Women's Wisdom Network (960)
A homebuyer on a $3,000 monthly budget has lost nearly $40,000 in purchasing power over the last year, as mortgage rates have risen from around 6.5% in October 2022 to nearly 8% today. The glimmer of hope for the housing market: a small September uptick in new listings. Mortgage rates hit their highest level in more than 20 years this week, pushing homebuyers’ monthly housing payments to all-time highs. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. A buyer on a $3,000 monthly budget, for instance, can afford a $419,000 home with a 7.7% mortgage rate, roughly the daily average on October 4. That buyer has lost $38,000 in purchasing power since last October, when they could have bought a $457,000 home with a 6.6% rate. And by that time, buyers had already lost a significant amount of purchasing power since the start of…
Leadership and the workforce is at a time of notable metamorphosis as Baby Boomers slowly but surely leave the workforce and the younger generations, including Millennials and Gen Z, bring about a true wave of professional digital transformation. Given the recent presence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current landscape of rapid disruption and change, the demand for Anticipatory Leadership is more crucial than ever. It is essential to guide this emerging workforce effectively both in the present and future.
I had the distinct opportunity to speak with a good friend of mine, Mark Sanborn, in a recent Opportunity Hour: Conversations with the Masters. Throughout our discussion, we delved into the transformations that the work landscape has undergone both in the lead-up to and during the pandemic. We also explored strategies for effectively leading the workforce of the future. With the increasing frequency of global disruptions and the anticipation of more…
They’re BACK!!! Remember those preapprovals that made a choice to stop looking for houses until the rates dropped and home prices went down? Guess what? THEY’RE BACK!!! Each week as rates have continued higher and as inventory of available homes remains tight, those who believed the “experts” on social media, that rates and home prices were soon to fall. Well guess what? People are discovering that it was a bad move to sit and wait. Think about those who didn’t want to buy when rates moved past 4%; I bet they wish they had a 4% mortgage now! Maybe some held on until rates went past 5%; I bet they would love that 5% rate in their new home right now! Remember those just a few short weeks ago who were distraught when thinking about a mortgage rate above 6%? I bet they would be thrilled to lock in that…
![These Are America’s Most Expensive Towns [New LendingTree Report]](/media/k2/items/cache/dfeb0cba9a844a634973295121d22fba_M.jpg)
The town-and-country lifestyle is often depicted as simple, idyllic and inexpensive compared to big-city living — especially when it comes to housing costs. But is this accurate? To look at how costly buying a house in a town can get, LendingTree analyzed housing data to find the 50 U.S. micropolitan areas — which we refer to in this study as “towns” — with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 that had the most expensive median home values. Many towns across the country are chock-full of expensive real estate, with home values that rival — and, in some cases, exceed — those found in major metropolitan areas. In raw dollars, Vineyard Haven, Mass., Jackson, Wyo., and Breckenridge, Colo., are the towns with the most expensive real estate in the U.S. The median home values in these towns are $857,600, $670,100 and $641,900, respectively. Relative to income, homes in Vineyard Haven, Jackson and Hailey, Idaho,…
Nearly four of every five (78%) respondents to a recent housing survey support policies that promote building more housing, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. But just one-third (32%) of the respondents who are pro-building would feel positive about an apartment complex built in their neighborhood, and 20% of them would feel negative about it. Nearly half (48%) would feel neutral. Broken down by homeowners versus renters, 74% of owners support policies that promote building more housing, compared with 80% of renters. One-quarter (25%) of owners would feel positive about a new apartment complex built in their neighborhood, about on par with 28% of renters. Two in five (40%) owners would feel negative about a new apartment complex built in their neighborhood, and 35% would feel neutral. That’s compared with about one-quarter (24%) of renters feeling negative about the prospect of a new…
We live in an amazingly uncertain world, but that uncertainty is brimming with certainty! I know this may seem contradictory, but it is true, and worth the exploration. Yes, we do live in constant uncertainty. What will happen with certain businesses or industries if the economy shifts, if technology disrupts, or if a new product or service falls flat? There is no doubt that uncertainty breeds fear, anxiety, and even a type of mental agility that treads water until you feel all is clear.
But buried in these uncertainties are trends and data all around us that give us rather obvious information on what is to come if you know how to look for it! We may not know for sure how AI ChatBots like ChatGPT will be used in the future, but we do know that their use will only increase exponentially in both the business world and our personal lives! This…
The Federal Reserve Board meeting is over and there was good news and bad news. The good news is that they didn’t raise rates and held them where they were as expected. The bad news, well, there was more than just a little bad news, is the comments weren’t as encouraging as many had hoped, and the Fed “Dot Plot Chart” shows that they believe the Fed Funds Rate will stay above 5% for the rest of this year, possibly another hike this year, and the bad news doesn’t end there. The projections for 2024 rates are surprising. While 9 felt the Fed Funds Rate would fall below 5%, with the low projected at 4.25%; 10 members still have the Fed Funds Rate above 5% with even one projecting a rate that is past 6%! I don’t believe you need to panic, the Dot Plot Chart has pretty much been…
Existing-home sales moved lower in August, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Among the four major U.S. regions, sales improved in the Midwest, were unchanged in the Northeast, and slipped in the South and West. All four regions recorded year-over-year sales declines. Total existing-home sales[i] – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – slid 0.7% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.04 million in August. Year-over-year, sales fell 15.3% (down from 4.77 million in August 2022). “Home sales have been stable for several months, neither rising nor falling in any meaningful way,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rate changes will have a big impact over the short run, while job gains will have a steady, positive impact over the long run. The South had a lighter decline in sales from a year ago due to greater regional job growth since…
Today, we are in an era of drastic technological transformation. With the increasing use of digital technologies that include everything from 3D printing to various applications of extended reality, how we do business is constantly and dramatically transforming in ways that we have not seen since the industrial revolution! While company leaders have long been questioning how to navigate this quickly changing landscape, Anticipatory Leaders are one step ahead, leveraging the ever-evolving digital landscape in front of us. In doing so, they are integrating artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), edge computing as it relates to data processing, and so much more.
As a business leader, it’s imperative to grasp that the ongoing technological revolution reshaping the business landscape is an indisputable future certainty—a Hard Trend that’s here to stay. While numerous technological innovations have already initiated substantial shifts in a wide array of business operations, some leaders and managers who prioritize…
Reporting back from the street has been very positive when it comes to the reaction from accountants to the calls about tax extensions. These conversations have caused some meetings and a few immediate referrals, and we are just a week removed from the plan. It is very interesting to see how a simple phone call and a brief conversation can change the perspective of other professionals. Most accountants don’t have much use for mortgage professionals until they come across mortgage professionals who understands their business and provides an important value added to them and their clients. I am also seeing continued results from the back-to-school conversations as the final wave of kids head back to school. I actually think this year has been the strongest in the past three or four years when it comes to seeing these conversations turn into opportunities. Between functional obsolescence conversations and the awareness of…
Some homebuyers got cold feet as mortgage rates hit the highest level in over two decades and prices continued to rise, but buyer demand and new listings have stabilized following months of declines Residential real estate deals are falling through at the highest rate in almost a year as high mortgage rates give homebuyers sticker shock, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Nationwide, nearly 60,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in August, equal to 15.7% of homes that went under contract that month. That’s up from 14.3% a year earlier and marks the highest percentage since October 2022, when mortgage rates surpassed 7% for the first time in two decades.
The average interest rate on a 30-year-fixed mortgage was 7.07% in August. At one point last month, it hit 7.23%—the highest since 2001—sending the typical homebuyer’s monthly payment up significantly from last…
According to Realtors® and Prospective Home Buyers Across Races and Ethnicities. The current real estate market’s high home prices and mortgage rates, as well as limited inventory, are the top reasons that Realtors® and prospective home buyers across races and ethnicities cite as barriers to purchasing a home, according to two new reports from the National Association of Realtors®. In partnership with Morning Consult, NAR’s 2023 Experiences & Barriers of Prospective Home Buyers Across Races/Ethnicities report surveyed White, Hispanic/Latino(a), Black and Asian prospective home buyers about their experiences. NAR’s 2023 Experiences & Barriers of Prospective Home Buyers: Member Study surveyed Realtors® who focus on residential real estate regarding the latest buyer with whom they worked who has not yet purchased a home, and it compares findings with the consumer study. “Home buyers face the most difficult affordability conditions in nearly 40 years due to limited inventory and rising mortgage interest…
More...
C-suite executives and leaders have a lot on their plates when it comes to successful management of their business or organization. They are in control of the organization’s image, a diverse team of individuals with diverse talents coming together to complete specific tasks, and the successful and timely implementation of multiple projects at any given time. That is a lot to be responsible for, but as we all know, change is the only constant in the business world. My Anticipatory Organization® Model notes that digital disruption is starting to alleviate some of the need to manage traditional tasks that managers and other business leaders have long managed before. With this transformation, the tasks of managers and business leaders alike are starting to change as well.
What some leaders overlook now is their actual role as managers — the management of perception and distraction. Perception and Distraction Affect Your Organization Perception refers…
September is upon us, and Labor Day is behind us; the only thing to do this week and that is to CALL ALL YOUR ACCOUNTANTS! Remember when I shared with you that you were supposed to be collecting accountants from everyone you spoke with when you did your 9’s and 10’s questions? We also talked about connecting with accountants and tax preparers when we reviewed tax returns that our customers supplied to us. Well, now is one of the two times each year we MUST put those efforts to good use! The first full week of September for most accountants usually is the signal for them to reach out to all their clients they filed tax extensions for. Since those filings are due in October, now is when they begin the process of collecting documents and preparing those returns! Why is this so important to us? Well, it’s time to…
About half of Gen Zers and millennials who don’t plan to buy a home in the near future say it’s because homes are too expensive Nearly one of every five (18%) millennials and 12% of Gen Zers who replied to a recent housing survey believe they will never own a home, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Lack of affordability is the number-one barrier to homeownership for young Americans. Roughly half of Gen Z and millennial renters who believe they’re unlikely to purchase a home in the near future say the high price of homes on the market is blocking them from buying. That’s the most commonly cited barrier, and it’s followed by several other affordability-related reasons.
Nearly half (46%) of millennials and one-third (33%) of Gen Zers say their lack of ability to save for a down payment is a…
From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.