Choosing a house to buy is an important decision. After all, you’re committing a lot of money and several years of your life to a particular property. And so, home buyers tend to know what they want, whether it be a large kitchen, an appealing outdoor space, or an ample amount of storage. But surprisingly, large majorities of home buyers spend too little time paying attention to the neighborhood surrounding the home they’re considering. And, make no mistake, the neighborhood you move to will play an important role in how much you enjoy your new home. Surrounding amenities, schools, and safety are just a few of the factors that can lead to a case of buyer’s remorse. And, according to a recent survey, there are lot of buyers who’ve experienced just that. In fact, 36 percent of respondents said they’d have chosen a different neighborhood had they known more about the one they moved to. One reason this is so common is the number of buyers who do very little neighborhood research before buying. For example, less than half of recent home buyers searched photos of different parts of the neighborhood, visited hot spots, researched police reports, or took a trip to the area after dark. If you want to be certain you’re making a smart choice, do your homework and consider the area outside your potential new house just as much as you do the inside. More here.
What Do Homeowners Do With Their Equity?
One of the main arguments in favor of buying a home is equity. When you rent, you’re sending your monthly payment to a landlord. As a buyer, your monthly mortgage payment is helping to build equity. Of course, many homeowners wait and then, following the sale of their house, use their accumulated equity to help buy their next home. But you can also use a home equity loan to access the value your home has accrued. So what do homeowners who take home equity loans do with the money? Well, a recent survey asked borrowers and came up with an answer. Not surprisingly, the top reason homeowners took out loans was to fund home improvement or remodeling projects. This is a common strategy since taking out a loan to improve your house means you may be able to recoup some of the cost if, and when, you sell the home. Other common answers included money to invest in another property, emergency expenses, retirement funds, and debt consolidation. More here.
Changes Come To The Luxury Home Market
The high end of the real estate market has followed a different path since the financial crisis and housing crash. But while the luxury home market was able to avoid some of the ups-and-downs the rest of the market has endured, things are beginning to change. In fact, one recent analysis shows the number of homes for sale priced at or above $1 million dollars fell significantly during the first quarter of this year, as compared to the year before. And, if inventory continues to drop, the luxury home market could see some of the spiking prices and competition for available homes that buyers have found in more affordable price ranges. However, those this may be true, the effects have, so far, been far more muted than in the overall market. For example, the average luxury home was on the market for 82 days during the last quarter. That’s faster than the same time last year but much longer than the overall average. For comparison, the National Association of Realtors’ most recent numbers show the typical existing home was on the market for just 30 days, with 50 percent of homes sold in less than a month. More here.
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Buying More Affordable Than Rent In Most Markets
When it comes time to make a move, most of us are choosing between renting a place or buying a house. And making that calculation has a lot to do with where you are in your life and what your goals are. But it also has a lot to do with your financial situation. Because of this, ATTOM Data Solutions analyzes the average rent for a three-bedroom property, weekly wage data, and home price information in 540 counties nationwide in an effort to determine whether renting or buying is the more affordable choice. According to their most recent Rental Affordability Report, buying a home is still the more affordable choice in a majority of markets. However, the data is a bit more complicated than that. In fact, though buying is more affordable in the majority of markets, it isn’t in a lot of the country’s most populated counties. The data shows that many markets where the population is above 1 million have affordability challenges not seen in areas further from major metropolitan centers. More here.
The Total Value Of All The Homes In the US
Perhaps you’ve never thought about how much all the homes in the country would cost if their values were totaled. But, according to recently released data from Zillow, that number is now $31.8 trillion – and that’s up $2 trillion from the year before. Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas says the national housing stock hit record heights in 2017. “Strong demand from buyers and the ongoing inventory shortage keep pushing values higher, especially in some of the nation’s booming coastal markets,” Terrazas said. In fact, the New York and Los Angeles markets alone account for more than 8 percent of the value of all U.S. housing. According to the report, each are now worth more than $2.5 trillion. Among the cities seeing the most rapid growth, Columbus led the way, with a 15.1 percent increase – though San Jose, Dallas, Seattle, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Charlotte also grew by more than 10 percent over the past year. More here.
Contract Signings Improve In October
Among the many indicators used to track the health of the housing market, the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index is unique. That’s because, rather than count the number of homes that sold in any given month, it counts the number of signed contracts to buy homes. So what’s the difference? Well, contracts are typically signed about a month before the actual closing date. Which means, pending sales offer a glimpse of where future sales might be. And, according to the most recent report, sales might soon see a lift. That’s because the number of contracts signed in October was up 3.5 percent and marked the first increase in three months. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said the improvement was encouraging but challenges still remain. “Home shoppers had better luck finding a home to buy in October, but slim pickings and consistently fast price gains continue to frustrate and prevent too many would-be buyers from reaching the market.” In short, buyer demand still outweighs the number of homes available to buy but recent news offers some reason to believe improvements are on the horizon. More here.
