REI INK

U.S. COMMERCIAL FORECLOSURES SPIKE IN SEPTEMBER 2024 WITH SIGNIFICANT YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 102 views

Commercial Foreclosures Increased 15 Percent from Last Month and 48 Percent from Last Year; States with the Most Commercial Foreclosures in September 2024 Included California, New York, and Florida ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, released an updated monthly report on U.S. Commercial Foreclosures. The report reveals that commercial foreclosures remain elevated and are still considerably higher than pre-pandemic figures. Starting in June 2023, foreclosure numbers saw a sharp increase, peaking at 752 in May 2024, before settling at 695 in ATTOM’s most recent data for September 2024. This recent surge suggests renewed financial stress or changes in commercial real estate dynamics. Historical U.S. Commercial Foreclosure Activity Historical Commercial Foreclosure OverviewThe historical data on commercial foreclosure activity from January 2014 through September 2024 reflects significant fluctuations, largely shaped by economic conditions and major events like the COVID-19 pandemic. The period from 2014 to 2015 was marked by consistently high commercial foreclosure numbers, peaking at 889 commercial foreclosures in October 2014. This early surge points to heightened financial distress in the commercial real estate sector during that time. However, a gradual decline began in 2016, with monthly commercial foreclosure totals falling below 500 by late 2016, continuing this trend into the years before the pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 is clearly reflected in the data for 2020. By April 2020, commercial foreclosure activity plummeted to just 144 as government interventions, moratoriums, and economic relief efforts took hold. Throughout 2020 and into early 2021, commercial foreclosure numbers remained at historically low levels. However, as pandemic-related measures were lifted and economic pressures resurfaced, commercial foreclosures began to rise again by mid-2021. By June 2023, commercial foreclosure activity saw a sharp resurgence, with numbers steadily climbing and reaching a peak of 752 in May 2024. This recent surge likely reflects ongoing financial challenges in the commercial real estate market, with factors such as rising interest rates, inflation, and shifts in demand for commercial spaces contributing to the increase. As of September 2024, the total stands at 695, signaling continued high commercial foreclosure activity, although slightly lower than earlier in the year. State-by-State Commercial Foreclosure ReviewIn September 2024, California led the nation with 264 commercial foreclosures, reflecting a 12% increase from the previous month and a staggering 238% jump compared to the same time last year. New York followed with 92 foreclosures, marking a 59% rise month-over-month and a 48% increase year-over-year. Florida recorded 70 commercial foreclosures, up 21% from the previous month and 49% higher than a year ago. Texas saw 45 foreclosures, a 15% increase from the previous month, though this was a 13% decline compared to last year. Pennsylvania had 32 foreclosures, experiencing a significant 129% spike month-over-month and a 33% rise year-over-year. Media Contact:Megan HuntMegan.hunt@attomdata.com SOURCE ATTOM

Read More

LESSEN JOINS FORCES WITH PROPERTY MELD THROUGH VENDOR NEXUS PROGRAM, VALIDATING INDUSTRY’S PUSH FORWARD TO STRENGTHEN PROPERTY MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 100 views

Property Meld, the leading property maintenance operations platform, proudly announces a groundbreaking partnership with Lessen, the largest vendor provider in the nation, with a market value of $2 billion. As part of Property Meld’s revolutionary Vendor Nexus program, this partnership is set to drive even greater efficiency and value for property managers across the U.S. “Lessen’s partnership with Property Meld continues to show how Vendor Management and Sourcing can be solved by thinking out of the box and working with great operators like Lessen. We’re excited for their contributions as we continue to help Property Maintenance Operations take a leap forward,” Ray Hespen, CEO and Co-founder of Property Meld. Lessen, known for its nationwide network of over 30,000 qualified affiliates, has long been a leader in providing comprehensive solutions for property maintenance, repairs, and renovations. With technical integrations already underway, property managers using Property Meld can expect to see Lessen’s services available soon, giving them access to a vast network of top-tier professionals in core trades such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, general handyman, and appliance repair. This strategic partnership will introduce Lessen’s network to property managers across multiple markets, expanding their access to high-quality vendors and creating new opportunities for operational excellence. “We’re excited to partner with Property Meld’s Vendor Nexus program, combining two leaders in property management to elevate service for thousands of single-family managers. By offering access to our 30,000+ highly rated affiliates, we’ll help Property Meld customers improve efficiency, reduce risk, and eliminate frustration with our trusted network,” said Sean Miller, CRO at Lessen.  About Lessen: Lessen simplifies and improves real estate care with cutting-edge technology and a nationwide network of 30,000+ affiliates. We offer efficient solutions for repairs, maintenance, renovations, and transitions, all backed by data-driven insights to maximize property value. Learn more about Lessen at www.Lessen.com. About Property Meld: Property Meld is the leading property maintenance operations software for the property management industry. Through cutting-edge technology, the company helps property managers streamline maintenance operations, improve communication, and reduce costs, all while enhancing the experience for tenants and vendors alike. Property Meld is trusted by hundreds of property managers across the U.S. to automate maintenance workflows, improve efficiencies, and drive better operational outcomes. Learn more at www.propertymeld.com.

Read More

Pending Home Sales Jumped 2.5% in September, the Biggest Monthly Increase in Over a Year and a Half

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 92 views

Redfin reports that existing home sales, which are a lagging indicator, fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4,023,067. That’s the lowest level on record aside from the start of the pandemic. Pending home sales jumped 2.5% month over month in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest increase since January 2023, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. They rose 3.1% year over year, the biggest annual increase since May 2021. Pending sales climbed last month for two reasons: Still, buyers are getting better rates than they were a year ago, when mortgage rates were above 7%. The weekly average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage now sits at 6.44% after hitting a two-year low of 6.08% in late September. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by another 25 basis points at their November 7 meeting, which shouldn’t have a big impact on mortgage rates. But that could change if the November 1 jobs report has any surprises. “September showed that there are buyers and sellers who are ready to jump into the market—when the conditions are right,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. “Most buyers who went under contract last month did so when mortgage rates were falling and before two major hurricanes devastated much of the South. We’re closely watching October data to see whether the recent increase in rates and widespread devastation from the storms causes the market to slow back down.” De la Campa continued: “My advice for buyers is don’t try to time the market. There are a lot of swing factors, like the upcoming jobs report and the presidential election, that could cause the housing market to take unexpected twists and turns. If you find a house you love and can afford to buy it, now’s not a bad time. Mortgage rates are still down from their peak, and buyers in some areas are able to negotiate because homes have been sitting on the market.” Closed sales of existing homes, many of which were negotiated before the latest drop in mortgage rates, dropped to the lowest level on record aside from the start of the pandemic. They fell 0.5% month over month and 3% year over year in September—to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4,023,067. Overall closed home sales (including existing and new homes) fell 0.2% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis and declined 1.6% year over year—to the lowest level since December. Home Sales Plummet Across Florida In West Palm Beach, FL, closed home sales dropped 23% year over year in September—the biggest decline among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. Next came three other Florida metros: Tampa (-21.9%), Miami (-19.8%) and Fort Lauderdale (-18.7%). Please note that metro-level data is not seasonally adjusted. Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast on September 26, and went on to devastate Appalachia, becoming the deadliest storm to hit mainland America since Hurricane Katrina. Then, less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida. That may have an impact on October home sales. “We have listings that were flooded and taken off the market, and sellers who were getting ready to list but can’t because they need to repair damage,” said MaryDell Penney, Redfin’s market manager in Orlando, FL. “Closings are being delayed because most lenders require post-storm reinspections, and insurers stop writing new policies when there’s a named storm in the region.” Penney continued: “Contracts all have a force majeure section outlining what happens if services are shut down because of a natural disaster, etc. They also specify the risk of loss and seller’s obligation to repair damage if the cost of restoration doesn’t exceed 1.5% of the purchase price. If damage exceeds that, then the buyer can either take the property as-is along with 1.5% from the seller, or the buyer can walk away.” A recent Redfin survey found that two in five Florida residents have set aside money for home repairs related to unpredictable events caused by climate change. Florida’s housing market had already been cooling prior to hurricane season amid rising inventory, surging HOA fees and a housing insurance crisis. In the metro-level highlights section below, you’ll notice that Florida is home to many of the metros that are showing signs of slowing, from sales to prices. Home Prices Continue to Climb Amid Shortage of Homes for Sale The median home sale price in September was $428,212, up 3.9% from a year earlier. Prices are rising because even though listings have inched up in recent months, there’s still a shortage of homes for sale. New listings rose 0.8% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis in September but were down 0.7% from a year earlier, and were 17.7% below pre-pandemic (September 2019) levels. Active listings rose 0.2% month over month and climbed 14.9% year over year, but were 23.1% below pre-pandemic levels. Homes Are Taking Longer to Sell Than a Year Ago, And Fewer Are Going for Above the Asking Price One reason active listings have been piling up is that many homes have been sitting on the market. That’s bad news for sellers, but it’s good news for buyers because it means they may have room to negotiate. Redfin agents recommend that sellers price their homes fairly from the get-go so they can sell quickly and don’t have to drop their price later on. The typical home that sold in September was on the market for 39 days, up from 33 a year earlier. A little over one-third (36.5%) of homes that sold went under contract within two weeks, down from 42.3% in September 2023. And less than one-third (28.4%) of homes that sold last month went for more than their asking price, compared with roughly one-third (33.2%) a year earlier. Metro-Level Highlights: September 2024 The bullets below are based on a list of the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. Some metros may be removed from time to time to ensure data

Read More

Builders continue shift to condos and townhomes amidst affordability crisis

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 99 views

Markets with faster-rising home values have seen a greater surge in permitting, on average America’s housing stock continues to grow faster than it did before the pandemic-induced housing frenzy, as builders race to fill a shortage of 4.5 million homes. The latest analysis from Zillow® shows roughly 1 million single-family homes were completed in 2023, the second-highest annual total since before the global financial crisis. That’s about 11% more homes than were completed in 2019. To achieve this pace, builders pivoted toward higher density, building more townhomes as opposed to detached single-family homes — similar to what they did in 2022. Construction starts for detached single-family homes declined by nearly 9% from 2022 to 2023, but starts for attached single-family homes rose by more than 3% over the same time span.  “The housing affordability crisis still grips America. It was precipitated by decades of underbuilding, and despite builders’ recent efforts, the unmet need for homes is growing,” said Orphe Divounguy, Zillow senior economist. “The best long-term solution is more supply. Builders are helping where they can by shifting to more cost-conscious and space-efficient designs. But promoting density through local laws is key — that will go a long way to bring in more affordable homes where they’re needed the most.”  Focusing on attached homes allows builders to overcome some of the challenges related to land acquisition costs and also provide homes that are more affordable to cost-challenged buyers. They are  building more units on smaller lots — the median size of a new home remained steady at around 2,200 square feet, while median lot area fell by 700 square feet, when compared to 2022.  But the pace of construction is slowing, likely due in large part to slowing demand amid housing affordability challenges. Construction began on 946,000 single-family homes in 2023, about 7% fewer than in 2022 and 16.5% fewer than in 2021. This is a decline from a very strong couple of years; it still represents a solid number, historically speaking, 6% higher than 2019. Markets that have issued the most single-family permits since 2020 are Houston, Dallas and Phoenix. That is good news for housing affordability in these markets, which have already been stretched by population growth.  Markets with faster jobs and income growth, and thus higher housing demand, have historically seen larger increases in new construction activity relative to lower growth markets. The Zillow analysis further illustrates this relationship – markets with higher increases in home values from 2020 through 2024 also tended to see higher permitting over the same period of time, on average.  New construction has taken on more importance by providing options to buyers at a time when existing owners have pulled back from listing their homes. Home shoppers can find more new construction communities on Zillow than any other U.S. platform. Where the most single-family construction has been permitted since the pandemic Metro Area Single-family permits(Jan 2020—August 2024) Single-family home value change(Jan 2020—August 2024) Houston, TX 232,810 39 % Dallas, TX 207,471 47 % Phoenix, AZ 138,445 54 % Atlanta, GA 128,202 59 % Austin, TX 94,361 43 % Charlotte, NC 87,987 61 % Orlando, FL 76,355 55 % Tampa, FL 74,265 62 % Nashville, TN 70,850 50 % Jacksonville, FL 65,510 53 % SOURCE Zillow

Read More

U.S. Economic Footing Firmer Than Previously Thought, Projected to Expand 2.3 Percent in 2024

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 88 views

Home Price Growth Expected to Decelerate in 2025 as Affordability Remains Stretched Following annual revisions to the national accounts and an improvement in payroll employment growth in both August and September, the economy now appears to be on firmer footing than previously thought, according to the October 2024 commentary from the Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. While the ESR Group still expects economic growth to slow from the robust 3.2 percent pace recorded in 2023, the degree of expected slowing is smaller; growth in 2024 and 2025 is now expected to be 2.3 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively, near the long-run trend growth rate. The improved economic outlook stems in large part from significant upward revisions to recent personal income data. Previously, the ESR Group expected consumption growth to retrench, as it had grown unsustainably relative to incomes, but revised data now show the relationship between income and consumption to be closer to historical levels. As such, the ESR Group believes the economy can maintain growth closer to its long-run potential through its forecast horizon, barring an unforeseen shock to consumer or business confidence from an adverse exogenous event. Following data revisions and recent employment data, bond market expectations for rate cuts have moved into closer alignment with the dot plot from the Federal Reserve’s latest Summary of Economic Projections. As a result, the 10-year Treasury is currently up more than 40 basis points from its mid-September low. This represents upside risk to the ESR Group’s latest mortgage rate forecast, which now sees the 30-year mortgage rate ending the year at 6.0 percent, down from last month’s 6.2 percent projection, and to decline steadily to 5.7 percent by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, the ESR Group expects annual home prices to grow 5.8 percent in 2024 and 3.6 percent in 2025, both slight adjustments to their previous forecasts of 6.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. While the general low level of homes available for sale is expected to continue to exert upward pressure on prices, the ESR Group expects ongoing affordability constraints and rising inventories of homes available for sale to help moderate the magnitude of home price growth moving forward. “While potential homebuyers have noticed the decline in mortgage rates over the last few months, they are equally aware that there has been little relief on the home price side, the other primary driver of unaffordability, particularly for first-time buyers,” said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “The timing of the long-expected pick-up in home sales activity, as well as a further moderation in home price appreciation, will depend in part on the willingness of current homeowners to relinquish their low mortgage rates by offering their homes for sale. Of course, continued strong homebuilding activity will also play a significant role as the shortage of national housing stock remains the primary impediment to affordability.” Visit the Economic and Strategic Research site at fanniemae.com to read the full October 2024 Economic Outlook, including the Economic Developments Commentary, Economic Forecast, Housing Forecast, and Multifamily Market Commentary. To receive e-mail updates with other housing market research from Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group, please click here. SOURCE Fannie Mae

Read More

LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report Highlights Impact of Severe Storms as Catastrophic Claims Climb to Record Levels

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 99 views

2024 LexisNexis Home Trends Report highlights why home insurance has increased for homeowners as loss costs across all perils rise for the fifth year in a row LexisNexis® Risk Solutions released its ninth annual LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report, providing an updated view of by-peril trends in the U.S. home insurance industry to help insurers make more informed business decisions to be better positioned for profitable growth, and help them educate consumers on home insurance trends that impact their policies. In addition to insights into loss cost, frequency and severity, the report includes details about seasonality, distribution of catastrophe claims and geographic trends. Key Takeaways “In the last year, the U.S. saw several historic-level weather disaster events and the highest level of catastrophic claims across all perils we’ve seen in the past seven years, which contributes to rising premiums that consumers across the country face right now,” said Cole Winans, vice president, home insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “As home insurance carriers continue to contend with seasonal and geographic variabilities related to climate – in addition to rising inflation, material and labor costs – understanding by-peril and macro level home insurance trends coupled with maintaining extensive data and imagery on current house conditions over an extended period of time is imperative to remain nimble in today’s volatile and dynamic market. Even as more insurers are likely to see rate increases approved in certain states in the coming months, they will need to be discerning in writing new business only in those pockets where they can do so profitably and that will be on a carrier-by-carrier and state-by-state basis.” All Peril Trends A Year of Hail Wind, Water, Fire and Lightening Perils Non-Weather-Related Perils “When we look at peril data over a seven-year span, it’s increasingly clear that home insurers cannot rely on short-term trends alone to make fully informed decisions about their books of business and operational strategies,” said George Hosfield, associate vice president, home insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “For example, while hail loss cost surged by 57.9% in a one-year observance, the longer-term trend shows consistent increases across all perils year-over-year. This emphasizes the need for carriers to consider broader historical data when evaluating risk and adjusting pricing strategies to help support their long-term profitability.” Download the latest LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report. Media Contacts:Chas StrongLexisNexis Risk SolutionsPhone: +1.706.714.7083Charles.Strong@lexisnexisrisk.com  SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Read More