Love Your Bathroom the Kitchen and Bath Month!

Its October, and that means it’s National Kitchen and Bath Month! The National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Remodeling Impact Report shows homeowners the benefits they reap – both financially and emotionally - from showing their bathrooms a little love.

Adding a whole new bathroom to a home brings in a Joy Score of 10! Joy Scores rank the of amount of enjoyment homeowners get from a remodel; they range from 1 and 10, and higher figures indicate greater joy from the project.

Pending Home Sales Flatten

WASHINGTON (October 26, 2017) — Pending home sales were unchanged in September, but activity declined on an annual basis both nationally and in all major regions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the quest to buy a home this fall continues to be a challenging endeavor for many home shoppers. “Demand exceeds supply in most markets, which is keeping price growth high and essentially eliminating any savings buyers would realize from the decline in mortgage rates from earlier this year,” he said. “While most of the country, except for the South, did see minor gains in contract signings last month, activity is falling further behind last year's pace because new listings aren't keeping up with what's being sold.”
As has been the case most of the year, Yun says the ongoing supply constraints continue to squeeze prospective buyers the most at the lower end of the market. Last month, first-time buyers were 29 percent of all transactions, which matched the lowest share in exactly two years¹. Furthermore, existing sales were down notably on an annual basis in the price range below $250,000, but up solidly the higher up the price bracket².

“Buyers looking for a little relief from the stiff competition from over the summer may unfortunately be out of luck in the coming months,” said Yun. “Inventory starts to decline heading into the winter, and many would-be buyers from earlier in the year are still on the hunt to find a home.”

                           
The PHSI in the Northeast rose 1.2 percent to 94.5 in September, but is still 2.4 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the index climbed 1.4 percent to 102.9 in September, but remains 2.5 percent lower than September 2016.
Pending home sales in the South decreased 2.3 percent to an index of 115.9 in September and are now 5.0 percent below last September. The index in the West grew 1.9 percent in September to 102.7, but is 2.9 percent below a year ago.
¹According to NAR's Realtors® Confidence Index.
²September existing-home sales by price range: $0-$100,000: -17.0%; $100,000-$250,000: -5.9%; $250,000-$500,000: 2.1%; $500,000-$750,000: 7.9%; $750,000-$1,000,000: 9.7%; $1,000,000+: 10.6%

Source: NAR news

Home Prices Lead in the West

According to August data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index released Wednesday, U.S. home prices rose 0.7 percent compared to last month. The 0.2 percent increased previously reported in July was changed upward to 0.4 percent.

Seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from July 2017 to August 2017 for the nine census divisions ranged from -0.1 percent in the New England Division to +1.4 percent in the Pacific division.

The Mountain and West North Central regions both experienced a 0.5 percent increase while the East North Central, East South Central, and Middle Atlantic regions had an increase of 0.6 percent. The South Atlantic’s house prices grew 0.4 percent compared to July 2017.

Over a 12-month period, changes were all positive, ranging from +5.0 percent in the Middle Atlantic divisions to +9.3 percent in the Pacific Division.

The HPI from the FHFA covers single-family housing data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The index is derived from transactions involving conforming conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by the GSEs. The sample is limited by the ceiling amount for conforming loans purchased and mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), VA, or other federal entities are excluded for not being considered conventional.” FHFA provides a complete historical and HPI release dates for 2017 and 2018 as well as states included in each region. 

The monthly index values and appreciation estimates from FHFA are also available in tables and graphs which can be found here.

Source: DSnews.com

Home Prices: Rising in Energy-Producing States

Each edition of Arch MI’s Housing and Market Review features proprietary MSA-level data and State-Level Risk Indexes estimating the probability of house prices being lower in a given Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or state within two years.

According to Arch MI’s market research, no housing bubble is currently forming in the U.S. The Arch MI Risk Index suggests the average of probable home price declines in the 401 largest cities remain low at 4 percent. “Housing markets across the nation remain healthy and are projected to stay that way through 2018 at least” the report reads.

Risk remained concentrated in regions with high amounts of energy-extraction, including North Dakota and Oklahoma, which both saw improvements. Arch MI attributes this to a gradual recovery in energy prices.

Alaska experienced a worsening in risk due to weakened employment in the energy and government sectors and as a result, has the highest likelihood of house price declines at 39 percent. North Dakota and Wyoming follow at 33 percent and 31 percent risk respectively. Also worth mentioning is West Virginia, landing a score of 26 percent risk, and -1 percent decreased risk compared to last quarter..

In the top 50 metros, the highest risk scores occurred in Fort-Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee, both landing at 35 percent. Arch MI attributes this to home prices growing faster than income.

Home prices are increasing in every state since the recovery, but it has been uneven; 14 states are still below their peaks prior to recovery. Of the 401 MSAs studied by Arch MI, 46 percent are below their nominal peak. Ten percent of metros are seeing prices 20 percent higher than their prior peak and the majority of job growth is occurring in the largest and most globally integrated cities.

Learn more at Precision Realty & Associates LLC

What is the Value of a Home Warranty?

Landmark Home Warranty protects your home's systems and appliances ... but do you know how much you save by having it?
Learn how we get you such great savings and why getting a home warranty on your home is truly worth it with this video.

Why Fall Is the Best Time of Year to Buy a Home

Fall is arguably the best time of year for many reasons. 
The weather becomes cooler, the leaves begin to change, football season begins, and pumpkin-flavored everything is in abundant supply. But there's another great reason to love fall that might be less obvious...it's the best time of year to purchase a home.

	Prices Are Typically Lower The concept that buyers can get a better bang for their buck in the fall has been a popular notion for some time, but two recent reports validated that line of thought with data from actual home sales. According to a 2015 report by RealtyTrac, sales prices are typically 2.6% below fair market value during October — a steeper discount than any other month of the year. Another report by NerdWallet found that sales prices drop about 2.96% from summer to fall, which is roughly an $8,300 discount for the median home. It's also worth noting that while listing prices don't decrease much, sales prices do, and that's the price that counts for potential buyers.
	There's Less Competition The majority of people buy a home in spring or summer, when inventory is traditionally high. This gives families time to make their move before the school year starts, but the tradeoff is that buyers are faced with strong competition and often pay higher than asking price during that time. People who buy in fall, however, have less competition, and sellers are more motivated. This means more negotiating power for the buyer, which often results in a better deal.
	There's Still Inventory It's true that the inventory of homes for sale is at its peak during spring and summer, but when you buy in the fall, there's still a decent supply of homes left to choose from. Buying a home in the fall gives you the best of both worlds — lower prices and less competition but still enough inventory to find the home you want. Let's talk about why purchasing a home sooner rather than later could be a smart move for you. Contact me today!

September 2017 Housing Minute

Ongoing supply and affordability challenges and Hurricane Harvey’s impact on sales activity in the Houston area led to a decline in existing-home sales and contract signings in August.

Existing-home sales and contract signings both stumbled in July as stubbornly low levels hampered the housing market and kept home prices rising at a robust pace. Hurricane Harvey contributed to a 1.7 percent drop in August 2017 home sales but broader issues with rising home prices and declining inventories continue to hold sales back, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says.