More Sellers Are Dropping Asking Prices As Monthly Mortgage Payments Rise 42% YOY

As affordability declines, the hot housing market is starting to see signs of cooling. In April, 15% of home sellers dropped their asking prices, a 5.9% YOY increase, Redfin reported. The increase is a six-month-high and the largest annual gain on Redfin’s record, which dates back to 2015. But buyers still outnumber sellers, so the market remains competitive and homes priced affordably continue to sell for more than asking. New listings of homes for sale were down 6% YOY and have dwindled since mid-March. The median asking price of newly listed homes rose 16% YOY to $408,458, a new all-time high. So even as more sellers are dropping prices to entice buyers, their returns are still significant. “Homebuyers continue to…

Broker Confidence Dropped In February

Broker confidence fell for the second straight month in February, though brokers are “cautiously optimistic” about the future, according to RISMedia’s February Broker Confidence Index (BCI). The index, which is scaled 1 to 10, fell to 7.5 from January’s 7.9 and December 2021’s 8.2. For the 3,000 brokers surveyed, rising interest rates were not a big cause for concern. They felt that rising rates won’t hurt demand considering current market conditions. Brokers’ biggest worries were inflation and inventory, with a nod to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. “The continued lack of supply has really created a bubble,” Quincy Smith, a broker with ERA Matt Fischer in Yuma, Arizona, told RISMedia.  “With the equity market starting what appears to be a…

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…