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A Lack of Inventory Continues to Impact the Housing Market
The housing crisis is finally in the rear-view mirror as the real estate market moves down the road to a complete recovery. Home values are up and distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) have fallen to their lowest point in years. The market will continue to strengthen in 2019. However, there is one thing that may cause the industry to tap the brakes: a lack of housing inventory! Buyer demand naturally increases during the summer months, but supply has not kept up. Here are the thoughts of a few industry experts on the subject: Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at National Association of Realtors “Further increases in inventory are highly desirable to keep home prices in…
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Mainstream Concerns about an Economic Slowdown Revisited
Recently, we reported that many believe a recession could happen within the next two years. We explained that 70% of economists and market analysts surveyed last year believe that a recession will occur in 2019 or 2020 and that 42% of consumers currently looking to purchase a home also agree that a recession will occur this year or next. However, the U.S. economy has performed well in the first quarter of 2019 and that has caused some experts to change their thinking on an impending economic slowdown. Here are a few notable examples: Anthony Chan, Chief Economist at JPMorgan Chase “I feel really comfortable that the economy is slowing down this year, but…
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How Quickly Can You Save Your Down Payment?
Saving for a down payment is often the biggest hurdle for a first-time homebuyer. Depending on where you live, median income, median rents, and home prices all vary. So, we set out to find out how long it would take to save for a down payment in each state. Using data from HUD, Census and Apartment List, we determined how long it would take, nationwide, for a first-time buyer to save enough money for a down payment on their dream home. There is a long-standing ‘rule’ that a household should not pay more than 28% of their income on their monthly housing expense. By determining the percentage of income spent renting in each state, and the amount…
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Sunday Market Watch
Today I see that the local markets are a bit slow. We had 8 homes listed, 6 price drops, and 12 homes went pending. Whenever you see listing numbers lower than the pending numbers, market power sits in the lap of the sellers. Low inventory, and the buying season picking up as the temperatures do mean, all things remaining equal, we can expect to see another summer of steadily increasing prices. Builders are attempting to keep up with the influx of new residents, but since we are coming out of winter, we are a few months away from many of those new homes being completed. Want to know more about…
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Homebuyers Shouldn’t Worry About 2008 All Over Again
Last week, realtor.com released a survey of active home shoppers (those who plan to purchase their next home in 1 year or less). The survey asked their opinion on an impending recession and its possible impact on the housing market. Two major takeaways from the survey: 42% believe a recession will occur this year or next (another 16% said 2021) 59% believe the housing market would fare the same or worse than it did in 2008 Why all the talk about a recession recently? Over the last year, four separate surveys have been taken asking when we can expect the next recession to occur: The Pulsenomics Survey of Market Analysts The Wall Street Journal…
