Low-income redevelopment zones continue to benefit from home price appreciation around the country, and some are faring better than their neighbors.
ATTOM’s Q2 2023 review of low-income Opportunity Zones targeted by Congress for economic redevelopment found that 61% of the 3,909 data zones saw price increases. In half of those, prices were up 5% or more.
Opportunity zones exist in and around low-income neighborhoods where the federal government offers tax breaks to advance economic development. Overall, these areas follow home price trends in other parts of the country.
Values declined in the last half of 2022 before recovering in 2023, a pattern that has impacted most U.S. neighborhoods. But prices in many zones rose faster than the nationwide trend both…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
It is being speculated that once interest rates drop, a number of buyers will jump into the housing market, causing another surge in prices. We spoke to some industry leaders to get their take.
Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, said this is true.
“Buyers who were priced out of the housing market with rates at nearly 7% will be able to purchase. Due to limited housing inventory, the housing market may see a rebound in multiple offers, which will put upward demand on housing prices,” said Lautz.
She said a significant portion of homes are already selling at above the asking price.
“Currently, there are…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A lack of inventory continues to put pressure on the housing market but there are some potential sources out there.
During a mid-year outlook webinar held on Thursday afternoon, Todd Teta, chief product and technology officer for ATTOM, and Mike Simonsen, founder and president of Altos Research, spoke about the low supply of homes for sale. Simonsen said 2023 is projected to end with fewer homes available than at the start of the year.
“Each week this year there are more buyers than sellers and inventory has been falling until very recently,” he said.
Teta and Simonsen talked about four potential sources for inventory moving forward.
Newer Owners
People are staying in their homes for less time,…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A report released on Thursday shows that residential lending continues to slow across the United States.
According to ATTOM’s first-quarter 2023 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, 1.25 million mortgages were originated in Q1. That number was down 19% from Q4 2022.
“Lenders saw opportunities dwindle even more during the first quarter as the longest slowdown in mortgage activity in at least 20 years continued,” Rob Barber, chief executive officer at ATTOM, said in a statement. “In one sense, it wasn’t that unusual, given that wintertime is usually the slow time of the year for lenders. But the latest slide extends a run that started two years ago and has carved away nearly three-quarters of the home-mortgage…
By CHUCK GREEN
To home sellers who agonizingly watched the prices of their abodes recede recently, leaving a nasty gash in profits, there’s little to say but “ouch.”
Want a touch of solace? Apparently, the waters are rippling with plenty of others in the same predicament.
A first quarter 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report released by ATTOM showed that on median-priced single-family home and condo sales across the country, profit margins dipped to 44.2%, sagging from 48.7% in the fourth quarter of last year.
A silver lining is that the typical investment return stayed relatively high. In fact, it was nearly double where it was four years ago. From the peak of 56.1% in the second quarter last year, the…
Property taxes are on the rise, another source of financial stress for Americans.
According to new data released by ATTOM Data, total property taxes on single-family homes across the United States increased by 4% in 2022, totaling $340 billion.
This marks a significant increase from the previous year, with the average property tax bill for a single-family home rising to $3,719.
Property taxes were highest in the Northeast, with New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut topping the list. The lowest were seen in the South, with Alabama, West Virginia, and Arkansas having the least expensive property taxes.
Increasing taxes are an effect of soaring home prices, which have increased by 19% over the past year.
Though homeowners have benefitted from…
By SCOTT KIMBLER
It’s a mixed bag when it comes to predictions for the mortgage market as the economy continues to balance out after the pandemic.
ATTOM recently held a conference where research performed by their company, Altos Research, and others were compiled to provide a more complete picture of what the remainder of 2023 may look like in terms of new home construction, home sales, and mortgage rates. Inflation, the job market, supply and demand, as well as the steady rising of rates by the Federal Reserve, along with other factors, were taken into account.
Unlike some predictions of 2023 that paint a picture of a distraught housing market, this research shows the year as having mortgage challenges, but…
By PATRICK LAVERY
Interest rates are rising as the spring homebuying season starts in many parts of the country.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated in his testimony before U.S. lawmakers this week that although the central bank’s policymakers have yet to decide how large their next rate hike will be, “the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated” based on the latest economic data. They will be meeting on March 21 and 22.
“As I have mentioned in my testimony, the data we have seen so far this year suggests that the ultimate level of rates will need to be higher. We still have some more data to come in between now and…
By CHUCK GREEN Next time you run into someone in the local Starbucks who happens to have their home on the market, be a sport and plop an extra scone into their bag, huh? A little butter and jam, too? After all, sellers probably aren’t riding the wave of a sugar high induced by whatever they will pocket in their real estate transactions as experts say the price of an average home in the United States is decreasing. The cities expected to be the most heavily hit include: San Francisco: -10.36% Seattle: -9.55% San Diego: -7.24% Los Angeles: -5.61% Denver: -5.60% Dallas: -4.34% Portland: -4.25% Las Vegas: -3.69% What is contributing to the drop in housing prices? B. George Ratiu,…
By CHUCK GREEN According to experts, not only is the housing market expected to continue cooling this year, the forecast remains chilly entering 2023. Real house prices jumped 10.5% in September and logged a 60.6% YOY increase, according to First American’s Real House Price Index. But prices fell in 15 out of the top 50 markets they analyze. Mortgage originations saw their largest annual decline in 21 years this fall, further evidence that the housing boom is coming to an end. Originations fell 47% YOY in Q3, according to ATTOM Data’s Q3 2022 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. Quarter-over-quarter they were down 19%, the sixth consecutive drop. So, what in the name of the cranky barometer’s up? For one thing, surprise, surprise,…
