby Boomer Generations on the housing market. If millennials are unable to find a home to buy at a young age like their predecessors, then who is living in those homes? The answer:  Seniors born after 1931 are staying in their homes longer than previous generations, instead choosing to  “age in place.”  Freddie Mac  found that, “this trend accounts

This Week in Real Estate

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According to data released by the Mortgage Banker’s Association  This Week in Real Estate ,  purchase applications reached their highest level since April 2010, further suggesting a healthy and opportunistic spring market.  Below  are a   few highlights from the  third  week of  April  that influence our business : *  Builder Confidence Edges Higher in April.  Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 63 in April, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells   Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today.   Sentiment levels have held in the low 60s for the past three months. The HMI index gauging current sales conditions increased one point to 69, and the component   measuring traffic of prospective buyers rose three points to 47. The measure charting sales expectations in the next six months fell one point to 71. Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the   Northeast posted

5 Reasons Why Millennials Buy A Home [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Some Highlights: “The majority of millennials said they consider owning a home more sensible than renting for both financial and lifestyle reasons — including control of living space, flexibility in future decisions, privacy and security, and living in a nice home.” The top reason millennials choose to buy is to have control over their living space, at 93%. Many millennials who rent a home or apartment prior to buying their own homes dream of the day when they will be able to paint the walls whatever color they’d like or renovate an outdated part of their living space. APRIL 19, 2019 / BY  KCM CREW