Vast Majority Of Renters Say They Want To Buy
Recent data from Fannie Mae shows a large majority of current renters intend to one day buy a house. In fact, just 18 percent of surveyed renters said they plan to remain renters forever. So what are some of the obstacles renters face when thinking about whether or not they should begin taking steps toward homeownership? Well, the upfront costs of buying a home were the top answer, with 45 percent of respondents citing coming up with money for a down payment and closing costs as the obstacle that keeps them from buying. However, an almost equal amount said they were most concerned about their credit. Other answers included insufficient income, too much debt, confusion about the buying process, and job security. In short, current renters want to buy but are worried they aren’t financially secure enough to become homeowners. And, though that is a legitimate concern, Fannie Mae also points out that their pervious research has shown many potential home buyers overestimate the size of the down payment they’ll need and are unaware of many of the programs available to help first-time home buyers reach their goal of becoming homeowners. More here.
The Race To Find The Perfect Place
What Homeowners Say Is Their Top Regret
Homeowners Often Overestimate Their Home’s Value
American homeowners may be overestimating their home’s worth, according to new data. The research shows appraisals in August were 1.35 percent lower than homeowners expected. There are a couple of reasons this could be happening. First, there has been a lot of attention paid recently to how far prices have risen over the past few years. But, while this is true, it is not necessarily true in every neighborhood, in every city, across the country. So, homeowners who have been hearing that prices are going up, may have a misperception of just how much their home’s value has risen. As evidence of this, data shows homeowners in the West thought their homes would appraise for less than what they eventually did, while homeowners in the Midwest were disappointed to find their appraisals didn’t meet their expectations. Another possible reason for the misperception is that homeowners are generally attached to their homes. And, if you’ve invested time, money, and maintenance into a property, when it comes time to sell or refinance, you’re naturally going to – not only hope for the best possible outcome – but expect that everyone else who looks at your house will see it the way you do and value you it just as much. Unfortunately, though, that may not always be the case. More here.
U.S. Homeowners See Big Returns From Selling
The real estate market is hard to time. That’s why you should buy a house because you want to become a homeowner and stay somewhere for awhile, not because you hope to make money off the eventual sale of your house. However, new data shows that recent home sellers who’ve lived in their homes for around 7 years have been seeing big returns. In fact, nationally home sellers sold their homes for 24 percent more than what they originally paid. And, in some markets, that percentage is far higher. For example, Oakland’s typical seller sold for 78 percent more than what they paid and, in Portland, sellers saw a 65 percent gain after living somewhere for 9 years. Most of the largest returns were seen in markets in the West, though Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Boston also made the list. It should be noted, however, that though these numbers may make it seem easy to cash in on your house, prospective home buyers should know that the housing market tends to move up-and-down over the years. Homeowners who are selling a home they bought 7 years ago were buying at a time when home prices had recently plummeted, which makes their gains more understandable and less likely to repeat. More here.
How Long Will You Stay In Your New House?
Americans See A Good Opportunity To Sell
For many years, when home prices and mortgage rates were both lower than normal, home buyers had a historic opportunity to find a great deal and lock in an excellent rate. These days, though mortgage rates remain historically low, home prices have rebounded and, in some markets, surpassed previous peaks. Which explains why the most recent results of Fannie Mae’s monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index show more Americans saying it is a good time to sell a house than buy one. In fact, the number of respondents who said it was a good time to sell was up 8 percent over the month before. At the same time, the number who said it was a good time to buy fell. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s senior vice president and chief economist, says the survey has seen its results reversed over the past few years. “In the early stages of the economic expansion, home selling sentiment trailed home buying sentiment by a significant margin. The reverse is true today,” Duncan said. “The net good time to sell share is now double the net good time to buy share, with record high percentages of consumers citing home prices as the primary reason for both perceptions.” But though that may sound like bad news for potential buyers, the more American homeowners put their homes up for sale, the more likely price increases will slow down and offer buyers some relief. More here.
Georgia Market; Low Inventory and Higher Sale Prices
Georgia housing indicators for July are in, and the market in Georgia mirrors the now two-year national trend of low inventory and higher sale prices:
New Listings increased 3 percent to 14,873.
– Pending Sales increased 14.7 percent to 11,772.
– Closed Sales were stable, posting a 1 percent increase to 11,256.
– Days on Market decreased 9 percent to 50 days.
– Median Sales Price increased 4 percent to $208,500.
– Average Sales Price increased 4.5 percent to $256,125.
– Inventory levels decreased 13 percent to 38,169 units.
– Months’ Supply of Inventory was down 20 percent to 3.7 months.
Click here to access the full report for July.
One Quarter Of Homeowners Are Equity Rich
Equity can be loosely defined as the value of your house minus how much you owe on the mortgage. Which means, as you make your monthly mortgage payments, you’re gaining a larger share of your home’s value. In addition, if your home’s price goes up, so does your equity. Ultimately, the more you have, the better. That’s why the numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q2 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report are good news for homeowners. The report shows more than 14 million U.S. properties were equity rich, meaning their remaining mortgage amount was 50 percent or less than the estimated value of their house. That’s 320,000 more than the previous quarter and nearly 25 percent of all U.S. properties with a mortgage. Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM, says there are a couple of reasons behind the improvement. “An increasing number of U.S. homeowners are amassing impressive stockpiles of home equity wealth, enjoying the benefits of rapidly rising home prices while staying conservative when it comes to cashing out on their equity – homeowners are staying in their homes nearly twice as long before selling as they were prior to the Great Recession, and the volume of home equity lines of credit are running about one-third of the level they were at during the last housing boom,” Blomquist says. More here.