The largest financial hurdle for most Americans is the purchase of their first home. That cost, however, varies from state –to-state. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market, nor is there such a thing as typical cost for a starter home. The same goes for the …Read more
For most people the housing question is either to rent or buy. Buying is not for everyone, however. It has material transactions costs, typically requires a down payment, pre-requisite for relatively good credit and an income net of existing debt service to pay the monthly principle and interest along with property taxes, insurance, homeowner or …Read more
Affordability today is the key word today when it comes to housing – that is the LACK of affordability. Despite job growth greater than the 40-year average, rising wages (up 3.1 percent in the prior 12-months) and lower interest rates today compared to a year ago, affordability has seen housing sales drop 3.35 percent year-to-date. …Read more
The last U.S. Census a decade ago found the median dwelling unit across the country was 36 years old. The following table shows the relative age of the U.S. housing based on the year built. The data are from 2015, so the percentage built since 2014 is understated. For the U.S. as a whole, less …Read more
New home sales (on a preliminary basis) dropped 7.8 percent in May 2019 Vs April and were down 3.7 percent compared to a year ago to 626,000 homes on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New home prices were essentially unchanged from a year ago, with the median for …Read more
Closing costs are intrinsic to the transaction process of real estate. These costs, however, vary from property to property, state to state and city to city. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market (or a National Economy). The same is true regarding transaction …Read more
While existing home sales rose 2.5 percent from April to May 2019 on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis (SAAR), they were down 1.1 percent when compared to May 2018 according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Sales totaled 5.34 million in May (SAAR) versus 5.40 million a year ago. Total sales (raw, not seasonally …Read more
Summertime is beach time as American’s head to the sandy strips of water-edged real estate around the country. While some own their vacation homes, timeshares or condominiums, multiple others desire a permanent beach destination. Just as with mountain resorts, however, high housing costs or the perception there-of limit people searching for listings. To help with …Read more
Other than the home, a person’s vehicle (car-truck-SUV) is typically the second most valuable or costly asset of the household. Nationwide, a garage adds an average $23,211 to the value of home according to a just-released study by Redfin. That equates to a value gain in homes with garages of 12 percent (on average), with …Read more
This is the first installment for 2019 of the Must Have quarterly report for those in commercial real estate For me this is the most timely read quarterly information regarding Commercial Real Estate — Dr. Glenn Mueller’s Real Estate Cycles Q1 2019 report. The report contains valuable for office, apartment, retail, industrial and hotel …Read more