Building For Families: These Cities Are Leading The Way

By ERIN FLYNN JAY As the housing crunch continues throughout the country, some cities are planning for growth when it comes to building homes for average families. Mark Buskuhl, owner of Ninebird Properties, a Texas-based investment firm, said Dallas is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation and has been a top destination for families looking to relocate. “With its booming job market and affordable cost of living, it’s no surprise that Dallas is planning for growth when it comes to building housing for the average American family,” he said. Buskuhl said the city has implemented initiatives to increase housing options, such as the “GrowSouth” program which focuses on revitalizing and developing housing in southern Dallas. Additionally, the city…

Learn More About The Construction Lending Market With CEO Brian Mingham

The CEO of a national end-to-end risk mitigation company says their platform opens doors to lenders that want to enter the construction market. Leaders at CFSI Loan Management in Colorado say that at most lending institutions, construction loans make up less than 10% of originations due to the challenges and complexities of managing these transactions. The company has completed more than 150,000 project inspections, 50,000 funding draws, and 25,000 project feasibility reviews. More than $15 billion in construction projects are being managed through CFSI’s construction lending platform, according to a press release. Brian Mingham, founder and CEO of the company, was working in the mortgage business when the idea for CFSI was conceived. He says he saw the value in…

Sellers Feel The Pain Of Price Drops

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,…

Hitting The Market During The Holidays? What Sellers And Buyers Need To Know

By KIMBERLEY HAAS The housing market traditionally cools during the holiday season as people focus on family and friends but industry leaders say it is a good time for potential sellers and buyers to weigh their options. After mortgage rates recently surged above 7%, real estate activity and consumer sentiment took a nosedive. Home delistings hit a record high in November as sellers and buyers pulled out of the market, according to journalists Lily Katz and Ben Walzer at Redfin. Markets where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic are now cooling the fastest. In Sacramento, Calif., an average of 3.6% of active listings were delisted per week during the 12 weeks ending on November 27, up 1.6 percentage points from one year earlier.…

Will The Housing Market Boom Or Bust In 2022?

By KIMBERLEY HAAS As the spring selling season begins, people in the mortgage and real estate industries are speculating on whether 2022 will be a year of growth or the start of the end for a red-hot market that has favored sellers and forced up the price of housing in many parts of the country. Numbers from the start of the year look promising for growth. On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. A 19.2% annual gain was reported in January, up from 18.9% in December. The 10-City Composite annual increase was 17.5%, up from 17.1% in December. The 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain, up from 18.6% in the previous…

Home Prices Are Up But Remain Far Below April 2006 Peak

Homes are less affordable than they were a year ago, but they largely remain more affordable than at the peak of the 2006 housing boom, according to First American Financial Corporation’s Real House Price Index. In January, the RHPI rose 27% from the year prior, making it the fastest-growing RHPI – and fastest YOY decline in affordability – since 2004. This was driven by a 21.7% increase in home prices and a 0.7% rise in rates. The RHPI measures price changes for single-family properties adjusted for the impact of income and interest rate changes on consumer house-buying power. As such, it also serves as a measure of affordability. Household income was up 5% from January 2021, but that gain was…

Rents, Mortgage Payments Jumped In February

Average monthly asking rent in the U.S. leaped to new heights in February, up 15% year-over-year to a record high of $1,901, though mortgage growth outpaced it yet again, according to Redfin. Rent growth saw its largest annual increase since Redfin began tracking rental data in February 2019. Mortgage payments rose 31% YOY to $1,716, also the biggest increase recorded by Redfin. Mortgage payment increases outpaced rent increases in 44 of the 50 largest U.S. metros. “The cost of housing is going up for homebuyers and renters, but it’s going up more quickly for homebuyers,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.  “That’s because mortgage rates have increased sharply, and will likely continue to do so. When the cost of homeownership…

Millennials Dominate In America’s Biggest Metros

Despite challenging conditions for first-time homebuyers, Millennials are actively engaging in the housing market, especially in the nation’s largest metros, according to a new analysis from LendingTree. The analysis found that Millennials– people aged 25 to 40 in 2021– make up a majority of homebuyers in most of the US’s largest metros, especially Denver, Seattle, and Boston.  Of mortgages offered in Denver, 63.3% were offered to Millennials. In Seattle, 61.35% were offered to Millennials, and in Boston, 61.08%. Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa have the smallest share of buyers in this age group, at 46.54% across all three markets. San Francisco, New York, and San Jose have the greatest portion of older Millennials, with an average age of 33.51%, while Indianapolis,…

Wishing For A White Christmas? Home Sales Will Likely Stay Warm This Winter, As Will The Weather

By KIMBERLEY HAAS As people throughout the country wish for a white Christmas this upcoming weekend, it is expected that home sales will stay warm in many parts of the nation throughout the winter. Continued bidding wars, the Great Resignation, and Millennials on the market will all likely contribute to keeping home prices high during a season where sales typically cool off until spring. And above-average temperatures expected in many parts of the United States may also keep buyers on the market at a time when they would typically try to avoid moving due to snow and ice. Bidding Wars Redfin reported on Friday that in November, 59.5% of home offers written by their agents faced competition, which is the…

A New Gold Rush For Lenders? Benefitting From The Great Resignation

By KIMBERLEY HAAS As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and workers reevaluate their commitment to metropolitan life, lenders in smaller cities stand to benefit from what is being termed the “Great Resignation.” It is estimated that about 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September after months of dramatic departure numbers, which means those employees are looking for and taking new jobs, often choosing to live in a different location if they have the option of working remotely. Since 87% of employees say they would like to work remotely at least one day a week, and one in three workers would not want to work for an employer that required them to be onsite full time, potential homebuyers are taking these…