By ERIN FLYNN JAY
The Dutch offer home mortgages with interest rates that go down automatically as the loan gets paid off. The premise is that as the loan amount reduces and the property’s value increases, the risk associated with the loan decreases.
Dutch-style mortgages recently arrived in the United Kingdom and have been making headlines here in the United States as people ask whether these types of mortgages could be a solution to the housing market’s woes.
Nathan Hartseil, branch manager for Main Street Home Loans in Hingham, Mass., doesn’t think so due to the fact our mortgages are based on a secondary market.
“Most of our loans are transferred or sold to a secondary market, and that’s what…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Home flipping activity is down across the nation as people who work in the industry see reduced returns on investments due to high interest rates and inflation.
Last month, ATTOM released its 2023 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which showed that 308,922 single-family homes and condos in the United States were flipped last year. That was down 29.3% from 436,807 in 2022 and is the largest annual drop since 2008.
The report further revealed that as the number of homes flipped by investors declined, so did flips as a portion of all home sales, from 8.6% in 2022 to 8.1% percent last year.
Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, said high interest rates and inflation have elevated costs for…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
The concept of mortgage porting, or transferring the terms of an existing loan over to a new property, has gained popularity as Americans locked into low interest rates try to figure out ways to navigate the current housing market.
It is estimated that trading up to a 25% more expensive home would more than double the average mortgage holder’s monthly payment at current interest rates. Even moving to a similarly-priced home in the same neighborhood would increase principal and interest payments by 40%.
Advocates for portable mortgages say if homeowners could keep their current interest rates, they would be more likely to sell their homes and buy a new one. That, in turn, would help unfreeze…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Homeownership rates for Black Americans are lagging and leaders in some cities are taking action to turn that around.
According to a report released by the National Association of Realtors last month, minority groups saw increased homeownership rates in 2022. While Asian and Hispanic homeownership rates registered all-time highs at 63.3% and 51.1%, the Black homeownership rate was 44.1%.
The homeownership rate for white Americans was at 72.3% in 2022.
Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement that the impacts of overall housing affordability affect minority buyers more than white buyers. Minority buyers often pay more of their monthly income in rent, making it harder to save for…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
If you are looking for a home and don’t have 20% to put down, you are not alone.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical down payment for first-time buyers is 8%. For repeat buyers, it’s 19%.
And for 38% of first-time buyers, saving for a down payment was the most difficult step in the process.
Sean Moss, EVP of product and operations at Down Payment Resource, says there is no one right answer to the question of how much money to put down when purchasing a home. It’s dependent on the buyer’s financial situation, as well as the loan type they plan to use.
“It’s a common misconception that 20% down is the…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
In recent years, cities in warmer weather states have boasted the nation’s hottest housing markets but now the spotlight is on one of the snowiest places in the country.
Last month, Zillow released its annual predictions for the hottest housing markets of 2024. Buffalo, NY, took spot number one based on its affordability.
The predictions are based on an analysis of home value growth, recent housing market activity, projected changes in the labor market, home construction activity, and the number of homeowner households in the top 50 metropolitan areas according to population.
Buffalo makes homeownership a real possibility, especially for younger generations looking to purchase their first home. The average home price came in at $248,445,…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
When it comes to investment properties, both fix-and-flip investors and rental property owners stand to make money this year, but their outlooks are vastly different.
According to the Winter 2023 Investor Sentiment Survey from RCN Capital, conducted by market intelligence firm CJ Patrick Company, 50% of flippers felt things were better today than last year, and 51% expected things to improve over the next six months.
In comparison, only 20% of rental property owners felt conditions were better today, and 22% expected things to improve over the next six months.
Overall, after jumping from 30% to 39% in the Fall Survey, investor optimism was basically flat with 40% of the respondents saying the environment for investing…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Compared to homeowners, renters feel bad about their finances, but in most of the country renting is the more affordable option right now.
A recent Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll shows that homeowners are nearly twice as likely to say they are getting ahead financially when compared to renters. 57% of renters and 29% of homeowners described their financial situation as “poor.”
According to Emily Peck, a markets correspondent at Axios, part of the problem is that the median asking rent in the U.S. is up 40% from the first quarter of 2020. With average hourly earnings rising only 20% during the same time period, wages did not keep up with costs.
Homeowners were…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Gross profits and profit margins remained near record levels for sellers last year but they decreased for the first time since 2011 in what could be seen as a sign of a cooling housing market.
ATTOM released its Year-End 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report on Jan. 24, which shows that home sellers made a $121,000 profit on the typical sale in 2023, generating a 56.5% return on investment.
Compare that to 2022, when the gross profit on median-priced single-family homes was $122,600 and the profit margin was 59.8%.
This drop in profits happened as the median nationwide home price rose at the smallest annual pace in more than a decade, according to ATTOM.
So is this…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY and KIMBERLEY HAAS
A recent report from Redfin shows that Baby Boomers with empty nests own double the amount of large homes compared to Millennials with kids. So what if Grandma and Grandpa moved into an accessory dwelling unit and the three generations lived together so everyone could have some space?
According to the report, Millennials with kids own 14% of the nation’s large homes, which are defined as having three or more bedrooms. Baby Boomers living by themselves or with one other person own 28% of these properties.
Partially to blame is affordability. 2023 was the least affordable year for homebuying on record, with median-priced homes costing about $410,000, according to Redfin. Additionally, 54% of…
