Austin, Texas (-4.7%), Memphis, Tenn. (-4.4%), St. Louis (-4.0%), Atlanta (-3.7%), Miami (-3.6%), and Phoenix (-3.2%) lead the nation with the largest rent drops   Rents declined in March for the eighth consecutive month, with year-over-year prices dropping by -0.3% and declines seen across all unit sizes, according to the Realtor.com® Rental Report released today. Even so, the median rent of $1,722 was only $36 less than the peak seen in August 2022 and was $313 more than in March 2019, before the pandemic, pointing to a resilient rental market. Top 10 markets with the largest yearly rent price declines include: Austin-Round Rock, Texas (-4.70%); Memphis, Tenn.-Ms.-Ark.(-4.40%); St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (-4.00%); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga (-3.70%); Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. (-3.60%); Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-3.20%); Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn. (-2.90%); Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla (-2.80%); Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (-2.50%); and Cleveland-Elyria, Oho (-2.50%). “Rising shelter costs have been a major driver of overall inflation, a top…
Posted On Monday, 29 April 2024 14:39 Written by
The number of homes for sale in Cape Coral, FL and North Port, FL surged roughly 50% from a year earlier in March—more than anywhere else in the country. And in McAllen, TX, supply jumped 25%. On the west coast of Florida, housing supply is surging, sellers are cutting their asking prices and the time it takes to sell a home is soaring—all at a faster rate than anywhere else in the U.S. The story is similar in parts of Texas. That is according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Here’s how these trends showed up in U.S. housing-market data for March, which covers 85 major metropolitan areas: SUPPLY: Of the 10 metro areas that posted the largest year-over-year increases in supply, six are in Florida and two are in Texas. Cape Coral, FL saw the biggest jump in homes for sale (51%), followed…
Posted On Sunday, 28 April 2024 06:32 Written by
-- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.17 percent. “Mortgage rates continued rising this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Despite rates increasing more than half a percent since the first week of the year, purchase demand remains steady. With rates staying higher for longer, many homebuyers are adjusting, as evidenced by this week’s report that sales of newly built homes saw the biggest increase since December 2022.” News Facts The 30-year FRM averaged 7.17 percent as of April 25, 2024, up from last week when it averaged 7.10 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.43 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.44 percent, up from last week when it averaged 6.39 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.71 percent. The PMMS® is…
Posted On Friday, 26 April 2024 07:08 Written by
Imagine starting a multimillion-dollar company only to have it crumble due to cybercrime. This isn’t a plot from a thriller movie—it’s a harsh reality many face. Cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, leveraging the very tools meant to simplify our lives to exploit vulnerabilities. From phishing scams that mimic trusted contacts to ransomware attacks that can shut down entire supply chains, no one is immune. The weaponization of artificial intelligence presents a particularly alarming trend. AI can accelerate the rate of attacks, automate malicious activities, and craft deceptive content that can fool even the most vigilant among us. This evolution demands that we not only stay updated with the latest in cybersecurity but also engage actively in educating everyone within our spheres of influence. https://www.burrus.com/become-anticipatory In our rapidly evolving digital age, the importance of robust cybersecurity measures cannot be overstated. Join me live on April 30th when I sit down with…
Posted On Monday, 29 April 2024 00:00 Written by
One of the key components of coaching is to be sure that my clients are well scheduled and prepared for things they know are coming. Planning for summer is often overlooked but can make a huge difference in your business. You need to look and prepare for events that are going to take place so you can choose to be prepared for them and make them productive for you! Here are the seven things I think everyone in our industry should be prepared for: 1.  Mother’s Day in May 2.  Memorial Day in May 3.  End of your local school year 4.  Father’s Day in June 5.  4th of July 6.  Your personal and team’s summer schedule 7.  VACATIONS! Not all of these are going to be important to everyone in every location. Some have more significance to some people than others. Only you can determine the importance of any or…
Posted On Tuesday, 30 April 2024 00:00 Written by
NAR forecasts 4.46 million existing-home sales in 2024, a 9% increase from 2023 Pending home sales in March climbed 3.4%, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Northeast, South and West posted monthly gains in transactions while the Midwest recorded a loss. Year-over-year, the Northeast and South registered decreases but the Midwest and West improved. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings – increased to 78.2 in March. Year over year, pending transactions were up 0.1%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. “March’s Pending Home Sales Index – at 78.2 – marks the best performance in a year, but it still remains in a fairly narrow range over the last 12 months without a measurable breakout,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Meaningful gains will only occur with declining mortgage rates…
Posted On Thursday, 25 April 2024 07:01 Written by
Redfin reports many U.S. homeowners wouldn’t be able to afford to buy their home if they were to purchase it today because home prices have doubled over the last decade, and monthly housing costs are at an all-time high Nearly two of every five (38%) homeowners don’t believe they could afford to buy their own home if they were purchasing it today, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. This is based on a Redfin-commissioned survey of roughly 3,000 U.S. residents conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024. Nearly three in five (59%) homeowners who answered this question have lived in their home for at least 10 years, and another 21% have lived in their home for at least five years. That means the majority of respondents have seen housing prices in their neighborhood skyrocket since they purchased their home: The median U.S. home-sale price…
Posted On Thursday, 25 April 2024 05:31 Written by
A lack of housing supply is a serious issue in the U.S. It has put upward pressure on home prices and made buying prohibitively expensive for many. That said, new housing units are being constructed. We have a long way to go before the nation’s housing shortage is fully addressed, but it’s worth recognizing the progress. To find out where these new homes are being built, we analyzed the latest housing data and found that recently built houses aren’t particularly common in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. Here's what else we found.  Across the nation’s 50 largest metros, 1.48 million housing units were built from 2020 through 2022. Put another way, just 1.95% of these metros’ 75.89 million housing units were built from 2020 through 2022. Recently built housing units make up the largest share of homes in three South metros — Austin, Nashville, and San Antonio. In these metros, 5.97%,…
Posted On Tuesday, 23 April 2024 07:07 Written by
The buzzwords of today’s digital age are ‘AI’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence.’ These excite some and strike fear into others. Yet whatever your position, this Hard Trend is undeniable and will shape the future of your business or organization in some way. Applications like ChatGPT, deep data algorithms, and others are changing the face of work and how we approach business practices at an unprecedented speed. So what does that mean for the roles we have at work? Better yet, how do employers acquire talent with the skills necessary to keep operations progressing into the future? And finally, how do employees adapt when many of the tasks they are used to completing are being transformed by AI? AI Is Moving Fast Organizations and employees alike find comfort in their tried-and-true operations, but the business world is never constant — change is the only constant. According to a recent report completed by Goldman Sachs, 60% of the…
Posted On Tuesday, 23 April 2024 00:00 Written by
Luxury sales are outperforming partly because elevated mortgage rates aren’t a deterrent for many luxury buyers, as a record 47% of luxury homes were bought in cash at the start of 2024 The median-priced U.S. luxury home sold for a record $1,225,000 in the first quarter, up 8.7% from a year earlier, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Prices of non-luxury homes rose at roughly half the pace; they were up 4.6% to a median of $345,000, also a record high. Redfin defines luxury homes as those estimated to be in the top 5% of their respective metro area based on market value, and non-luxury homes as those estimated to be in the 35th-65th percentile based on market value. Luxury prices are rising largely because demand for high-end homes has held up better than demand for middle-of-the-road homes. Sales of luxury homes are…
Posted On Sunday, 21 April 2024 06:24 Written by
We all know that you can’t fight the FED, but when the FED doesn’t do what people want them to do, the markets are the ones that respond! We spoke a couple of weeks ago about wishing certain people would just keep their mouths shut until AFTER certain actions do or don’t happen. However, we got to see what happens when people get too far out in front of a story, or just downright say things that aren’t true. Here are a few issues that were front and center. •  The FED didn’t cut rates. •  Inflation isn’t going lower. •  Most of the jobs created were part-time jobs. •  The actual number of full-time workers has gone down. •  Mortgage rates didn’t go to 5% in March. •  Home prices continue to rise. •  What happens when CPI/PPI show stress and your leadership says “Don’t” and they DO? • …
Posted On Monday, 22 April 2024 00:00 Written by
Daily average mortgage rates jumped to their highest level since last November after last week’s disappointing inflation report The median U.S. home-sale price increased 5% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending April 14, bringing it to $380,250—just $3,095 shy of June 2022’s all-time high. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The average daily mortgage rate this week surpassed 7.4%, the highest level since last November, after a hotter-than-expected inflation report and the Fed’s confirmation that interest-rate cuts will be delayed. The combination of high mortgage rates and prices have brought homebuyers’ median monthly housing payment to a record $2,775, up 11% year over year. There are signals that buyers are out there touring homes despite rising rates. Mortgage-purchase applications are up 5% week over week, and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other buying services…
Posted On Friday, 19 April 2024 03:30 Written by
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