There has been much written about how dramatically home values have increased over the last several years. With the increase in values, comes an increase in the equity each home owning family now has. The Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University recently reported that, after taking inflation into account, aggregate home equity has increased 60% since 2010. And home equity is the major component of most family’s overall wealth.

The most recent Housing Pulse Survey released by the National Association of Realtors revealed that the two major reasons Americans prefer owning their own home instead of renting are:

The interest rate you pay on your home mortgage has a direct impact on your monthly payment. The higher the rate the greater the payment will be. That is why it is important to look at where rates are headed when deciding to buy now or wait until next year.

Within the next five years, Baby Boomers are projected to have the largest household growth of any other generation during that same time period, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard. Let’s take a look at why…

There have been some who have voiced doubt as to whether or not the younger generations still consider buying a home as being part of the “American Dream”. A study by Merrill Lynch puts that doubt to rest.

Every Hour in the US Housing Market: 

• 634 Homes Sell
• 347 Homes Regain Positive Equity
• Median Home Values Go Up $1.46

According to a joint study released by Google and the National Association of Realtors, 2 of 3 people searching for a prospective real estate professional research them “extensively online prior to working with them". And, that number is probably increasing every day.

The Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) recently released a report: ‘Housing Demand: Demographics And The Numbers Behind The Coming Multi-Million Increase In Households’. In this study, the MBA “utilized a comprehensive analysis of data from 1976 to 2014, a period encompassing several market and housing cycles, to provide a projection of much stronger housing demand over the next decade.”

Many people wonder whether they should hire a real estate professional to assist them in buying their dream home or if they should first try to go it on their own. In today’s market: you need an experienced professional!

 

Some Highlights:

• 36% of Americans think they need a 20% down payment to buy a home. 44% of Millennials who purchased a home this year have put down less than 10%.
• 71% of loan applications were approved last month
• The average credit score of approved loans was 723 in September (the lowest recorded score since Ellie Mae began tracking in August 2011).

Many have been wondering when the much anticipated move by Millennials’ into homeownership would actually take place. We know the belief in owning a home is there.

With residential real estate values rising quite substantially in most parts of the country over the last few years, many homeowners are seeing a major increase in their family’s wealth as equity continues to build in their house.

We are often asked why there is so much paperwork mandated by the bank for a mortgage loan application when buying a home today. It seems that the bank needs to know everything about us and requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form.

In the latest Rent vs. Buy Report from Trulia, they explained that homeownership remains cheaper than renting with a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage throughout the 100 largest metro areas in the United States.

Some interesting facts:

• 25 states are forecasted to achieve higher levels of appreciation in the next 12 months than already achieved in the last year.
• 25 state and the District of Columbia are forecasted to experience a slow in appreciation.
• All 50 states & D.C. are forecasted to achieve some level of positive price appreciation.

Even though each state is appreciating at different levels, you need to know the Cost of Waiting until next year to buy your dream home!

A recent article that appeared on Nasdaq.com addressed the issue of whether it is best to buy or rent in today’s real estate environment. The article was very fair in discussing both options. However, there was one portion of the article that we questioned. One of the experts was quoted as saying: “For some people, the choice is very clear: Buying a home can be more costly, given the cost of the purchase itself, plus taxes and insurance, plus maintenance and repairs.”

It appears that Millennials are finally beginning to enter the housing market. In a recent report, CoreLogic looked at the annual net change in household formations over the last decade (see graph below):

According to the latest report from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, newly constructed home sales jumped 5.7% month-over-month and 21.6% year-over-year to an annual pace of 552,000. Many buyers are looking to the new homes market to make up for the lack of existing home sales inventory. National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe explains:

It's that time of year; the seasons are changing and with them bring thoughts of the upcoming holidays, family get-togethers, and planning for a new year. Those who are on the fence about whether now is the right time to buy don't have to look much farther to find four great reasons to consider buying a home now, instead of waiting.

Some Highlights:

• The median price of a newly constructed home is currently $292,700.
• Sales are up 5.7% month-over-month and 21.6% year-over-year.
• Many buyers are looking to new homes as an option due to the lack of inventory of existing homes for sale.

The National Association of REALTORS’ just released the results of their latest Pending Home Sales Index, which showed a small 1.4% decline in signed contracts in August. Pending sales remain strong year-over-year as they were 6.1% higher than August ’14 and have now risen for 12 consecutive months. 

What is the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)?

Some Highlights:

• The National Association of REALTORS® surveyed their members for their Confidence Index
• The REALTORS® Confidence Index is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estate practitioners. Practitioners are asked about their expectations for home sales, prices and market conditions.
• Homes sold in less than 60 days in 39 out of 50 states and Washington D.C.
• Only Vermont had a median sold date longer than 90 days.

We often promote homeownership over renting when a family is ready, willing and able to purchase. There are both financial and non-financial benefits to owning a home of your own. Based on the headlines below, many news outlets agreed with us after they reviewed a recent report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and Enterprise Community Partners.

As a seller, you will be most concerned about ‘short term price’ – where home values are headed over the next six months. As either a first-time or repeat buyer, you must not be concerned only about price but also about the ‘long term cost’ of the home.

Let us explain.

Some Highlights:

• Existing Home Sales slowed down slightly in August but remained 6.2% higher than August 2014.
• Inventory levels remain below the 6 months necessary for a normal market at a 5.2-month supply.
• First Time Buyers rebounded in August to make up 32% of sales, matching a 2015 high.