Today's Headlines - Realty Times
Posted On Monday, 07 August 2023 09:20 Written by
Posted On Monday, 07 August 2023 08:11 Written by
Posted On Monday, 07 August 2023 05:36 Written by

The significance of asking the right questions cannot be undervalued.  But how do you ask these three big questions if you don’t know what they are? Well, let me help you with those:

  1. 1. “Are you more focused on getting your next listing, or your next qualified borrower?”
  2. 2. “What are the activities associated with doing that and when do you do it?”
  3. 3. “Would you be willing to spend two hours one day a week for the next month working with me to generate that next listing or borrower?”

 

This will change the conversation completely! You find out a wealth of information that will help you determine if this person is the type of person you want to work with! Now, they may not have a preference or even a plan, but they MUST be willing to do the work if you are going to make the commitment to work with them! See how I changed the dynamic from asking for referrals to them working with you to generate their next opportunity?

There are multiple strategies on the website to help you share with them how and what to do to make their choice become reality. All proven strategies that will work if you do the work! Sometimes having a new strategy and an accountability partner to work with can make all the difference! Helping generate opportunities is great for building lasting relationships! Try it for yourself and see!

Today we have unemployment numbers and tomorrow is the jobs report. It will be very interesting to see how far apart the ADP numbers and the jobs report are. For a while it seemed that ADP was tracking below the jobs numbers and now it looks like they are tracking far above them. The data could make for a bumpy few days in the bond markets, so just be aware that the markets may react and quite possibly over react!

Questions or comments: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Posted On Monday, 07 August 2023 00:00 Written by
Posted On Sunday, 06 August 2023 13:31 Written by

The median U.S. home-sale price is up 3.2% year over year, the biggest increase since November, and mortgage rates remain elevated

The typical U.S. homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment was $2,605 during the four weeks ending July 30, up 19% from a year earlier and down just $32 from early July’s all-time high. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

Housing payments remain historically high because mortgage rates remain elevated, with weekly average rates clocking in at 6.9% this week, and home prices are on the rise. The median home-sale price is up 3.2% year over year, the biggest increase since November.

Home prices are increasing because of the mismatch between supply and demand. High mortgage rates have pushed many would-be sellers out of the market, with homeowners hanging onto their relatively low rates. The total number of homes for sale is down 19%, the biggest drop in a year and a half, and new listings are down 21%.

High rates are also sidelining prospective buyers, but not as much as they’re deterring would-be sellers. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, which measures early-stage demand through requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents, is down just 4% from a year ago.

Leading indicators of homebuying activity:

  • For the week ending August 3, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.9%, slightly higher than a week earlier but slightly lower than the half-year high hit three weeks earlier. The daily average was 7.2% on August 3.
  • Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending July 28 declined 3% from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted. Purchase applications were down 26% from a year earlier.
  • The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index was down 4% from a month earlier, and down 4% from a year earlier.
  • Google searches for “homes for sale” were up essentially flat from a month earlier during the week ending July 29, and down about 16% from a year earlier.
  • Touring activity as of July 28 was up 8% from the start of the year, compared with a 5% decrease at the same time last year, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime.

Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas:

Unless otherwise noted, this data covers the four-week period ending July 30. Redfin’s weekly housing market data goes back through 2015. For bullets that include metro-level breakdowns, Redfin analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.

  • The median home sale price was $380,250, up 3.2% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest increase since November.
  • Sale prices increased most in Miami (12.7% YoY), Cincinnati (9%), Milwaukee (8.6%), Anaheim, CA (8.5%) and West Palm Beach, FL (8.4%).
  • Home-sale prices declined in 19 metros, with the biggest drops in Austin, TX (-9.9% YoY), Phoenix (-4.2%), Detroit (-3.9%), Las Vegas (-3.5%) and Fort Worth, TX (-3.2%).
  • The median asking price of newly listed homes was $387,223, up 1.7% from a year earlier.
  • The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home was $2,605 at a 6.9% mortgage rate, the average for the week ending August 3. That’s down about 1% ($32) from the record high hit three weeks earlier, but up 19% from a year earlier.
  • Pending home sales were down 14.4% year over year, continuing a year-plus streak of double-digit declines.
  • Pending home sales fell in all but two of the metros Redfin analyzed. They declined most in Providence, RI (-29.5% YoY), Newark, NJ (-28.8%), Warren, MI (-26.4%), Boston (-26.3%) and Cincinnati (-25.1%). They increased 3.5% in Las Vegas and were flat in Austin.
  • New listings of homes for sale fell 21.3% year over year. That’s a substantial decline, but the smallest in three months.
  • New listings declined in all metros Redfin analyzed. They fell most in Las Vegas (-43.4% YoY), Phoenix (-39.7%), Providence, RI (-32%), Sacramento, CA (-31.9%) and Oakland, CA (-30.7%).
  • Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) dropped 19% from a year earlier, the biggest drop since February 2022. Active listings were down slightly from a month earlier; typically, they post month-over-month increases at this time of year.
  • Months of supply—a measure of the balance between supply and demand, calculated by the number of months it would take for the current inventory to sell at the current sales pace—was 2.9 months, the highest level since April. Four to five months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions.
  • 43.7% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, up from 42% a year earlier.
  • Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 27 days, up from 23 days a year earlier.
  • 35.9% of homes sold above their final list price, down from 43% a year earlier.
  • On average, 5.8% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, down from 6.3% a year earlier.
  • The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their final asking prices, was 100%. That’s down from 100.7% a year earlier.

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-monthly-mortgage-payments-near-record-high

Posted On Sunday, 06 August 2023 06:57 Written by
Posted On Saturday, 05 August 2023 10:03
Posted On Thursday, 03 August 2023 10:51

 

Foreign buyers purchased $53.3 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2022 through March 2023, slipping 9.6% from the previous 12-month period, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors®. Foreign buyers purchased 84,600 properties, down 14.2% from the prior year and the fewest number of homes bought since 2009, when NAR began tracking this data. Overall, U.S. existing-home sales totaled 5.03 million in 2022, down 17.8% from 2021.

“Sharply lower housing inventory in the U.S. and higher borrowing costs across the world have dented international buyers for two straight years,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, recovering international travel following the end of the pandemic will bring more foreign transactions in coming months and years.”

NAR’s 2023 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report surveyed members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2022 through March 2023. Foreign buyers who resided in the U.S. as recent immigrants or who were holding visas that allowed them to live in the U.S. purchased $23.4 billion worth of U.S. existing homes, a 31.4% decrease from the prior year and representing 44% of the dollar volume of purchases. Foreign buyers who lived abroad purchased $29.9 billion worth of existing homes, up 20% from the 12 months prior and accounting for 56% of the dollar volume. International buyers accounted for 2.3% of the $2.3 trillion in existing-home sales during that period.

The average ($639,900) and median ($396,400) existing-home sales prices among international buyers were the highest ever recorded by NAR – and 7% and 8.3% higher, respectively, than the previous year. The increase in prices for foreign buyers reflects the increase in U.S. home prices, as the median sales price for all U.S. existing homes was $384,200. At $1.23 million, Chinese buyers had the highest average purchase price, with a third – 33% – purchasing property in California. In total, 15% percent of foreign buyers purchased properties worth more than $1 million from April 2022 to March 2023.

China and Canada remained first and second in U.S. residential sales dollar volume at $13.6 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively, continuing a trend going back to 2013. Mexico ($4.2 billion), India ($3.4 billion) and Colombia ($0.9 billion) rounded out the top five.

“Home purchases from Chinese buyers increased after China relaxed the world’s strictest pandemic lockdown policy, while buyers from India were helped by the country’s strong GDP growth,” Yun added. “A stronger Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar likely contributed to the rise in sales from Mexican buyers.”

For the 15th consecutive year, Florida remained the top destination for foreign buyers, accounting for 23% of all international purchases. California and Texas tied for second (12% each), followed by North Carolina, Arizona and Illinois (4% each).

“Florida, Texas and Arizona continue to attract foreign buyers despite the hot weather conditions during the summer and the significant spike in home prices that began a few years ago,” Yun said.

All-cash sales accounted for 42% of international buyer transactions compared to 26% of all existing-home buyers. Non-resident foreign buyers (52%) were more likely to make an all-cash purchase than resident foreign buyers (32%). Two-thirds of Colombian buyers (67%) made all-cash purchases, the highest share among the top five foreign buyer nations. Approximately half of Canadian (51%) and Chinese (47%) buyers made all-cash purchases. Asian Indian buyers were the least likely to pay all cash, at just 15%.

Half of foreign buyers purchased their property for use as a vacation home, rental property, or both – up from 44% the previous year. Almost three out of five international buyers (59%) purchased detached, single-family homes.

“Fostering economic investment in culturally dynamic communities, businesses, and industry is a top priority for NAR,” said Charlie Dawson, NAR’s vice president of engagement and advocacy outreach. "Our work across the country provides members and their communities with tools, resources and data to identify and highlight international investment opportunities in U.S. real estate. This acts as a key pillar in our efforts to further support local communities to drive economic development in markets across the country. NAR and the Realtor® brand has developed a network of partnerships with over 100 real estate organizations across 77 countries providing growth opportunities by ensuring ethical and accessible markets that allow our members to make direct connections with global real estate professionals and international investors.”

View the full 2023 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report at: nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/international-transactions-in-u-s-residential-real-estate.

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. The term Realtor® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Posted On Wednesday, 02 August 2023 07:49 Written by
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