Yajnesh Rai

More Single Ladies Put a Down Payment On It | Realtor Magazine

The share of single female home buyers in the last three years has increased from 15 percent to 18 percent, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Single women outpace single men when it comes to home purchases, Jessica Lautz, NAR’s vice president of demographics and behavioral insights and research, told ABC News. “When I tell people, they are surprised,” she says about the data. Women are “feeling confident you don’t need a wedding ring to purchase a home. They want the stability of purchasing a home but don’t need the marriage.”

While single women purchase homes more often than single men, they tend to buy multigenerational properties that are less expensive, Lautz said.

Nuria Rivera, 34, told “Good Morning America” that she decided to buy a $420,000 three-bedroom home in Salt Lake City because she sees homeownership as a critical component to long-term financial health. And Denise Dmuchowski, 37, said she purchased a $340,000 two-bedroom condo in Arlington, Va., on her own because she was tired of wasting her money on rent. “For me, the thing I struggled with the most when buying as a ‘singleton’ is you don’t know if your situation is going to change,” Dmuchowski said. “I would make excuses that kept me from buying, like, ‘Oh, well what if I meet someone and he already owns a place?’ or ‘What if I want to take a new job in a different city?’ Thinking too much about what could happen kept me from committing, and I was afraid of feeling trapped because I owned. Finally a friend simply said, ‘If something changes or if you want to move, then you rent it out or sell it. You figure it out,’ and I thought, ‘You know what, you’re right!’”

Home Shoppers: We’re Not Afraid of a Recession | Realtor Magazine

A growing threat of recession isn’t deterring buyers from jumping into the spring market. Nearly 70 percent believe the U.S. will enter a recession within the next three years, but overall, buyers remain optimistic that the housing market will fare better than it did in 2008, according to a new realtor.com® survey.

 

© imran kadir photography – Moment/Getty Images

 

Nearly 30 percent of more than 1,000 consumers surveyed say they expect a recession to begin sometime in 2020. “The U.S. economy has been on a hot streak for the last seven years, producing steady economic growth and low unemployment rates,” says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “Historically, this type of growth hasn’t continued indefinitely, and U.S. home shoppers think it will come to an end sooner rather than later.”

Fifty-six percent of home shoppers believe real estate prices have reached their peak. Consumers who expect a recession to come sooner rather than later were the most likely to have this view, Hale says. “When the U.S. enters its next recession, it is unlikely that the housing market will see a sharp nationwide downturn,” Hale says. “The same record low inventory levels that have made buying a home so difficult recently will likely protect home prices in the next recession.”

But some buyers who fear another recession may enter the spring market with “eyes wide open” and “slightly pessimistic,” the realtor.com® survey reports. “This is a stark contrast to the years leading up to the last recession, when ‘irrational exuberance’ was more common and yet another reason to expect that the next downturn will be very different for the housing market than the last,” the report notes.

Since the recovery from the Great Recession started in 2010, home prices have increased by 49 percent. The U.S. economy has grown by $3 trillion, and 18.7 million more jobs have been created. “This persistent optimism toward homeownership is likely a key reason that home shoppers are confident and looking to buy, even as they expect a recession is approaching,” the report notes.

45% of Millennials Expect Their First Home to Be Their ‘Dream Home’ | Realtor Magazine

Young adults have waited longer than past generations to jump into homeownership. As they wait, that may have upped their expectations over what their home will look like for when they finally do take the plunge into ownership. Forty-five percent of millennials surveyed say they expect their first home to be their “dream home,” according to a new survey of 2,000 millennials between the ages of 22 and 37, released by Northshore Fireplace.

 

Sharon McCutcheon – Unsplash

 

Millennials are willing to move to a different area to get this piece of their American dream, too. Sixty-five percent of millennials say they are willing to relocate to find a home they can afford, and 41 percent say they are willing to move to a different state.

But whether millennials will actually be able to afford their dream home from their first purchase may be questionable. Half of millennials surveyed say they have only $2,000 or less saved for a down payment. Millennials believe their first home will cost $218,152 (average). The median cost of an existing home in the U.S. is $249,500, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ housing report, based on February data.

In a separate study by Porch.com, a home improvement website, millennial buyers were the most likely compared to other generations to pay more for must-have amenities. Many of the amenities they most sought out related to convenience or comfort, such as a private backyard or patio (they are willing to pay $7,009 more for a home with one); a swimming pool (they’d pay $6,346 more for one); central air conditioning and heating ($6,194); and solar panels ($5,469), according to the survey. 

Some millennials may be willing to wait until they can afford their dream home. Their top fears delaying ownership: the burden of paying a mortgage (41 percent); unforeseen maintenance issues with the home (35 percent); being locked into one location by buying (17 percent); and the upkeep of the home (7 percent).

Mortgage Rates Post Biggest Drop in a Decade | Realtor Magazine

© REALTOR® Magazine

 

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage plunged 22 basis points this week, the largest one-week drop in 10 years, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage survey.

“The Federal Reserve’s concern about the prospects for slowing economic growth caused investor jitters to drive down mortgage rates by the largest amount in over ten years,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Despite negative outlooks by some, the economy continues to churn out jobs, which is great for housing demand. We have recently seen home sales start to recover and with this week’s rate drop, we expect a continued rise in purchase demand.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 28:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.06 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 4.28 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.40 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.57 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 3.71 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.90 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.75 percent, with an average 0.3 point, falling from last week’s 3.84 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.66 percent.

How to Get Rid of Pet Smells Fast | Realtor Magazine

Beloved household animals can leave behind smells that could turn off potential buyers when a home is for sale. Homeowners—who may have become “nose blind” to the smells—may want to take a few steps to remove any lingering smells prior to their first showing. Here are a few tips from HouseLogic.com, a home improvement resource:

The Power of Pets in Real Estate

Start scrubbing.

Scrub the bare floors and walls where pets have left their mark with vinegar, wood floor cleaner, or an odor-neutralizing product (available at pet supply stores), HouseLogic recommends. They also suggest a 1:9 bleach-to-water solution on surfaces like cement floors or walls.

Wash drapes and upholstery.

The odors can seep into fabrics. Wash or dry-clean all the fabric window coverings, and steam-clean any upholstered furniture to try to remove any smells. Remove or replace pet bedding, too.

Clean carpets.

Shampoo carpets and rugs, or hire professionals to do it. If the smell still lingers, you may need to consider removing the carpets and padding completely. If you do, scrub the subfloor with vinegar or an odor-removing product before installing any new carpeting or padding so that the smell doesn’t return.

Let fresh air in.

As you clean, open all the windows in the home to let fresh air circulate.

Paint or seal.

“When heavy-duty cleaners haven’t eradicated smells in drywall, plaster, or woodwork, add a fresh coat of paint or stain, or replace the drywall or wood altogether,” HouseLogic.com suggests. It may help smells from reemerging.

Put down some pet rules.

While a house is on the market, you may want to put some limits on where a pet is able to go in the home to prevent smells from returning and limit clean ups. Crate a dog while you’re out and, if possible, limit pets to a certain floor or room. Replace kitty litter daily—not just scooping up clumps, but actually replacing it.

FHA Tightens Up on Lending: Thousands of Mortgages to Be Impacted | Realtor Magazine

The Federal Housing Administration has announced tighter lending standards, which could put up to 50,000 mortgages in jeopardy annually. The FHA insures mortgages for first-time home buyers and often borrowers with low credit scores and high loan payments relative to their incomes. The clampdown is on lending rules that the FHA believes are allowing too many risky loans to be approved.

The FHA says it will begin to flag more loans as “high risk.” Loans will go through a rigorous manual underwriting process, the agency says. The FHA claims it wants to ensure that it isn’t issuing loans to borrowers who can’t repay and better protect itself against an uptick in defaults that could ultimately deplete its reserves.

About 40,000 to 50,000 loans a year will likely be affected by the tighter underwriting standards, or about 4 percent to 5 percent of the FHA-insured mortgages originated annually, Keith Becker, the FHA’s chief risk officer, told The Wall Street Journal.

“We have continued to endorse loans with more and more credit risk,” Becker told WSJ. “We felt that it was appropriate to take some steps to mitigate the risks we’re seeing.”

In 2016, the FHA loosened up its underwriting standards, such as removing a prior rule that required manual underwriting for mortgages with credit scores below 620 and debt-to-income ratios above 43 percent.

“Since that happened, we have observed a steady increase in the endorsement of higher-risk loans,” Becker says. In a November report to Congress, the FHA revealed threats to its program that could drain its resources, including a sharp increase in borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios and a drop in average borrower credit scores.

In the previous fiscal year, the average credit score for borrowers of FHA-insured mortgages dropped to 670, the lowest in a decade. Nearly a quarter of FHA-insured mortgages were issued to borrowers with a debt-to-income ratio higher than 50 percent.

Where Home Sellers Are Seeing Some of the Highest Profits | Realtor Magazine

Homeowners are getting richer. In the fourth quarter of 2018, about one-quarter of all properties with a mortgage were considered “equity rich,” meaning the amount owed on the property was 50 percent or less of the home’s estimated market value, according to research from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm.

 

© Prapass Pulsub/Moment/Getty Images

 

Some home sellers are deciding it’s a good time to cash in on their gains. Sellers in San Francisco saw the highest gains at sale in January, selling for an average of $325,000 more than that they originally paid, according to ATTOM’s research. That amounts to a 73 percent return, on average, on the typical homeowner’s original purchase price in that area.

Homeowners in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif., market saw the next highest gain at sale—$218,000 higher than the original purchase price, or an average 56.6 percent return. In San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif., homeowners saw an average gain of $164,000 above what they originally paid (a 43.6 percent return), while owners in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash., saw $160,000 in gains (a 62.7 percent return).

 

© ATTOM

 

 

5 Tips for Decorating the Living Room | Realtor Magazine

A living room is to be a comfortable, welcoming place in the home. But there’s an art to decorating it, according to a new article at Houzz, a home remodeling website. Houzz offers up some of the following designer tips on how to decorate a living room to make the space more inviting and stylish:

jackietrains – Morguefile

 

1. Mix light and dark colors.

An all-white living room can feel too “clean” and unapproachable, while a dark living room can feel like a cave, the article notes. But a combo of mixing darker and lighter colors—such as white with black–can bring depth and balance to a space.

2. Contrast neutrals.

Decorate a living room using several contrasting neutrals to make it feel more luxurious. For example, white walls can mix with caramel leather, brass hardware, gray sofa, and blue-gray cabinets. The contrasts can highlight the different finishes and undertones.

3. Add in texture.

To make a living room feel more cozy, add some various textures to the space, such as a plush throw near harder textures, like metals and stone. Pillows can be one way to easy way to add texture. But also look to include leather, cotton, wool, metal, stone, glass, plants, and other textures, the article notes.

For more home staging and design tips, visit the Styled, Staged & Sold blog.

4. Bring in some color.

Adding shots of color can make a living room feel more relaxed and inviting. For example, the article notes that blue tends to be a universal color that most people like and that easily contrasts with warm elements, like leather and wood. It also can sometimes work as a neutral up against other accent colors.

5. Watch your distance.

Even in the largest of living rooms, be mindful of how spread out the furnishings are from one another. Make the space feel like a place for intimate conversations and cozy gatherings. Houzz designers say a good distance between seating areas is about 8 feet. “If you have several sofas or a sofa and side chairs, the seating area should have a diameter of 8 feet, or 4 feet out from the center,” the article notes. The article also notes that fewer and smaller seating pieces closer together tend to work better than one supersized piece, like a 12-seat sectional sofa.

Mortgage Apps Soar to Record High for Third Week | Realtor Magazine

Mortgage applications set a record for the third consecutive week as lower rates drew out more refinancers and home buyers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted application index.

Total mortgage application volume rose 1.6 percent last week compared to the previous week, and applications are now 1.8 percent higher than a year ago, according to the MBA. Many of those gains have come from refinancers, but more purchase applications are also appearing. Purchase applications are 1 percent higher than a year ago.

Rates are lower than a year ago. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.55 percent last week compared to 4.64 percent the previous week. That is the lowest rate since February 2018, the MBA reports.

The wealthy are largely being lured to the housing market. The average loan size also set a record for the third straight week, reaching $327,500, the MBA reports. The median price of a home sold in January was $247,500, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

“Entry-level housing supply remains weak and is likely hindering some would-be first-time buyers from finding a home,” said Joel Kan, the MBA’s associate vice president to economic and industry forecasting. “This, along with faster growth in the higher price tiers, is why the average loan application size has risen to a new high for three straight weeks.”

Mortgage Rates Have Dropped ‘Dramatically’ Since Start of the Year | Realtor Magazine

© National Association of REALTORS®

Mortgage rates edged lower to kick off the start of the spring homebuying season this week. Borrowing costs are now lower than what they were a year ago.

“Mortgage rates have dipped quite dramatically since the start of the year and house prices continue to moderate, which should help on the home buyer affordability front,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The combination of improving affordability and more inventory than the last few spring selling seasons should lead to improved home sales demand.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 21:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages:averaged 4.28 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 4.31 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.45 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.71 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 3.76 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.91 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.84 percent, with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.68 percent.