Zillow announced it has sold about half of its backlog of homes and will begin buying back stocks after shuttering its home-flipping arm, Zillow Offers. In a statement, the company said it had already sold or agreed to sell more than half of its properties, hitting a much faster pace than expected. “We are pleased with the progress of our wind-down efforts and recognize that no longer operating Zillow Offers will allow us to have a more capital-efficient balance sheet and business moving forward,” Chief Executive Officer Rich Barton said in the statement. “We see today as an opportune time to announce a share repurchase program.” Zillow had initially announced it would not buy more homes in 2021, and instead…
Mortgage lending declined in both Q2 and Q3 2021, the first consecutive decline in two years and the first time since 2000 that lending fell in Q2 and Q3, according to ATTOM’s Q3 2021 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. The report showed that 3.59 million mortgages secured by residential property originated in Q3, up 3% YOY but down 8% from Q2. It is the largest quarterly drop in more than a year, and a surprise considering the second and third quarters are usually peak buying season. Lenders overall issued $1.15 trillion in mortgages in Q3, up 11% YOY but down 6% from Q2, the first quarterly drop since early 2020. Both refinance and purchase lending fell, with refinancing taking…
Over a three-year period, between 4% and 6% of all monthly listings across the country were offered directly by their owners, a new report from Zillow found. Homes listed as “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) are advertised and sold directly by owners without an agent’s help. Roughly 63,000 homes for sale in September 2021 were FSBO, while in 2021 overall 24% of rural sellers did not use an agent. For comparison, 16% of suburban sellers did not use an agent, along with 20% of urban sellers. The report found that FSBOs are most common in rural areas. They were also more affordable overall. The median list price for an FSBO was $292,810, while the median price for a home sold…
Good Morning! Today is Monday, November 11. Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges. An SUV that drove into a Wisconsin holiday parade killed at least five people and wounded 40. Two Fox News contributors resigned in protest of a Tucker Carlson documentary featuring debunked conspiracy theories. And in mortgage and housing news… Existing Home Sales: Existing-home sales rose in October for the second month straight, though sales year-over-year are down 5.8%. Zillow Lawsuit: Investors are suing Zillow, saying they made misleading statements about the financial security of Zillow Offers. The law firm helming the claim has put out a call for investors who lost big to join in. Auctions This Week: The Treasury Department is holding auctions for two-,…
Zillow and some of its top executives are being sued for allegedly making misleading claims in advance of the closure of its iBuying arm, Zillow Offers. Zillow shareholder Dibikar Barua filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in federal court in Seattle alleging that Zillow failed to tell shareholders it was struggling to accurately predict home prices. “Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects,” the suit reads. It claims that Zillow did not disclose the “significant unpredictability in forecasting home prices” the company was struggling to overcome or its inventory backlog, both of which would have signaled to investors that…
Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index hit an all-time high since at least 2017 as the number of listed homes remains seasonally elevated compared to past years. The report shows the market speeding up, with an increasing number of homes selling in two weeks or less and demand increasing even as listings trend down. “The economy is recovering strongly and mortgage rates are still near all-time lows. Those two forces combined have caused homebuying demand to hit a record high,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. For homes sold in the four-week period ending November 14, the median sale price rose 13% year-over-year (YOY) to $357,881, up 30% from 2019 and 2.1% from October. Asking prices were also up 13% YOY, and…
Investors banking on growing home and rental prices for high returns bought 18.2% of all homes purchased in Q3 2021, up from 16.1% in Q2 and 11.2% year-over-year (YOY), according to a new Redfin report. Real-estate investors purchased a record 90,215 homes, totaling nearly $64 billion and up 80.2% YOY, the second-largest increase on record. Single-family homes made up nearly three-quarters of those purchases, an all-time high, while low-priced properties accounted for only 36%. The typical home purchased by investors cost $438,770. More than 75% of homes purchased by investors were paid for completely in cash. “Increasing home prices fueled by an intense housing shortage have created opportunities for investors to reap big profits,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari.…
Good Morning! Today is Monday, November 15. The Glasgow climate summit ended with an agreement by nearly 200 countries to cut their carbon emissions in half this decade. An appeals court barred President Biden’s vaccine mandate for large employers. A New York Times report revealed the US hid an airstrike that killed civilians in Syria. And in mortgage and housing news… Forbearances Drop Below 2%: Forbearance exits jumped week-over-week, with nearly 300,000 borrowers leaving their plans, Black Knight reported. Airbnb Will Majorly Impact 2022 Market: Analysts predict Airbnb will expand its inventory 25% in 2022, suggesting it will have a significant impact on the housing market next year. AEI Response: The AEI Housing Center published a response to FHFA’s proposed…
Airbnb is predicted to increase its inventory by 25% in 2022, giving it huge leverage to impact the residential real estate market next year, according to analyst Chris Linsell. During a presentation at the 2021 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, Linsell, senior real estate writer for TheClose.com, said Airbnb’s expansion will likely negatively impact housing affordability and inventory. “Airbnb (is) not just selling their product to consumers, they are selling to the providers of the product. They are selling twice without holding their own inventory. This unique model opens up an incredible level of scalability,” he said. “Many of those housing units are going to come from the residential real estate market.” He noted that the impact on residential housing could…
Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, November 3. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia Governor race, while New Jersey’s is too close to call. The Federal Reserve is likely to announce that it will begin steadily reducing its bond-buying program. The Atlanta Braves won the World Series. And in mortgage and housing news… Mortgage Applications Down: Mortgage applications dropped 3.3% last week, according to MBA’s weekly survey. Zillow iBuying Up In Smoke: Zillow is giving up its iBuying arm, Zillow Offers, after losing $381 million last quarter and will be laying off 25% of its staff. October Home Prices Up: Clear Capital’s October 2021 Home Data Index found home price growth was up 5.3% from last quarter, and up nearly 20%…
