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New-Home Sales Inch Up, Optimism Builds
May 24, 2012 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
Sales of new single-family homes in April continued to inch up, increasing optimism in the building industry that a recovery is finally taking hold.
New-home sales rose 3.3 percent in April and were up 9.9 percent year-over-year, according to new Commerce Department housing data released Wednesday.
The increase in April sales activity is in line with other important housing measures that have shown continued, gradual improvement from the first quarter as more consumers look to take advantage of today’s low interest rates and affordable home prices,” says Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “In markets where demand is rising, we could be seeing a faster pace of recovery if not for persistently tight lending conditions that are slowing both the building and buying of new homes.”
New-home sales rose the most in the Midwest, by 28.2 percent in April, and by 27.5 percent in the West. The Northeast saw new-home sales rise by 7.7 percent in April, while the South posted a 10.6 percent decline last month.
The inventory of new-homes remains historically low at a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace. But housing experts say the record low inventories may prove an eventual boost for future housing prices.
Home prices for new-homes are up nearly 5 percent compared to a year earlier, with the median price at $235,700 from April, the Commerce Department reported.
In another optimistic sign at recovery for the housing market: The National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday that sales of existing homes also increased in April, rising 3.4 percent in April compared to March and increasing 10 percent year-over-year.
8 things to know about buying a home today
May 17, 2012 in Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
The home-sale market is showing signs of life. More buyers are confident now than they were a year ago that now might be a good time to buy. Interest rates are near all-time lows and home prices in some areas are back to 2002-2003 levels.
Some analysts are finally suggesting that we may be headed for recovery. If you have a secure job, plan to stay put and feel this is the right time for you to buy a home, consider the following.
In most places in the country, home prices are still declining. It has only been recently that the market picked up and it’s too soon to know if this will result in a sustainable increase in prices.
The recent home sales in areas around California’s Silicon Valley defy the norm. Significant job growth in the area combined with a low inventory of good homes for sale has resulted in multiple offers with buyers bidding the price up sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking price.
In other high-demand, low-inventory areas, you may find yourself bidding against other buyers, perhaps even more than once. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the price will be bid up significantly over the asking price. This will vary from one listing to the next depending on property location, condition and price.
It’s important to research the local community where you want to buy. Find out what homes are selling for, if multiple offers are common and if listings are selling for more than the asking price. This will help you make a realistic offer that might be accepted when you find a home you’d really like to buy. It helps to work with an experienced local real estate agent.
Some sellers in high-demand niche markets intentionally list their home at a low price hoping to stimulate multiple offers. If you see such a listing and there are a lot of buyers wanting to make offers, you will be better able to know how high your offer would need to be to win the contest if you have done your due diligence.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Whether you’re anticipating competition or not, you should be preapproved for the mortgage you’ll need to complete the purchase before you write an offer. In competition, this will make a big difference, particularly if everyone else who is offering is preapproved. It also lets you know what you can afford. And, it puts you in a good bargaining position with the seller.
Buyers aren’t the only participants in the housing market that have heard the news that the market has improved. Some sellers are putting their homes on the market because they’ve been waiting for a better time to sell. This is good news for buyers looking in low-inventory markets.
You should expect that you will have to negotiate. Many of today’s sellers are selling for less than they paid. Even though the market has improved a bit, sellers may be disappointed with the current market value of their home. Be prepared to negotiate, not just the initial price, but after inspections are completed if items come up that you hadn’t anticipated.
Include realistic contingency time frames in your purchase contract for loan and appraisal approval if you’re applying for a mortgage. The recent uptick in the market means that lenders are suddenly overwhelmed.
In mid-March, buyers in Oakland, Calif., who were seeking approval for a jumbo loan were told they could close a transaction in 21 days. Not only could they not close in 21 days, it took more than 21 days for loan approval due to lender backlog.
THE CLOSING: Underwriters could require that additional conditions be met before you can be approved. Act quickly to avoid further delay.
Real Estate’s Bidding Wars Are Back
May 1, 2012 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
Real Estate’s Bidding Wars Are Back 4/27/2012 9:16:14 AM
Pending-home sales in March hit their highest level since April 2010, spurring the return of real-estate bidding wars. Nick Timiraos reports on The News Hub. Photo: Peter Earl McCollough for The Wall Street Journal.
More Affordable To Buy in 98% of Major Metros
March 27, 2012 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
More Affordable To Buy in 98% of Major Metros
by The KCM Crew on March 27, 2012
Last week, Trulia released their Winter 2012 Rent vs. Buy Index. In the index, they report that:
“After years of home price declines and tightening rental markets, home ownership is now more affordable than renting in all but two of the 100 largest metros – even in expensive real estate markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Boston.”
The two metros where renting was more affordable were Honolulu and San Francisco. However, Trulia explains that, even in these markets, buying a home:
“…might make sense for people who plan to stay in their next home for at least five years and can benefit from the mortgage-interest tax deduction.”
This rent/buy ratio favors buying more so then at almost any time in history. In a recent article, Forbes Magazine quotes Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist:
“Certainly prices have continued to fall nationally, but rents have been rising so this would be the lowest price-to-rent ratio that we’ve seen.”
Bottom Line
It might be time to talk to a local real estate professional about the possibility that buying a home makes sense for you and family.
http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/03/27/more-affordable-to-buy-in-98-of-major-metros/
What Does Warren Buffet Think About Buying A Home?
January 30, 2012 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
By Lockerz
Warren Buffet is seen by many as the greatest investor of our time. When he speaks, people listen. Like anyone else in his position of influence, he is criticized by some for using his bullhorn to promote his own business agendas at times. That makes it very interesting when we occasionally learn of how he privately advises those closest to him.Such a situation occurred this week. Debbie Bosanek, Warren Buffet’s secretary of 37 years, recently purchased a second home in Surprise, Arizona.
In an article in the Omaha World Herald, Mrs. Bosanek discussed her reasons for purchasing a second home and the personal advice she received from Mr. Buffet.
“I just thought it was time to buy a home. Warren tells me that it will be the best opportunity in my lifetime. Mortgage rates are low and prices have dropped dramatically…I share Warren’s view about the future of America, and we believe that our country will do just fine. I’m happy to make this investment.”
The greatest investor of the last century privately has told the people closest to him that buying a home right now “will be the best opportunity in [their] lifetime”.
That’s good enough for us. How about you?
http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/01/30/what-does-warren-buffet-think-about-buying-a-home/
People Are Buying Homes AND GETTING MORTGAGES!
January 12, 2012 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
Many believe that very few houses are selling and that almost no one can get a mortgage. We want to let everyone know that neither of these assumptions is true. Recently, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Homes Sales Report. According to the report there are, on average, 12,109 homes selling in the United States EACH and EVERY DAY! That means that approximately 12,000 houses sold yesterday, approximately 12,000 will sell today and approximately 12,000 will sell tomorrow. So the thinking that homes aren’t selling just isn’t true.Another interesting fact in the report was that 72% of these transactions were accompanied by a mortgage. That means that approximately 8,719 people qualify for a mortgage on a daily basis in this country.
There are over 12,000 homes sold and over 8,000 mortgages granted every day. The real estate market is doing better than many believe.
When the Prophet Says Buy – BUY!
January 9, 2012 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
John R. Talbott, previously a Goldman Sachs investment banker, is a bestselling author and economic consultant. When it comes to the housing market he is also a prophet. When housing prices started to skyrocket in 2003, he published The Coming Crash in the Housing Market correctly warning us that a real estate bubble was forming. Then in January 2006, he called the absolute peak of home prices in the US by releasing a new book, Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble.Mr. Talbott, the person who accurately predicted the housing bubble and its bust, now has a new prediction – IT IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME! In a recent article, Homes – Buy Now!, Talbott simply explains:
“I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice. It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home or refinance your existing home with thirty-year fixed rate mortgage debt.”
He goes on to explain that his conclusion is based on four different metrics, all of which favor buying today:
- Home Prices Relative to Peak Prices During the Bubble
- Home Prices Relative to Construction Costs or Replacement Costs
- Home Prices Relative to Incomes and Rents
- Home Prices in Real Terms, Not US Dollar Terms
Bottom Line
If the person who called the real estate bubble and its bust says now is the time to buy, we believe it is time to buy.
http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/01/09/when-the-prophet-says-buy-–-buy/
5 Most Popular Real Estate Posts for 2011
December 22, 2011 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
It’s that time of year. The time for lists. Santa has one. You probably have one for sending holiday cards and buying presents. And every major media outlet or publication has one counting down the best things of 2011. Why do we love lists so much? I think it has to do with the joy of being able to cross something out when we accomplish it.
In any case, we wanted to share some of the most popular posts we’ve shared from this past year in a miniature year in review for real estate content. Here are the 5 most read posts on the Coldwell Banker Blue Matter blog:
5. You Might Be Surprised to Learn What’s Going on with Baby Boomers In this post we took a look at a recent survey that Coldwell Banker Real Estate conducted to give a snapshot of the impact Baby Boomers have on the housing market. Although all the buzz in the media has to do with the Gen Y, the Baby Boomers are still the major force in the real estate market. Click here to take a look at the highlights from our survey and see just how important the Baby Boomers are for housing.
4. A Zombie Proof House 2011 might just be the year of the zombies. You’ve got the hugely popular TV series, The Walking Dead; an upcoming film adaptation of the best-selling book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; and of course successful zombie-focused video games like Dead Rising and Dead Island. So when I came across this property being touted as “zombie proof” I felt it was my duty to pop culture to blog about it. In fact this post was the most shared post on Blue Matter and has caused the social ranking tool, Klout, to rate Coldwell Banker as being “influential” about zombies. Check out the zombie proof house for yourself by clicking here.
3. State by State Housing Market Infographic Coldwell Banker Real Estate produced this infographic way back in February, but it’s still getting attention even in December. In this post we shared an interactive map that showed you a snapshot of housing market conditions in all 50 states. Due to the popularity of this post, we’ll most likely look at updating it with new stats for next year. Click here to take a look at the post on state by state housing market conditions.
2. Hey Case-Shiller It’s Not the End of the Real Estate World This post was written by Coldwell Banker CEO, Jim Gillespie, in response to the June Case-Shiller index which continued to tout the end of the real estate world as we know it. In this post Gillespie showed some of the flaws in taking the Case-Shiller report as gospel as the real estate conditions vary from market to market while the Case-Shiller index only looks at a select few markets and then paints a national picture with only those numbers. While the post was written in June, what Jim Gillespie talks about is still very applicable today. Click here to take a look.
1. Coldwell Banker and Funny or Die Launch “The Truth” Just squeaking past the “Hey Case-Shiller”, the post on our partnering with Funny or Die and comedian, Alan Thicke, to create the fact revealing series, The Truth, was our most popular post of the year. This 3-part series, hosted by Alan Thicke, was our first endeavor with Funny or Die and uncovered some hidden truths about common misconceptions throughout history. At the end, Alan Thicke reveals another misnomer that some people think Coldwell Banker is a bank. Silly people. These videos have received nearly half a million views across YouTube and Funny or Die. Check it out for yourself by clicking here or watching the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNBn8oEJtfI&feature=player_embedded
http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/5-most-popular-real-estate-posts-for-2011/
Finally, a Bottom for Home Prices
December 7, 2011 in Economy, Home Buying | by Penny | Leave a comment
Housing prices will stop sinking next spring. But recovery will be a gradual process — too slow to help the economy much next year. Look for prices, which have fallen an average of 31% since 2006, to drop an additional 2% or so in the early months of 2012 and then recover that lost ground by the end of the year.
The growth in 2013 won’t be dramatic Come 2013, expect home prices to rise only 3% to 4% — not too far from the pre-boom average of 4.8% a year, but well short of the bounce that usually follows a housing slump. After the milder housing downturn in the early 1980s, home prices grew an average of 6.5% for six years.
http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/practical-economics/archives/finally-a-bottom-for-home-prices.html
Fuzzy Math?
November 27, 2011 in Home Buying, Houses Of Others | by Greg | Leave a comment
Do you ever wonder how accurate internet real estate sites are when it comes to estimating the value of your home, or a home you’re thinking of buying?
If your answer is yes, this is an interesting read: The Fuzzy Math Of Home Values Your doubt is justified.
Zillow says the Brooklyn valuation was an error that it subsequently corrected. And make no mistake, all of the competitors go out of their way to make it clear their numbers are guesstimates, not gospel. “A Trulia estimate is just that — an estimate,” says a disclaimer on that site’s new home-value tool. Zillow deploys similar language and goes a step further, publishing precise numbers about how imprecise its estimates can be. And every major site urges home-price hunters to “always consult with a real estate agent or house appraisal specialist,” in the words of Homes.com. Indeed, these sites say they have strong relationships with the real estate business in general; they get a significant share of their revenue from the industry, in the form of advertising and subscriptions.
So, not everything published on the internet is necessarily accurate, eh? Now they tell us…
