Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Market Matters

Number of First-Time Home Buyers Falls to Lowest Level in Three Decades
Source: Wall St. Journal

Concerns continue to grow that young people are being left out of an otherwise strong housing-market recovery due to the fact that the share of U.S. homes sold to first-time buyers this year declined to its lowest level in almost three decades. First-time buyers fell to 32 percent of all purchasers in 2015 from 33 percent last year, the third straight annual decline and the lowest percentage since 1987, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Typically, first-time buyers comprise 40 percent of purchasers. As home prices continue to rise, it will become even more difficult for new buyers to enter the market.
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Home buyers are hitting record credit scores 
Source: CNBC
 
High-credit borrowers, those with FICO scores above 700, are almost entirely behind the surge in purchase applications, with some experts stating that loan performance is arguably the best in history. Since credit is favoring a smaller segment of borrowers, activity among borrowers with lower scores is flat to slightly lower from a year ago, according to Black Knight. For example, just 20 percent of purchase originations over the past three months have come from borrowers with credit scores below 700, the lowest level in more than a decade.
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Median Home buyer Age Has Remained ‘Remarkably Steady’ Over the Years
Source: DSNews.com
 
The rising share of home buyers age 50 and over and the shrinking percentages of homeowners ages 35 to 50 and under 30 have been major trends in housing as of late, but the median age of home buyers has remained “remarkably steady” in the last decade. The median home buyer age was 39 years old from 2005 to 2010 and 41 years old from 2011 to 2014, according to government data in the recently released American Community Survey (ACS). While the data showed that most states mirrored the trend of the rising share of older home buyers from 2005 to 2014, the median home buyer age actually declined in nine states and the District of Columbia during that period.
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Grown and still at home: Why young adults are moving back home and staying longer
Source: Yahoo! Finance
 
A third of 18- to 34-year-olds are living with their families, which is more than during the Great Recession, according to a recent analysis from the Pew Research Center. So despite an improving job market, why are more millennials moving back home with their parents and staying longer? Many young Americans feel financially unprepared to live on their own because of their education debt, and in many instances, parents are welcoming their adult kids back home with open arms. Many recent grads are saving thousands of dollars each month, money that would’ve gone to rent and food if they lived on their own.
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Credit, Mortgages, and Your Ability to Buy a Home: It Doesn't Have to Be Scary
Source: U.S. NewsAfter the effects of the recession, many Americans are still leery of entering the housing market for fear of another bubble, and a lack of education about mortgages has made some consumers still a little gun-shy to close on a home. But financial advisors caution that buying a home doesn’t have to be scary. Find a REALTOR® who can advise you through the process, and develop an understanding of your financial situation and what you are able to afford, as well as the kind of lending you sign on for. For instance, potential home buyers should know their credit score and any problem areas in their credit history. Also, meet with multiple loan representatives to get the best deal.
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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

People Slept Outside Overnight Just to Buy a House

Source: Dallas Morning News
 
Buyers want a piece of real estate in the town of McKinney, Texas, so badly that roughly a dozen people camped out overnight to secure first dibs on home lots in a new subdivision. Reportedly, the supply of houses in the north Dallas area is at the lowest point in generations. There has been a surge of new jobs in the region, which has affected the supply of homes. Quite notably, the area is also experiencing one of the largest year-over-year home price gains in the country, currently only behind San Francisco and Denver. One local real estate agent, who was eight months pregnant, was among the people camped out to get first dibs on a home in a region that is sure to see more growth.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Millennials Are Buying Homes in Droves—Just Not Where You’d Expect

Source: Time
While there has been plenty of media attention about the lack of home-buying activity among the millennial generation, a recent analysis of home sale data performed by Realtor.com® and reported by Bloomberg shows that in many U.S. cities, millennials make up half or more of home purchasers and a large number of them are first-time buyers. They are just buying homes in less glamorous places than where the media has asserted the younger generation wants to live. For example, millennials—those between the ages of 25 and 34—accounted for nearly 60 percent those who took out a mortgage to buy a home in the first half of 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. They accounted for 45 percent or more in places like Provo, Utah; Madison, Wisc.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and New Orleans.
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Realtor.com® Uses Humor in Celebrity Video Series to Teach Home Buyers

Source: Inman
 
A clever five-part, first-time home buyer video series is targeting consumers – especially millennials – and real estate agents to teach important aspects of the home-buying process. The portal’s celebrity spokeswoman, Elizabeth Banks, stars in the humorous videos, which launched this spring as part of its revamped marketing campaign. The videos cover how to know when you’re ready for a home, mortgage lending, searching for a home, making an offer, and the sale. Smartly targeting millennials is the strategy behind the videos, as this demographic makes up the nation's largest generation of home buyers.
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