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Redfin Reports Demand Declines Ease as Mortgage Rates Steady Around 7%

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A few measures of homebuying demand stabilized in the last week of October, a month that saw one-third fewer pending sales than a year earlier One-third fewer homes went under contract in October than last year, the largest decline since at least 2015, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Several pandemic boomtowns including Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix posted declines of around 50%. Nationwide, a record-high share of home sellers dropped their price last month. But as mortgage rates dipped below 7% in the final week of October, a handful of key measures of homebuying demand stabilized after several weeks of declines: Google searches of “homes for sale,” Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, mortgage purchase applications and pending sales. “This week the Fed brought into view the light at the end of the tunnel for slowing the pace of interest rate hikes, but that the tunnel’s exit may be more dreadful than expected,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “There is also a glimmer of hope in the data that buyers stopped leaving the market as mortgage rates leveled off this week, but we’re still deep in a market that is coping with the pains of higher mortgage rates. Mortgage rates may take longer to come down than many have expected, which means housing trends could continue to worsen as the economy adjusts to higher rates. If last year’s housing market was as overheated as Chair Powell stated on Wednesday, then record growth in rates was like a bucket of water poured on the flames to bring it into balance. It may take some time for the smoke to clear to see where things stand next year.” Redfin agents in the Midwest and Mountain West report that they have seen first-time and other budget-restricted buyers return to the market in recent weeks to take advantage of the opportunity to be choosy about home features, take their time to make sure they are offering on the right home at the right price, do thorough inspections, make below-asking offers and negotiate for concessions from sellers. It’s too soon to say whether this is a momentary pause in the market’s cooling trend as buyers who have been watching and waiting seized a moment of stability in mortgage rates to make their bid, or if it’s the start of a broader leveling off in market activity as buyers adjust their budgets and expectations around a 7% mortgage rate. Leading indicators of homebuying activity: Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas: To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-demand-declines-ease/ Author admin View all posts

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Vacant Homes in Foreclosure Show Third Straight Quarterly Increase; Yet Zombie Properties Still Represent Just One of Every 13,000 Residential Properties Nationwide; Counts Continue Growing Since Lifting of Foreclosure Moratorium Last Year ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, released its fourth-quarter 2022 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.3 million (1,264,241) residential properties in the United States sit vacant. That figure represents 1.26 percent, or one in 79 homes, across the nation. The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data. Vacancy data is available for U.S. residential properties at https://www.attomdata.com/solutions/marketing-lists/. The report also reveals that 284,423 residential properties in the U.S. are in the process of foreclosure in the fourth quarter of this year, up 5.2 percent from the third quarter of 2022 and up 27.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021. A growing number of homeowners have faced possible foreclosure since a nationwide moratorium on lenders pursuing delinquent homeowners, imposed after the Coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, was lifted at the end of July 2021. Among those pre-foreclosure properties, 7,722 are zombie foreclosures (pre-foreclosure properties abandoned by owners) in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 0.2 percent from the prior quarter and 3.9 percent from a year ago. The count of zombie properties has grown in each of the last three quarters. Click here for special Zombie Housing Market Infographic “The government’s foreclosure moratorium dramatically reduced the number of properties in foreclosure,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “Vacant and abandoned properties were among the few homes that could still be foreclosed on during the moratorium, so the number of zombie properties shrank as well. Now that the foreclosure ban has been lifted, we’re likely to see a gradual return to pre-pandemic levels.” Despite the increase, the number of zombie-foreclosures remains historically low, representing just a tiny segment of the nation’s total stock of 100.1 million residential properties. Just one of every 12,963 homes in the fourth quarter of 2022 is vacant and in foreclosure, meaning that most neighborhoods still have no such properties. That ratio is almost exactly the same as in the third quarter of this year, although up 2.5 percent from one in 13,292 in the fourth quarter of 2021. The portion of pre-foreclosure properties that have been abandoned into zombie status, meanwhile, continues to decline, from 3.3 percent a year ago to 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of this year. The latest trends – zombie foreclosure numbers up slightly but remaining tiny – again reflect one of many high points from a housing market that has seen 11 years of nearly uninterrupted gains. Median home values nationwide have more than doubled since 2012, home-seller profits have shot up over 50 percent and the vast majority of homeowners have equity built up in their homes. Those forces provide enormous incentive for owners behind on their mortgages to do everything they can to avoid abandoning their properties even as foreclosure activity increases. Home values dipped over the Summer of this year amid rising interest rates, a declining stock market and soaring inflation that have cut into what buyers can afford. But that has yet to significantly boost the presence of vacant properties in foreclosure. Zombie foreclosures inch up again but remain miniscule portion of overall market A total of 7,722 residential properties facing possible foreclosure have been vacated by their owners nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2022, up slightly from 7,707 in the third quarter of 2022 and from 7,432 in the fourth quarter of 2021. While zombie foreclosures continue to be few and far between in most neighborhoods around the U.S., the biggest increases from the third quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2022 in states with at least 50 zombie properties are in Kansas (zombie properties up 32 percent, from 44 to 58), Nevada (up 25 percent, from 81 to 101), Connecticut (up 15 percent, from 65 to 75), Georgia (up 15 percent, from 72 to 83) and Indiana (up 13 percent, from 239 to 270). The biggest quarterly decreases among states with at least 50 zombie foreclosures are in Michigan (zombie properties down 23 percent, from 99 to 76), New Jersey (down 12 percent, from 240 to 211), North Carolina (down 10 percent, from 144 to 130), Ohio (down 9 percent, from 925 to 841) and Maine (down 7 percent, from 72 to 67). New York has the highest overall number of zombie homes to all residential properties (1,995 pre-foreclosure vacant properties), followed by Florida (1,030), Ohio (841), Illinois (780) and Pennsylvania (368). “Low vacancy rates are also a major factor in there being few zombie homes,” Sharga added. “And with demand from both traditional homebuyers and investors still relatively strong, and the inventory of homes for sale still very low, vacancy rates for residential homes is about as low as it’s ever been,” Overall vacancy rates dip for third straight quarter The vacancy rate for all residential properties in the U.S. has dropped for three quarters in a row. It now stands at 1.26 percent (one in 79 properties), down from 1.28 percent in the third quarter of 2022 (one in 78) and from 1.33 percent in the fourth quarter of last year (one in 75). States with the biggest annual drops are Tennessee (down from 2.3 percent of all homes in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 1.25 percent in the fourth quarter of this year), Minnesota (down from 1.18 percent to 0.81 percent), Wisconsin (down from 1.02 percent to 0.69 percent), Georgia (down from 1.79 percent to 1.5 percent) and Oregon (down from 1.14 percent to 0.94 percent). Other high-level findings from the fourth quarter of 2022: Author admin View all posts

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Knock Buyer-Seller Market Index shows that 15 markets saw home prices fall by 10% or more from their highs set this spring, pushing more markets into buyer-market territory The cooling trend that is engulfing the U.S. housing market is expected to continue with more markets seeing home prices decline by this time next year as the shift to a buyer’s market continues to take hold, according to the Knock Buyer-Seller Market Index . The Index, which analyzes key housing market metrics to measure the degree to which the nation’s 100 largest markets favor home buyers or sellers, found home prices in 98 markets in September were below their peak price this spring. Providence, Rhode Island, and Salisbury, Maryland, were the only markets where home prices have remained at their peaks set earlier this year. In 15 markets, prices dropped by 10% and prices in 42 markets are projected to fall further from their 2022 records by September 2023. The total number of buyers’ markets increased to 16, more than double from August. This is expected to grow to 27 by September 2023. In a sign of the current market where high home prices and rising interest rates have pushed many buyers to the sidelines, just over 1.8 million homes had traded hands across the nation’s largest 100 housing markets through the first nine months of 2022 — less than during the same time frame in each of the past four years. Although still low, the supply of homes for sale has grown steadily throughout 2022 as median days on market increased to 20 in September – up by one full week from a year ago. The average sale-to-list ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, fell to 99% in September, the lowest level since February 2021 and down from 100.3% in May when home prices peaked across the nation. “Based on our findings, the shift to a more balanced market is still in its early stages. We expect that this much-needed reset will persist through much of 2023, and although prices will again begin to rebound they likely won’t return to their peaks for the foreseeable future,” said Knock Co-Founder and CEO Sean Black. “While many drivers of the housing market like demographics and record low unemployment have not changed, the combination of higher rates and home prices have put affordability at the worst levels in 30 years with entry-level monthly payments set to be 34% higher in 2022 vs 2021. The good news is that as prices soften and rates stabilize once the Fed is done with its aggressive rate hike campaign, hopefully after its meeting in November, buyers will be ready to re-enter the market and sellers will retain the majority of the equity gains they’ve seen in the last two years.” West and South dominate the 15 markets with the largest price declines Nationally, the median home price was up 6.6% to $388,000 year-over-year in September, but down 5.4% from its peak of $410,000 in May. Although seasonality plays a factor in home prices, the rate at which prices are appreciating is well below the double-digit growth seen over the past two years. Fifteen markets saw prices drop by 10% or more in September from their price peaks, which were set between April and June. Seven of those markets are in the West, another seven are in the South and just one, Bridgeport, Connecticut, is in the Northeast. Reno, Nevada, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Boise City, Idaho saw the biggest declines from their peak prices, falling 14%, 13.1% and 13.1%, respectively. According to the Index, home prices in 13 of the 15 markets will grow year-over-year, but are expected to remain below their 2022 peak pricing through September 2023. Winston-Salem, North Carolina (10.3%), Fayetteville, Arkansas (9.1%), and Seattle, Washington (8.9%) will see the largest year-over-year price gains. Home prices in Boise, Idaho, and Las Vegas, Nevada, are projected to decline further by this time next year. By next year, 42 markets will see price declines from their peak Home prices in 42 major housing markets are projected to fall further from their 2022 record highs by next September. Fifteen of the 42 markets are in the South, including three of the 10 markets with the largest forecasted price drops. Fifteen are in the West — home to some of the most expensive markets in the nation. The remaining seven and five markets forecasting prices below this summer’s peak are in the Midwest and Northeast, respectively. Bridgeport, Connecticut, is forecasted to see the largest price drop (-7.8%), while Springfield, Missouri, will lead the Midwest with a projected price decline of 3.9%. The top 10 markets with forecasted price drops through September 2023 are: Boise, Idaho (-16.2%); Lakeland, Florida (-14.2%); Las Vegas, Nevada (-14.2%); Reno, Nevada (-13.9%); San Francisco, California (-11.7%); San Jose, California (-9.8%); Austin, Texas (-9.3%); Oxnard, California (-9.3%); New Orleans, Louisiana (-9.3%) and Ogden, Utah (-8.3%). In 15 of the 25 markets with the largest projected median sale price declines, prices peaked at well above the national high of $410,000. The median sale price peaked at $1.3 million and $1.6 million in San Francisco and San Jose, California, in April 2022, respectively. Buyers’ markets will grow from 16 to 27 by next year; sellers’ markets will shrink to 43 Despite the cool-off – a majority – 51 markets – remained sellers’ markets in September, down from 83 in August. Housing markets that still favor sellers are generally smaller. Only two of the top 10 seller’s markets in September (Rochester, New York and Hartford, Connecticut) have populations of more than 1 million people. Sixteen markets significantly favored buyers in September. Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Jacksonville, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Reno, Nevada; Ogden, Utah; Phoenix, Arizona; Riverside, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; and San Jose, California, were in buyer territory last month. Thirty-three markets were neutral, offering no advantage to either sellers or buyers. By September 2023, the U.S. housing market will skew more toward buyers. Twenty-seven of the 100 major housing markets are projected to favor buyers, 30 will be neutral and 43 will favor sellers. According to the Index, slightly over a million homes are projected to be sold between January and September 2023, down from 1.8 million during the same period in 2022. The median sale price across the nation is projected to remain flat

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New Zillow survey finds being flexible about move-in date and offering to pay more up front are the top strategies to land a rental in an ultracompetitive market Typical monthly rents are the highest they’ve ever been ($2,084 as of September), yet the rising cost of buying a home is keeping more and more people in the rental market. Safe to say, it’s a stressful time to be a renter. In a recent Zillow survey,i more than one-third of recent renters (defined as Americans who moved into a rental unit in the past 2 years) reported that getting their current rental was more difficult than getting a new job. What’s making it so hard to land a rental? On top of determining how to afford a new place, renters face fierce competition from those who want or need to continue renting. Standing out to potential landlords among a slew of applicants is difficult, and staying organized to move quickly is of the utmost importance. Zillow asked recent successful renters for strategies they used to land their home. Strategy 1: Be flexible about move-in dateMore than one-third (34%) of recent renters said this strategy helped. Moving in earlier or later than initially planned is a (sometimes expensive) sacrifice, but it can help open up more options for renters. If a landlord won’t budge on a proposed lease start date and the renter is able to stay with friends or relatives during the lease gap or have rental payments overlap for a short time, this strategy has been proven to work. For renters who don’t have this flexibility, it’s best to keep their search specific to homes that line up with their move-in timing. Zillow’s new move-in date filter can better align the end of a lease with the start of a new one, eliminating the “double rent” scenario. Strategy 2: Be willing to pay more up front In Zillow’s survey of recent renters, 30% said paying at least two months’ rent in advance helped them win their most recent rental. Only 20% of renters said they were involved in a bidding war for their place, but paying more up front may be a way to grab the attention of a landlord. Even when that’s not an option, renters should always make their best offer. Renters can start by researching and knowing what they can afford before even starting their search. Zillow’s rent affordability calculator can help determine their price range, and Zillow’s Rental Market Trends tool provides an up-to-date look at their desired market to help them feel confident they are getting a fair deal. Strategy 3: Have strong references Serious renters should have all of their documentation ready to go even before they start searching. It’s common for landlords to ask for references, so having a few options ready to attest to a renter’s reliability and trustworthiness is an important strategy — one that helped 29% of recent renters land their place. In addition, Zillow’s Renter Profile helps renters get a jump on putting their best foot forward and moving quickly when it comes time to apply. Renters create a personal profile outlining their renter qualifications, such as employment, income and credit score, as well as their desired move-in date and lease duration. A profile allows them to introduce themselves to potential landlords and offer a sense of what they’re looking for in a rental. Strategy 4: Being one of the first applicants Landlords don’t want their units sitting vacant for any longer than they have to, so it makes sense that being one of the first applicants was a successful strategy for more than 1 in 4 (26%) recent renters. In fact, in some areas, renters can move faster by taking advantage of virtual 3D Home tours and interactive floor plans on many Zillow rental listings. This quickly narrows their options, avoids wasting time touring apartments that are not a good fit and enables them to be among the first to apply. Renters should also check to see if the city in which they are searching has laws requiring landlords to accept the first applicant who meets all requirements. Applications do still take time, and they come with a cost. Renters can gain advantages of both speed and savings in this supercharged market simply by using Zillow Applications. For a flat fee of $29, renters can use Zillow Applications to apply online for an unlimited number of participating properties for 30 days, which gives them the ability to control costs and add flexibility to their search. Strategy 5: Offering to sign a longer lease For a landlord, there’s a lot of work that goes into filling a rental unit, so the additional security of knowing that their rental will have a tenant for more than just a typical 12-month period may make an offer more attractive. In fact, 23% of recent renters noted that this strategy helped them into their place. In a market where rent prices continue to climb, signing a longer lease can be a great strategy for renters, too. Locking in the current price for two years instead of one can help them avoid annual rent increases. Despite the cooling temperatures, aspiring renters are entering an extremely hot rentals market this fall, but one or more of these proven strategies can help them land their next rental. SOURCE Zillow Author admin View all posts

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75% of cities saw double-digit rent increases for SFRs Rentometer has released their Q3 2022 rent statistics for three-bedroom (3-BR) houses that are single-family rentals (SFRs). Rentometer collects data for all residential asset classes, but this report is focused on SFRs because they are one of, if not the most, active residential rental asset classes today. Rentometer’s president, Mike Lapsley, commented that “we have increased our coverage and monitoring of the SFR market as the activity and interest in this particular market has escalated over the last few years.” The Q3 ’22 report covers 268 cities that had at least 25 data points for Q3 ’21 and Q3 ’22. We analyzed both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter change in average rent prices by city for the third quarter. Highlights from the report are as follows: 99% of the 268 cities experienced year-over-year rent increases 75% of the 268 cities analyzed experienced year-over-year rent increases greater than 10% Some notable markets with increasing average rents over the past year are: Orlando, FL (+32%) Nashville, TN (+24%) Jacksonville, FL (+18%) Austin, TX (+14%) Los Angeles, CA (+12%) Download the full report from Rentometer to view the complete list of updated rent data. About Rentometer, Inc. Rentometer collects, analyzes, and distributes multifamily and single-family rental price data throughout the U.S. Our rental property analysis is proven to be a valuable tool for our diverse customer base including real estate professionals, investors, owners, and renters as we deliver more than 20,000 reports on a daily basis. SOURCE Rentometer, Inc. CONTACT: Rentometer Inc., (888) 923-5767, media@rentometer.com Author admin View all posts

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[AP-ə-them] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, 16th century Definition: A short, witty, instructive saying; A terse or brusque instruction Examples of apothegm in a sentence “My grandmother loved to give advice with an apothegm, such as, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’” “An apothegm may be clever and easy to remember, but it doesn’t always address a full problem.” About Apothegm An apothegm is a short and sweet phrase that’s supposed to give some sort of life lesson. The life lesson here is to remember that the “G” is silent when you’re pronouncing it. Did you Know? This tricky word comes from the Greek “apóphthegma,” meaning to speak out. Watch out for well-meaning advice-givers looking to speak out and give you their opinion. Author admin View all posts