With mortgage rates and home prices as high as they’ve been, many would-be buyers stayed out of the housing market in 2023. But the latest LendingTree data shows that of those who remained active in the market, first-timers were much more common than those who already owned a home. Through a nationwide analysis of mortgage offers given to users of the LendingTree platform in 2023, we found that nearly 2 out of 3 went to first-time buyers. Here's what else we found. 
 Nationwide, 65.25% of mortgage offers made on the LendingTree platform in 2023 went to those who identified as first-time homebuyers.  The states where the highest shares of mortgage offers are given to first-time buyers are New York, California and New Jersey. 77.30% of offers in New York went to first-time buyers. The shares were 73.15% and 72.22% in California and New Jersey.  The states where the lowest shares of…
Posted On Wednesday, 21 February 2024 10:37 Written by
As a real estate agent, we frequently focus on what niche we will work, but have you ever given any thought to who your ideal client actually is? If you’re of the mindset that you have to take every client that contacts you, you may be wasting a lot of your time and precious energy on clients who really aren’t a great fit for you.
Think about it: If your niche is urban lofts, and someone in the suburbs wants to move farther out of the city, do you think you’ll be able to serve them well? Probably not, as that’s not your specialty. Well, the same rules apply to the type of person you chose to work with. If you’re a no-nonsense kind of person, do you really want to work with that client who seems to be followed by a swirl of gossip and drama, and…
Posted On Wednesday, 21 February 2024 00:00 Written by
Have you experienced receiving a phone call from an unfamiliar number? Nowadays, it may seem like a rhetorical question because most of us have encountered such situations. The prevalence of spam calls on our mobile devices has made it a common occurrence.
Personally, I receive these phone calls at least every few days. I often wonder about their origin and how on Earth they got my number. How about when you scroll through social media or a website, and you come across an ad for something you checked out a few days ago. It’s an item you’re genuinely interested in, but you can’t help but wonder how or why the ad is being served to you. This instance, along with the strange capability of Google and other software being able to read your mind by showing you ads for things you searched for momentarily weeks prior, are all…
Posted On Tuesday, 20 February 2024 00:00 Written by
I spoke a little bit last week about conversions and how tracking your conversion rates can really help you dial in your business. Far too often people are focused solely on lead generation, which is important, but they fail to track those leads through their system and use that data to improve their total conversion rates. So, this week I wanted to explore this just a little bit and give you some information to think about including in your business. Here are the main items you want to track to help you improve your conversions, as well as understanding the net result of your leads from all referral sources. Referral source Initial contact Credit Pull/Preliminary document collection Preapproval Contract Closed In general, you want to track all of your leads and come to a total number for your overall conversions. However, you also want to be sure you use referral…
Posted On Monday, 19 February 2024 00:00 Written by
Redfin reports new listings dropped for the first time since June and pending sales growth slowed; stagnating mortgage rates and the biggest home-price jump in over a year caused the market to lose momentum New listings dropped 1.2% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the first decline since June, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. They were up 2.7% from a year earlier, but that marks a deceleration from December’s 4.2% gain. Active listings (the total number of homes for sale) fell 0.3% from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis—the first decline in six months—and were down 4.4% year over year. Pending home sales also lost momentum in January, rising 1.1% from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis—a marked slowdown from December’s 5.1% jump. Still, pending sales were at the highest level since September 2022 and rose…
Posted On Sunday, 18 February 2024 06:25 Written by
Home prices posted their biggest annual increase in 15 months and mortgage rates rose above 7% this week. The median U.S. home-sale price rose 6.1% year over year during the four weeks ending February 11, the biggest increase since October 2022. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Mortgage rates are rising, too, exacerbating high prices to drive costs up: Daily average rates are sitting above 7%, up from 6.6% at the beginning of the month. High costs are one factor keeping would-be homebuyers on the sidelines. Pending home sales are down 7.3% year over year, one of the biggest declines in over four months, and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents–is down 18%. In addition to high housing costs, several seasonal factors kept some house hunters at home this past…
Posted On Friday, 16 February 2024 08:02 Written by
MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.77 percent. "On the heels of consumer prices rising more than expected, mortgage rates increased this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The economy has been performing well so far this year and rates may stay higher for longer, potentially slowing the spring homebuying season. According to our data, mortgage applications to buy a home so far in 2024 are down in more than half of all states compared to a year earlier.”
News Facts The 30-year FRM averaged 6.77 percent as of February 15, 2024, up from last week when it averaged 6.64 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.32 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.12 percent, up from last…
Posted On Friday, 16 February 2024 07:58 Written by
Overall, investor home purchases dropped 11% from a year earlier, the smallest decline since they began falling in 2022 Real estate investors bought 26.1% of low-priced U.S. homes that sold in the fourth quarter, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the highest share on record and is up from 24% a year earlier. By comparison, investors purchased 13.6% of mid-priced homes that sold (vs 14.3% a year earlier) and 15.9% of high-priced homes that sold (vs 15.4% a year earlier). Investors are drawn to affordable homes for the same reason as other homebuyers: They cost less, which is especially attractive when home prices and borrowing costs remain elevated. And when housing affordability is this strained, there could be more potential for value increases in the lower price tier, meaning more potential for building equity. For its analysis, Redfin determined the three price…
Posted On Thursday, 15 February 2024 06:15 Written by
It is no secret that children are attracted to video games like moths to light. From Minecraft to Roblox, children of today spend hours in front of screens both large and small, oftentimes much to the dismay of their parents and teachers. Whether you have children of your own or not, you may believe these kids are using their time idly; however, it is actually quite the contrary. Believe it or not, they are likely learning while playing their favorite game, and furthermore, we as adults can learn a lot about these intuitive young individuals based on what they play. This concept is part of a trend I first identified in the 1980s that I call gamification. Believe it or not, gamification is an increasing part of all of our lives in this new technological frontier, and is poised to educate adults just as much as video games educate children.
The Psychology of Play in Human Development Many…
Posted On Thursday, 15 February 2024 00:00 Written by
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