Real Estate Information Archive

Best Time to Sell? When Competition Is at an All-Time Low

Friday, July 10, 2020

by Christie Cannon

Best Time to Sell? When Competition Is at an All-Time Low

In a recent survey of home sellers by Qualtrics, 87% of respondents said they were concerned their home won’t sell because of the pandemic and resulting economic recession. Of the respondents, 51% said they are “seriously worried.” That concern seems reasonable considering the current condition of the economy. The data, however, is showing that home purchasers are still very active despite the disruptions American families have experienced this year.

The latest Existing Home Sales Report published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that 340,000 single-family homes sold in this country last month. NAR’s most recent Pending Sales Report (homes going into contract) surpassed last month’s number by over 44%, which far exceeded analysts’ projections of 15%. ShowingTime reported that appointments to see homes (both virtually and in-person) have increased in every region of the country and are up 21.4% nationwide over the same time last year.

While buyer activity is surging, the number of listings has fallen to an all-time low. Zelman Associates, in their latest residential real estate report, revealed that housing inventory as a percentage of households has fallen to 1.2%, which is half of the long-term average and lower than any other time in our history.

Bidding Wars Heating Up Again

With buyer demand growing and the supply of available homes shrinking, purchasers are again finding themselves needing to outbid other buyers. NAR, in a recent blog post, revealed:

“On average, there were about three offers on a home that closed in May, up from just about two in April 2020 and in May 2019 (2.3 offers).”

Bidding wars guarantee houses sell quickly at a price near or even slightly over the listing price.

Bottom Line

If you’re thinking of selling, don’t be concerned about putting your house on the market right now. There’s no better time to sell an item than when demand for it is high and supply is low. It is exactly at that time when you will negotiate your best possible deal.

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Taking Advantage of Homebuying Affordability in Today’s Market

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

by Christie Cannon

Taking Advantage of Homebuying Affordability in Today’s Market

Everyone is ready to buy a home at different times in their lives, and despite the health crisis, today is no exception. Understanding how affordability works and the main market factors that impact it may help those who are ready to buy a home narrow down their optimal window of time to make a purchase.

There are three main factors that go into determining how affordable homes are for buyers:

Mortgage Rates
Mortgage Payments as a Percentage of Income
Home Prices

The National Association of Realtors (NAR), produces a Housing Affordability Index, which takes these three factors into account and determines an overall affordability score for housing. According to NAR, the index:

“…measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home at the national and regional levels based on the most recent price and income data.”

Their methodology states:

“To interpret the indices, a value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. An index above 100 signifies that family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment.”

So, the higher the index, the more affordable it is to purchase a home. Here’s a graph of the index going back to 1990:The green bar represents today’s affordability. We can see that homes are more affordable now than they have been at any point since the housing crash when distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) dominated the market. Those properties were sold at large discounts not seen before in the housing market.

Why are homes so affordable today?

Although there are three factors that drive the overall equation, the one that’s playing the largest part in today’s homebuying affordability is historically low mortgage rates. Based on this primary factor, we can see that it is more affordable to buy a home today than at any time in the last seven years.

If you’re considering purchasing your first home or moving up to the one you’ve always hoped for, it’s important to understand how affordability plays into the overall cost of your home. With that in mind, buying while mortgage rates are as low as they are now may save you quite a bit of money over the life of your home loan.

Bottom Line

If you feel ready to buy, purchasing a home this season may save you significantly over time based on historic affordability trends. Let’s connect today to determine if now is the right time for you to make your move.

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Forney, Fort Worth and Frisco: Millennials are moving to DFW, report says

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

by Christie Cannon

Article by: Brian Womack – Staff Writer, Dallas Business Journal

North Texas is welcoming thousands of millennials to the area, though the Dallas may not have benefited as much recently. That's according to some new research.

Four cities in North Texas ranked among the top 20 in the nation for net migration, according to the latest analysis by SmartAsset, a financial-information provider. Texas was the clear No. 1 among the states.

Among cities, Fort Worth came in at No. 11; McKinney took No. 13; Irving was No. 18, and Frisco grabbed No. 20. The rankings, which had even stronger showings by Austin, Houston and San Antonio, were based on Census Bureau data from 2018.

Millennials are playing an increasingly important role in local economics – including Dallas-Fort Worth – as companies look for young talent in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, marketing and finance. It’s a generation that is inclined to move more – and that could be the case even more as COVID-19 shakes up people’s lives.

Still, Dallas itself did not make the top 25 list. And that came after being at the top of the rankings in the release last year.

The city had a net migration of number of negative 1,922, even with more than 12,000 moving into Dallas from another state, a spokesperson said.

Yet there have been fluctuations with the report. Dallas didn’t make the list the previous two years before grabbing the top spot, the spokesperson said. And there was some change in the approach to the data. SmartAsset looked at those between the ages of 25 and 39 to account for the generation getting older. Formerly, it was between 20 and 34.

New research by the National Association of Realtors puts the Dallas area among the top ten markets for millennial homebuyers during the pandemic. Others in Texas included the Austin and Houston metros.

“Record-low mortgage rates have improved housing affordability, bringing more buyers into the market, and multiple offers for starter homes could become common in these metro areas,” said NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, in the report.

Millennials make up about 30 percent of North Texas, and 44 percent of the renters in that group can afford to buy a home, the research said.

In the SmartAsset report, the winners, amid the moves, tend to be cities with no income tax – making Texas locales a stronger choice. Other states of choice include Washington, which was No. 2, along with Colorado, Georgia and Florida in the top five.

New York City fared the worst in the nation. It had a net migration losses of more than 50,000. Chicago was No. 2 while others in the top ten included Washington, D.C., San Diego, Calif., and Provo, Utah.

Earlier this year, Fred Balda, president of Dallas-based Hillwood Communities, talked up the arrival of millennials in the local region. The firm is one of North Texas’ largest developers of masterplanned residential projects.

Families aren’t making up as much of the customer base these days, Balda said.

“The millennial buyers are coming in droves now, and they’re buying off the phone, so how we market to them is a little bit different than how we’ve dealt in the past,” Balda said in an interview published in early March.

Check out the list here!

christiecannon.com

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Three Reasons Homebuyers Are Ready to Purchase This Year

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

by Christie Cannon

Three Reasons Homebuyers Are Ready to Purchase This Year

A recent survey by Lending Tree tapped into behaviors of over 1,000 prospective buyers. The results indicated 53% of all homebuyers are more likely to buy a home in the next year, even amid the current health crisis. The survey further revealed why, naming several reasons buyers are more likely to move this year (see graph below):Let’s break down why these are a few of the key factors motivating buyers to actively engage in the home search process, and the corresponding wins for sellers as well.

1. Low Mortgage Rates

The biggest reason potential homebuyers indicated they’re eager to purchase this year is due to current mortgage rates, which are hovering near all-time lows. Today’s low rates are making it more affordable than ever to buy a home, which is a huge incentive for purchasers. In fact, 67% of respondents in the Lending Tree survey want to take advantage of low mortgage rates. This is no surprise when comparing historic mortgage rates by decade (see below):Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac recently said:

“As the economy is slowly rebounding, all signs continue to point to a solid recovery in home sales activity heading into the summer as prospective buyers jump back into the market. Low mortgage rates are a key factor in this recovery.”

2. Reduced Spending

Some people have also been able to save a little extra money over the past few months while sheltering in place. One of the upsides of staying home recently is that many have been able to work remotely and minimize extra spending on things like commuting expenses, social events, and more. For those who fall into this category, they may have a bit more saved up for down payments and closing costs, making purchasing a home more feasible today.

3. Re-Evaluating Their Space

Spending time at home has also given buyers a chance to really evaluate their living space, whether renting or as a current homeowner. With time available to craft a wish list of what they really need in their next home, from more square footage to a more spacious neighborhood, they’re ready to make it happen.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers?

With these three factors in play, the demand for housing will keep growing this year, especially over the summer as more communities continue their phased approach to reopening. Buyers can take advantage of additional savings and low mortgage rates. And if you’re thinking of selling, know that your home may be in high demand as buyer interest grows and the number of homes for sale continues to dwindle. This may be your moment to list your house and make a move into a new space as well.

Bottom Line

If you’re ready to buy or sell – or maybe both – let’s connect to put your plans in motion. With low mortgage rates leading the way, it’s a great time to take advantage of your position in today’s market.

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Interest Rates Hover Near Historic All-Time Lows

Friday, May 22, 2020

by Christie Cannon

Interest Rates Hover Near Historic All-Time Lows

Interest Rates Hover Near Historic All-Time Lows [INFOGRAPHIC] | MyKCM

Some Highlights

Mortgage interest rates have dropped considerably this spring and are hovering at a historically low level.
Locking in at a low rate today could save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your home loan.
Let’s connect to determine the best way to position yourself for a move in today’s market.

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Spring Home Buying Recovering From Coronavirus

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

by Christie Cannon

"We estimate that there are currently 29 states that have a housing deficit, and when we consider only these states, the housing shortage grows from 2.5 million units to 3.3 million units"

Texas currently is experiencing a 4.81% deficit in housing supply

- from the Freddie Mac Report - The Housing Supply Shortage: State of the States

Contact one of our expert agents today if you are looking to buy or sell and want to know your options during the Coronavirus. Our team is always here to help and educate!

972-215-7747 | cannonteamhomes.com

The novel coronavirus was unable to dampen the interest of homebuyers in the past week.

Even as people follow stay-at-home guidelines, the number of people filing home purchase applications rose 12 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That's the strongest level in almost a month.

"The ten largest states had increases in purchase activity, which is potentially a sign of the start of an upturn in the pandemic-delayed spring homebuying season, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions slowly ease in various markets,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “California and Washington continued to show increases in purchase activity, with New York seeing a significant gain after declines in five of the last six weeks.”

Helping to boost purchase interest was a decline in mortgage rates to 3.43 percent for a 30-year mortgage, a record low in MBA's survey.

"Refinance activity declined 7 percent, as rates for refinances likely remained higher than those for purchase loans, " said Kan. "Lenders are still working through pipelines at capacity, and observed changes in credit availability for refinance loans have also in turn impacted rates.”

Overall demand for mortgage applications fell 3.3 percent from the prior week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990.

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Thinking of Selling? Now May Be the Time!

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

by Christie Cannon

Thinking of Selling? Now May Be the Time.

The housing market has started off much stronger this year than it did last year. Lower mortgage interest rates have been a driving factor in that change. The average 30-year rate in 2019, according to Freddie Mac, was 3.94%. Today that rate is closer to 3.5%.

The Census Bureau also just reported the highest homeownership rate since 2014 for people under 35. This is evidence that owning their own home is becoming more important to Millennials as they reach the age where marriage and children are part of their lives.

According to the latest Realtors Confidence Index Survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyer demand across the country is strong. That’s not the case, however, with seller demand, which remains weak throughout most of the nation. Here’s a breakdown by state:Demand for housing is high, but supply is extremely low. NAR also just reported that the actual number of homes currently for sale stands at 1.42 million, which is one of the lowest totals in almost three decades. Additionally, the ratio of homes for sale to the number purchased currently stands at 3.1 months of inventory. In a normal market, that number would be nearly double that at 6.0 months of inventory.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers?

Buyers need to remain patient in the search process. At the same time, buyers must be ready to act immediately once they find the right home.

Sellers may not want to wait until spring to put their houses on the market. With demand so high and supply so low, now is the perfect time to sell your house for the greatest dollar value and the least hassle.

Bottom Line

The real estate market is entering the year like a lion. There’s no indication it will lose that roar, assuming inventory continues to come to market.

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Best Time to Sell? When Competition Is at an All-Time Low