Two Reasons We Won’t See a Rush of Foreclosures This Fall

A Remarkable Recovery for the Housing Market

Thinking of Selling Your House? Now May be the Right Time

Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows for Three Consecutive Weeks

What Are Experts Saying about Home Prices?

America Is Another Name for Opportunity [INFOGRAPHIC]

Is the Health Crisis Driving Buyers Out of Urban Areas?

The pandemic has caused consumers to re-examine the components that make up the perfect home. Many families are no longer comfortable with the locations and layouts of their existing homes. The allure of city life (more congested) seems to be giving way to either suburban or rural life (less congested). The fascination with an open floor plan seems to be fading as people are finding a need for more privacy while working from home. Recently, news.com released a report that revealed how buyers' views of listings are leaning heavily to more suburban and rural properties. Here are the year-over-year percentage increases in views per property type: Urban – 7% Suburban – 13% Rural – 16% In the report, Javier Vivas, Director of Economic Research for realtor.com, gives these numbers some context: This migration to the suburbs is not a new trend, but it has become more pronounced. After several months of shelter-in-place orders, the desire to have more space and the potential for more people to work remotely are likely two of the factors contributing to the popularity of the burbs. Realtor Magazine also just reported that the desire to move is strongest in our city markets: Nearly 30% of respondents living in a high-density urban area say that the pandemic is prompting them to want to move by the end of the year…This is more than double the rate of those living in rural parts of the country, where residents are much more likely to stay put rather than to relocate. New Construction Also Seeing a Surge in Views Since the pandemic has altered how consumers think about floor plans, builders are anticipating how future homes will change. In a recent press release by Zillow, it was explained that: Builders believe as people spend more time at home during the pandemic, buyers are realizing which features of their homes are working and not working. Homebuilders predict open-concept floor plans will be a thing of the past, as people now value more walls, doors, and overall privacy. New construction, which offers the chance to personalize home features, saw its listing page views grow by 73% over last May. The Virus is Even Impacting the Luxury Second-Home Market It appears that COVID-19 is impacting the luxury market too. In an article released last week titled, Luxury Buyers Return to Market in Force, Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for realtor.com reported: Stay at home orders and social distancing have put a new value on the extra space. We’re seeing this in the luxury market as well, which could mean there is renewed interest from high-end buyers to find a second-home that is within driving distance from their primary residence. Much like the suburbs are gaining favor with home shoppers, second home markets are seeing increased interest from luxury buyers…Views of luxury properties accelerated 56% in The Hamptons, 28% in Palm Springs and 24% in Greenwich compared to January trends.” Bottom Line It appears that a percentage of people are preparing to leave many American cities. Some of these moves will be permanent, while others will be temporary (such as a getaway to a second home). In either case, many consumers are on the move. Real estate professionals are ready and willing to help in any way they can.

A Historic Rebound for the Housing Market

Pending Home Sales increased by 44.3% in May, registering the highest month-over-month gain in the index since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) started tracking this metric in January 2001. So, what exactly are pending home sales, and why is this rebound so important? According to NAR, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHS) is: A leading indicator of housing activity, measures housing contract activity, and is based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops. Because a home goes under contract a month or two before it is sold, the Pending Home Sales Index generally leads Existing-Home Sales by a month or two. In real estate, pending home sales is a key indicator in determining the strength of the housing market. As mentioned before, it measures how many existing homes went into contract in a specific month. When a buyer goes through the steps to purchase a home, the final one is the closing. On average, that happens about two months after the contract is signed, depending on how fast or slow the process takes in each state. Why is this rebound important? With the COVID-19 pandemic and a shutdown of the economy, we saw a steep two-month decline in the number of houses that went into contract. In May, however, that number increased dramatically (See graph below):This jump means buyers are back in the market and purchasing homes right now. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR mentioned: This has been a spectacular recovery for contract signings and goes to show the resiliency of American consumers and their evergreen desire for homeownership…This bounce back also speaks to how the housing sector could lead the way for a broader economic recovery. But in order to continue with this trend, we need more houses for sale on the market. Yun continues to say: More listings are continuously appearing as the economy reopens, helping with inventory choices…Still, more home construction is needed to counter the persistent underproduction of homes over the past decade. As we move through the year, we'll see an increase in the number of houses being built. This will help combat a small portion of the inventory deficit. The lack of overall inventory, however, is still a challenge, and it is creating an opportunity for homeowners who are ready to sell. As the graph below shows, during the last 12 months, the supply of homes for sale has been decreasing year-over-year and is not keeping up with the demand from homebuyers. Bottom Line If you decided not to sell this spring due to the health crisis, maybe it's time to jump back into the market while buyers are actively looking for homes. Let's connect today to determine your best move forward.

Are New Homes Going to Be Available to Buy This Year?

In today's economy, everyone seems to be searching for signs that a recovery is coming soon. Many experts agree that it may actually already be in motion or will be starting by the 3rd quarter of this year. With the housing market positioned to lead the way out of this recession, builder confidence might be a bright spark that gets the recovery fire started. The construction of new homes coming right around the corner is a huge part of that effort, and it may drive your opportunity to make a move this year. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB): New home sales jumped in May, as housing demand was supported by low interest rates, a renewed household focus on housing, and rising demand in lower-density markets. Census and HUD estimated new home sales in May at a 676,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace, a 17% gain over April. In addition, builder confidence is also rising, opening up opportunity for newly constructed homes in the market. The NAHB also notes: In a sign that housing stands poised to lead a post-pandemic economic recovery, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes jumped 21 points to 58 in June, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Any reading above 50 indicates a positive market. As noted above, this upward trend is supported by builders reporting an increase in demand for single-family homes in suburban neighborhoods with lower-density populations, a result of the COVID-19 health crisis. Moreover, the most recent Monthly New Residential Construction Report from the U.S. Census indicates that authorized building permits for new residential construction increased by 14.4% month-over-month from April to May, and housing starts were also up 4.3% over the same time period. (See graph below):Although housing permits and starts are both considerably lower than they were at this time last year, indicating the new construction market is still working on building its way back up, the trends are moving in the right direction when it comes to having an impact on the U.S. economy. They're also poised to create the much-needed new homes for Americans to purchase in a time when inventory is so scarce. Dean Mon, Chairman of the NAHB notes: As the nation reopens, housing is well-positioned to lead the economy forward…Inventory is tight, mortgage applications are increasing, interest rates are low and confidence is rising. And buyer traffic more than doubled in one month even as builders report growing online and phone inquiries stemming from the outbreak. The gap between homes to buy and the high demand from purchasers may be narrowed by new construction, and the data shows that these homes are on their way into the housing market. So, if you've debated whether or not to sell your house this year because you're not sure where to move, a newly-built home – designed to your specific liking – may be your answer. Bottom Line With new residential construction right around the corner, you can feel confident about selling your house and having a place to move into. Maybe it's time to finally design the home you've always wanted. Let's connect today to discuss selling your house while demand from eager buyers is high.

  

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What Are Experts Saying About the Rest of 2020?

One of the biggest questions on everyone's minds these days is: What's going to happen to the housing market in the second half of the year? Based on recent data on the economy, unemployment, real estate, and more, many economists are revising their forecasts for the remainder of 2020 – and the outlook is extremely encouraging. Here's a look at what some experts have to say about key areas that will power the industry and the economy forward this year. Mortgage Purchase Originations: Joel Kan, Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting, Mortgage Bankers Association The recovery in housing is happening faster than expected. We anticipated a drop off in Q3. But, we don't think that's the case anymore. We revised our Q3 numbers higher. Before, we predicted a 2 percent decline in purchase originations in 2020, now we think there will be 2 percent growth this year. Home Sales: Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors Sales completed in May reflect contract signings in March and April – during the strictest times of the pandemic lock down and hence the cyclical low point…Home sales will surely rise in the upcoming months with the economy reopening, and could even surpass one-year-ago figures in the second half of the year. Inventory: George Ratiu, Senior Economist, realtor.com We can project that the next few months will see a slow-yet-steady improvement in new inventory…we projected a stepped improvement for the May through August months, followed by a return to historical trend for the September through December time frame.” Mortgage Rates: Freddie Mac Going forward, we forecast the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to remain low, falling to a yearly average of 3.4% in 2020 and 3.2% in 2021. New Construction: Doug Duncan, Chief Economist, Fannie Mae The weaker-than-expected single-family starts number may be a matter of timing, as single-family permits jumped by a stronger 11.9 percent. In addition, the number of authorized single-family units not yet started rose 5.4 percent to the second-highest level since 2008. This suggests that a significant acceleration in new construction will likely occur. Bottom Line The experts are optimistic about the second half of the year. If you paused your 2020 real estate plans this spring, let's connect today to determine how you can re-engage in the process.

  

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