Market Matters

Remodeling Market Has Regained its Mojo Source: Wall St. Journal According to a new report released by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies, the remodeling market has fully regained its mojo, despite the fact that the overall U.S. housing market still is struggling to hit its stride. Forecasts predict that spending in the U.S. remodeling market will grow by 4 percent to 5 percent this year to at least $330 billion, spanning work on both owned homes and rentals. This would surpass the previous high point of $324 billion in 2007. More baby boomers are remodeling as they opt to stay in their long-time homes. Read the full story    Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac regulator defends 3% down payment mortgages Source: L.A. Times   Melvin L. Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, told lawmakers this week that new programs to back mortgages with down payments as low as three percent had enough safeguards to make them as safe as loans with higher down payments. Watt faced criticism at a Congressional hearing that he was risking the loss of taxpayer money by returning to the irresponsible lending practices that caused the subprime housing market bubble. Watt noted that these loans will make up only "a very small percentage" of the mortgages in the portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Read the full story ‘Boomerang’ Buyers Set to Surge Back Into Housing Market Source: Time Over the next eight years, nearly 7.3 million Americans who lost their homes in the housing crash will become creditworthy enough to buy again. According to analysis from RealtyTrac, these “boomerang buyers”—those who suffered a foreclosure or short sale between 2007 and 2014—are rapidly approaching, or already past, the seven-year window “conservatively” needed to repair their credit. This year, more than 550,000 of these buyers could be in a position to get back into the market. Read the full story   First-Time Home Buyers Held Back in 2014 Source: Wall St. Journal   First-time buyers purchased nearly one-third of previously owned homes sold in 2014, which is the same share as 2013. This is the lowest share, 29 percent, since the National Association of REALTORS® began tracking the data in 2008. Mounting student debt, higher rents, and tight credit conditions continue to make it tough for first-time borrowers to save enough money for a down payment and qualify for a mortgage. Read the full story