Emmanuel Fonte | Music | Art | Leadership
If music be the food of love, play on. Emmanuel Fonte website is about music, art, real estate, architecture, design and decor. Occasionally, I talk about my other passion, hockey.
The buzz in the real estate market is recovery. Is it real? Bloomberg TV talks with Jed Kolko, chief economist of Trulia, about why housing is bouncing back in many regions where household job growth is strong, driving demand and boosting home prices.
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A suburban neighborhood is urban sprawl’s biggest weapon. A large subdivision built a few miles out of town so that residence can be “safe” from the hustle and bustle of the city seems harmless and like a great way to make some money for developers. Years go by, and commercial developers figure out that these residents are living far away from the services they need. These developers build new Wal-Marts, Targets and other big box stores in order to connect the residents of the subdivision with town, and before ya know it, BAM, your little home town is a commercialized, traffic filled suburban city.
It has been commonly believed for years that the wealthy move out of the city and live in the ‘burbs, but according to this infographic, this trend is changing. People are getting smart and realizing that having to drive into town every day is not a fun chore; it would be easier to live in town. This is a great thing. We should be trying to live as close to our goods and services as possible, instead of having the big boxes move to us.
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Results from NAHB’s What Home Buyers Really Want survey and a combination of Census Bureau/HUD data show that new homes generally do a good job of satisfying the typical buyer’s desire for living space, especially when compared to existing homes on the market.
A simple way to get an idea of how new and existing homes match up with buyer preferences is to look at the share of homes above a particular size threshold. For example, 62 percent of the recent and prospective home buyers in NAHB’s survey want a home that’s at least 2,000 square feet—exactly the same as the share of new single-family homes started in 2011. In comparison, only 42 percent of existing owner homes (either owner-occupied or vacant for sales) are of this size.
But not all existing homes are available for purchase at a given time. Of the homes on the market, only one-third have 2,000 square feet or more of living space.
A result like this shouldn’t be too surprising. Half of all homes in the U.S. are over 37 years old, and preferences for things like size, amenities, location of particular amenities, and floor plans change over time. Builders who don’t do a good job of responding to current preferences are not likely to stay in business for long, so new homes really should match what current buyers want in most cases. Looking at the size of homes is an easy way to demonstrate this, because it’s one characteristic that’s readily available and quantifiable.
Looking at the distribution in more detail, the size of home most commonly wanted by buyers is in the 2,000 to 2,500 square foot range, which is also the most common size for new single-family homes started. Existing homes, on the other hand, are more likely to be under 1,600—or even under 1,200—square feet, a size relatively few buyers say they want.
To view this original article, visit the NAHB blog, Eye on Housing
by THE KCM CREW
This week, we are going to look at the three reasons to sell your house now instead of waiting: demand is strong, supply is low and new construction will soon be your competition. – The KCM Crew
Part III – New Construction Will Soon Be Your CompetitionOver the last several years, most homeowners selling their home did not have to compete with a new construction project around the block. As the market is recovering, more and more builders are jumping back in. As an example, the National Association of Realtors revealed, relative to last year, year-to-date new home sales are up 19%.
These ‘shiny’ new homes will again become competition as they can be an attractive alternative to many of today’s home purchasers.
Here are the numbers regarding new construction about to come to market from theCensus Bureau:
As we mentioned, new construction can be strong competition to a seller of an existing home. It may make sense to list your home before this new inventory makes its way to market.
This week, we are going to look at the three reasons to sell your house now instead of waiting: demand is strong, supply is low and new construction will soon be your competition. – The KCM Crew
A seller’s ability to sell their home in today’s real estate market will be determined by both the supply of homes for sale and the demand for that housing. In real estate, supply is represented by the current month’s supply of homes for sale (the number of homes for sale divided by the number of homes sold in the previous month).
While there is no steadfast rule that will apply to pricing in every category of housing, here is a great guideline:
In most parts of the country, supply is dropping like a rock. According to the National Association of Realtors, total housing inventory is below a five months’ supply. This is almost 20% below inventory numbers of just a year ago and at levels we haven’t seen since 2005.
Based on the table above, we can see that the supply/demand ratio is showing a sellers’ market where prices appreciate. This has created positive movement in housing values in most parts of the country.
Sellers have a great opportunity right now. Historically, inventory increases dramatically as we approach summer. Selling now while demand is high and supply is low may garner you your best price.
Tomorrow, we will look at the competition new construction will create.
This week, we are going to look at three reasons to sell your house now instead of waiting: demand is strong, supply is low and new construction will soon be your competition. – The KCM Crew
When selling anything, owners can only hope there is a strong demand for that which they are selling. The great news for today’s home sellers is that the current housing market is experiencing a stronger demand than we have seen in some time.
The spring housing market of 2013 is projected to be one of the best in years.
The National Association of Realtors(NAR) reports monthly on both pending sales (houses going into contract) andexisting home sales (actual closed sales).
In the first quarter of 2013, pending sales have consistently outperformed the numbers reported in 2012. Contract activity has been above year-ago levels for the past 22 months. Before this year, the last time the index showed a higher reading was in April 2010, shortly before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit.
NAR also revealed that closed home sales have been above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months and sales are at the highest level since the tax credit period of 2009-2010.
This increase in demand has created bidding wars for properly priced homes across the country. This has resulted in two favorable changes for home sellers:
If you are thinking about selling your home, don’t miss out on the strong demand that exists in the current spring market.
Tomorrow, we will look at the supply of housing inventory that is available.
The housing market is making key progress in home prices and sales, but officials warn that the overall recovery remains “fragile” in the Obama administration’s Housing Scorecard for March.
“Despite the positive news, we have important work ahead since there are so many families and individuals still struggling,” says Kurt Usowski, HUD deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs.
In 2012, home owner equity grew by more than $1.64 trillion. Rising home values have lifted 1.7 million home owners above water again, the Housing Scorecard notes.
Home prices and home sales have shown large gains in the past year. Existing-home sales in February were up 10 percent year-over-year, the highest since November 2009. New-home sales were up 12 percent year-over-year in February, which is the second highest level since April 2010, the administration’s report noted.
More home owners are taking advantage of foreclosure mitigation programs. For example, more than 1.5 million home owner assistance actions–including loan modifications and early delinquency interventions–have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program. More than 1.1 million home owners have received a permanent loan modification through the HAMP program, saving about $546 on their mortgage payments each month.
The blossoming housing recovery stands to benefit from efforts to revamp U.S. immigration laws. A Mortgage Bankers Association study projects that the number of foreign-born homeowners will increase by 2.8 million in the 10 years ending in 2020, versus the 2.4 million gain in the previous decade.
Meanwhile, new research by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals concludes that the increase could be even bigger if more opportunities for homeownership are made available to undocumented workers.
According to that study, immigrants hold more positive views of homeownership than native-born Americans and, consequently, are more likely to buy a house the longer they live in the country. An immigration bill giving non-citizens legal status could generate more than $100 billion in new mortgages and create 3 million more home buyers over the next several years, NAHREP estimates.
The MBA’s study, which did not take the potential impact of new immigration laws into consideration, projects that by 2020, 61 percent of Hispanic immigrants who arrived here nearly 40 years earlier will own a home.
USC public policy professor Dowell Myers, who penned the MBA study, concludes, “We’ve probably underappreciated this powerful force that is already resident here and is so upwardly mobile that it pushes up the housing market from the bottom. There’s this incremental momentum that’s built up.”
Source: “Immigrant Dreams to Keep Sparking U.S. Housing Recovery,” Business Week
The Millennial generation is about 90 million strong—forming the largest demographic wave in the country’s history—and some reports suggest they’re readying for home ownership.
Millennials’ entrance into home ownership has been delayed due to the recession, high unemployment, and high student loan debt. They’ve been living in their parents’ homes, as well as delaying marriage and having children, surveys show. But the pent-up demand from this generation is starting to surface, says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup.
Homebuilders, like PulteGroup and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, recently revealed surveys of what Millennials want in their future homes. In general, the surveys reveal that this generation isn’t wowed by luxury and prefers technology and flexible space.
Pulte Homes found in its research that more than half of Millennials who decided to buy a home last year from the homebuilder said their main reason was to invest and build equity.
As for what they’re looking for in a home, they appreciate an efficient use of space, an open layout for entertaining, ample storage space, and outdoor space that extends their living areas, according to the Pulte survey of 531 adult renters between the ages of 18 and 34.
“What may be different about this buyer is that they may have more stuff,” says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup. “It’s different kind of stuff: technological gadgets, gaming. They also do work from home.”
The Better Homes and Gardens survey of 1,000 adults ages 18 to 35 found that Millennials don’t like traditional floor plans and prefer unique spaces. They like to do home improvements themselves and are “fix-it” types.
One in five said that “home office” is a better suited name for their dining room, according to the Better Homes and Gardens survey. What’s more, 43 percent said they want to transform their living room into a home theater.
The survey also showed they’d rather have extra space in their kitchen for a TV than a second oven. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed say they wouldn’t purchase a home without up-to-date tech capabilities.
Source: “GenY is finally in a mood to buy (houses),” USA Today