Not only have vacation homes been a benefit for owners in escaping the stresses of life, those recently selling are pocketing some impressive gains on the way out of the closing. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market or a National Economy. The …Read more
Existing home sales continue to mimic a slow-leaking tire this year, as sales have fallen short in four of the eight months thus far in 2018 versus a year ago. Year-to-date sales are down 1.23 percent. Though sales are down, rising prices are compensating lending with the median up 5.1 percent compared to the same …Read more
Everyone’s top-10 list of anything ranked will vary since we all have differing wants, needs, likes and dislikes. Whenever any top-10 list is presented, prior to trusting the rankings, always focus on the selection, inclusion and exclusion criteria. A good example of personal preference is my own avoidance of cold climates and weather. As stated …Read more
Ever get that Déjà Vu all over again feeling – like you have been there and done that? Déjà Vu is French for Already Seen –and that appropriately describes what is going on in housing markets and interest rates today. Up front we need to recognize that interest rates in recent years and today are …Read more
While much of the U.S. bricks and sticks retail industry is struggling, given the structural shift in shopping, not included in that disarray are stores where everything is $1. I am also old enough to remember when my weekly allowance was $1. A single dollar in those days, however, bought a lot more than today …Read more
Jobs are everything to the economy. Period. Job growth, however, is not uniform across the country. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market. Nor is job growth the same nationwide. But where job growth is strong, so is the demand for real estate. …Read more
Cheap energy prices and lifestyle are once again leading to a move back to ‘burbs’ in America. Front and back yards are back in style for some, along with landscaping, vegetable gardens and trees. There are tens-of-thousands of Millennials in hot pursuit. As a result, demand is robust in many of the U.S. suburban housing …Read more
Existing home sale slipped 2.2 percent in June 2018 versus a year ago to 5.38 million sales on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis (SAAR) according to National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Sales dipped 0.6 percent sequentially from May on a SAAR. From an unadjusted basis, housing sales in the first six months totaled 2.631 million, …Read more
There was much debate and rhetoric regarding the potential impact on higher-valued homes arising from passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Creation Act of 2017. The thought was that by cutting the allowable interest deduction from $1 million of total loans on the primary and secondary home(s) to $750,000, along with limiting a total …Read more
Fortunately, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the MBA update their quarterly and annual forecasts monthly for residential lending volumes – both refinance and purchase transactions. Driving these lending forecasts is the expectation of future interest rates. Since 2018 is almost one-half over there is not too much deviation in interest rate expectations for the year, …Read more