OWNER PERCEPTION OF HOME VALUE DIPS AFTER SEVEN MONTHS OF IMPROVEMENT

Source: Quicken Loans

The gap between an appraisal value and homeowner expectations widened in January – reversing course for the first time in eight months. The National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index (HPPI) showed appraisers valued homes an average of 0.6 percent lower than what owners estimated.

Despite the slight difference in perception, the Quicken Loans Home Value Index (HVI) – the only measure of home value change based solely on appraisal data reported climbing home values. On a national level, appraisal values increased 0.46 percent from December to January. The annual growth was even stronger, with home values jumping 7.03 percent from the same month of the previous year.

Full story:
https://www.quickenloans.com/press-room/2018/02/13/owner-perception-of-home-value-dips-after- seven-months-of-improvement/

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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Nationwide existing home sales decreased in January, seeing the largest annual decline in more than three years, according to the latest release from the National Association of Realtors. 

• Total existing home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, decreased 3.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million, down from a downwardly revised 5.56 million in December. Sales are now down 4.8% from last year, representing the largest annual decline since August 2014 and the slowest pace since September’s 5.37 million. 

• The national median existing home price for all housing types in January was $240,500, up 5.8% from January 2017’s $227,300. This marks the 71st straight month of annual gains. 

• Total housing inventory nationwide at the end of January increased 4.1% to 1.52 million existing homes available for sale, however, this is still down 9.5% from the year before, and has fallen annually for 32 consecutive months. Unsold inventory now stands at a 3.4-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.6 months last year.

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CALIFORNIA'S RENTS HAVE RISEN TO SOME OF THE NATION'S HIGHEST

Source: Orange County Register

California’s population is growing faster than builders can add housing, driving up rents. Incomes, meanwhile, aren’t keeping up. As a result, it takes three full-time minimum-wage incomes to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Here’s how rising rents are affecting the state and, in particular, Southern California.

Full story:
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/02/15/california-rent-rates-have-risen-to-some-of-the-nations- highest-heres-how-that-impacts-residents/

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MORTGAGE RATES TOUCH 4-YEAR HIGH

Source: MarketWatch 

Rates for home loans have reached a nearly a four-year high as investors abandoned bonds in the face of stronger signs of inflation and central bank tightening, sending yields on debt higher.

Full story:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mortgage-rates-touch-4-year-high-as-benchmark-bonds-take-a-hit-2018-02-22

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6 WAYS HOME BUYERS MESS UP GETTING A MORTGAGE

Source: Realtor.com

Getting a mortgage is, by general consensus, the most treacherous part of buying a home. In a recent survey, 42% of home buyers said they found the mortgage experience “stressful,” and 32% found it “complicated.” Even lenders agree that it's often a struggle.

A 20% down payment is the golden number when applying for a conventional home loan, since it enables you to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), an extra monthly fee of 0.3% to 1.15% of your total loan amount. But with mortgage rates where they are today—in a word, low—waiting for that magic 20% could be a huge mistake, since the more time passes, the higher mortgage rates and home prices may go!

Mortgage pre-qualification and mortgage pre-approval may sound alike, but they’re completely different. Pre-qualification entails a basic overview of a borrower’s ability to get a loan. You provide a mortgage lender with information—about your income, assets, debts, and credit—but you don't need to produce any paperwork to back it up. In return, you’ll get a rough estimate of what size loan you can afford, but it's by no means a guarantee that you'll actually get approved for the loan when you go to buy a home.

Full story:
https://www.realtor.com/advice/finance/ways-home-buyers-mess-up-mortgage/

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HOMEOWNERSHIP RATE REACHES HIGHEST LEVEL IN THREE YEARS

Source: Housing Wire 

The national homeownership rate reached its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2014, increasing slightly in the last quarter of 2017, according to the Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Making sense of the story:

The homeownership rate remained statistically unchanged, inching up to 64.2 percent in the fourth quarter. This is up from 63.7 percent the year before and 63.9 percent in the third quarter.

“After bouncing around near 50-year lows for the past few years, the national homeownership rate finally seems to be gaining sustainable, meaningful upward momentum,” Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas said. “The fourth quarter of 2017 was unseasonably strong, driven by buyers determined to make a deal in a highly competitive market.”

Among Millennials, the homeownership rate ticked up slightly from 35.6 percent to 36 percent. Among older generations, the homeownership is significantly higher at 75.3 percent for those aged 55 to 64 years and 79.2 percent for those aged 65 years and older.

“What's even more positive news for the housing market is that much of the increase in the homeownership rate over the past year has come from 18 to 44-year olds,” Trulia Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin said.

Among the non-Hispanic white population, the homeownership rate increased from 72.5 percent in the third quarter to 72.7 percent in the fourth quarter. However, homeownership rates for other ethnicities are much lower.

The black homeownership rate increased 0.1 percentage point, but remains far below average at 42.1 percent in the fourth quarter. The Hispanic homeownership rate saw the highest increase, rising .5 percentage points to 46.6 percent.

The national homeowner vacancy rate decreased 0.2 percentage points from last year at 1.6 percent, while the national vacancy rate for rental housing remained unchanged at 6.9 percent.

Read the full story:
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/42403-homeownership-rate-reaches-highest-level-in- three-years

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CALIFORNIA BOASTS 13 OF 20 "HOTTEST" REAL ESTATE MARKETS IN JANUARY

Source: Times of San Diego 

California was home to 13 of the nation’s 20 “hottest” housing markets in January, with San Diego ranking sixth, according to new data from Realtor.com.

In San Diego, the typical home was on the market just 46 days, compared to 89 days nationally. In San Jose, the center of Silicon Valley, the market moved even faster with homes selling in 33 days.

“There is no doubt that housing in many parts of California is as hot as the Mojave in August,” said Javier Vivas, director of economic research at the Realtor.com, which is the official website of the National Association of Realtors.

“Even with sky-high prices, homes in places like the Bay Area typically sell twice as quickly as homes in the rest of the country, thanks to a supercharged economy and a major dearth of available properties,” Vivas said. “Barring a major change in the state’s economic strength, we expect these housing market conditions to continue for the foreseeable future.”

Full story: 

https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2018/01/27/california-boasts-13-of-20-hottest-real- estate-markets-in-january/

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HERE'S WHERE MILLENNIALS ARE MOVING

Source: Curbed

A new report by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, The Millennial Generation: A Demographic Bridge to America’s Diverse Future, examines how this generation, poised to become ever more consequential on economic, cultural, and governmental levels, is changing—and where it’s settling across the country.

The Brookings Institution looked at the group through many lenses, including homeownership rates, education, and poverty. Analysis of U.S Census data shows an increasingly diverse generation: 55.8 percent are white and nearly 30 percent are what the authors called “new minorities,” namely Latinx, Asian, and those identifying as two or more races. Thirty of the 100 largest metro areas are now minority white, including Miami (25 percent) and Houston (32 percent).

Census data revealed where they are, and aren’t, moving to and living in across the country, which some see as a type of proxy for a city’s economic health.

Full story: 

https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/26/16937946/millennial-move-cities-real-estate

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