Category Archives: Home Buying (For Buyers)
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Experts Predict A Strong Housing Market For The Rest Of 2019
We’re in the back half of the year, and with a decline in interest rates as well as home price and wage appreciation, many are wondering what the predictions are for the remainder of 2019.
Here’s what some of the experts have to say:
Ralph McLaughlin, Deputy Chief Economist for CoreLogic
“We see the cooldown flattening or even reversing course in the coming months and expect the housing market to continue coming into balance. In the meantime, buyers are likely claiming some ground from what has been seller’s territory over the past few years. If mortgage rates stay low, wages continue to grow, and inventory picks up, we can expect the U.S. housing market to further stabilize throughout the remainder of the year.”
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR
“We expect the second half of year will be notably better than the first half in terms of home sales, mainly because of lower mortgage rates.”
“The drop in mortgage rates continues to stimulate the real estate market and the economy. Home purchase demand is up five percent from a year ago and has noticeably strengthened since the early summer months…The benefit of lower mortgage rates is not only shoring up home sales, but also providing support to homeowner balance sheets via higher monthly cash flow and steadily rising home equity.”
Bottom Line
The housing market will be strong for the rest of 2019. If you’d like more informion or a FREE market Evaluation of your property. Contact me
-KCM
Gena Glaze 843-343-8239
Millennials Are Increasing The Demand For Condominiums
When deciding to buy a home, people are presented with many different options. The type of home you buy depends on your needs, budget, and in many cases, the desired maintenance level. For many millennials, their choice has been buying a condominium!
According to CoreLogic,
“Last year about 43% of all condo home-purchase mortgage applications were submitted by FTHBs… Similarly, the data show condos were more popular with young homebuyers and empty nesters. For instance, 21% of all condo home-purchase mortgage applications were submitted by buyers aged 18 to 30, compared with just 17% of all single-family home-purchase mortgage applications by the same group in 2018.”
With home prices increasing year-over-year, it makes sense millennials are buying condos instead of a single-family house. As a result, the demand for this type of home has been increasing.
As this graph explains,
“The younger millennials are the largest cohort and are likely to drive much of the condo demand in the coming years”.
Bottom Line
If you are a millennial considering buying a home, understand that there are many options available. You may find yourself in a condominium as your first home. If you would like to determine which type of home best fits your needs, sit down with a real estate professional that can help evaluate your options!
Charleston Area Real Estate Stats- Halfway through 2019
The market is Steady with Median sales price increases… We are halfway through 2019, here is how the market is fairing by county….
Berkeley County
503 homes sold at a median price of $223,250 in Berkeley County in June, 433 single-family homes and 70 Condos/townhomes. Year-to-date, single-family home sales have increased 4.4% in the County, as the median home price has increased by nearly 8%, to $259,900. Condo and townhome sales are up 1.6% as median price is up over 7% to $174,950 so far this year.
There are currently 1,035 residential properties for sale in Berkeley County; 921 single-family homes and 114 condos/townhomes.
Charleston County
971 homes sold at a median price of $315,000 in Charleston County in June, 738 single-family homes and 233 Condos/townhomes. Single-family home sales have slowed 3.6% this year, as median home price is up 1% to $385,000. Condo and townhome sales have declined by 3.4% as median price has increased 2.6% to $235,000 so far this year.
There are currently 3,407 residential properties for sale in Charleston County—2,518 single-family homes and 889 condos/townhomes.
Colleton County
25 homes sold at a median price of $222,250 in Colleton County in June, 20 single-family homes and 5 Condos/townhomes. Single-family home sales have declined nearly 19% this year, as median home price increased 5% to $200,000. Condo and townhome sales have increased over 7% as median price has declined 15.4% to $143,900 so far this year.
There are currently 192 residential properties for sale in Colleton County—176 single-family homes and 16 condos/townhomes.
Dorchester County
352 homes sold at a median price of $216,475 in Dorchester County in June, 311 single-family homes and 41 Condos/townhomes. Single-family home sales declined by 3% in the County, as median home price is up 7% so far this year, to $252,000. Condo and townhome sales saw a decline of nearly 10% as median price increased nearly 9% to $169,900 for the year.
There are currently 697 residential properties for sale in Dorchester County—635 single-family homes and 62 condos/townhomes.
How Homeownership Delivers Unsurpassed Family Wealth
There are many financial benefits to homeownership, but probably none more important than its ability to create family wealth.
How Housing Matters is a joint project of the Urban Land Institute and the MacArthur Foundation. It is an online resource for research and information on how homeownership contributes to individual and community success.
Their article, The First Rung on the Ladder to Economic Opportunity Is Housing, explains the importance of homeownership to a family’s financial health. In that article, they simply stated:
“The ladder to economic success can stretch only so high without the asset-building power of homeownership.”
To this point, National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Economists’ Outlook Blog revealed in a recent post:
“Housing wealth contributes positively to the homeowner’s and children’s economic condition, because home equity can be tapped for expenditures such as investing in another property (which can generate rental income), home renovation (which further increases the home value), a child’s college education, emergency or major life events, or expenses in retirement…
Housing wealth (or net worth or equity) is built up over time via the home price appreciation and the principal payments that the homeowner makes on the loan.”
Just last month, NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, explained that even though home appreciation has slowed, homeowners are still building wealth:
“Homeowners in the majority of markets are continuing to enjoy price gains, albeit at a slower rate of growth. A typical homeowner accumulated $9,500 in wealth over the past year.”
Later in life, this wealth is crucial…
This wealth is important to a family’s retirement plans. In a recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University titled, Housing America’s Older Adults 2018, they revealed that a renter 65 years old or older has a net worth of $6,710. Meanwhile, a homeowner 65+ years old has a net worth of $319,200. That huge difference will allow for a dramatic upgrade in one’s lifestyle during your retirement years.
Bottom Line
Homeownership builds wealth. This, in turn, allows families to have more and better options when it comes to their children and their life in retirement.
-KCM
With Inventory Low: Will Your Dream Home Need Some TLC?
According to a new survey from Move.com, the wave of first-time homebuyers hitting the market this summer has resulted in an interesting statistic. Nearly 60% of buyers searching for a home this spring are willing to consider buying a fixer-upper, with 95% believing that the projects needed will increase their new home’s value!
Realtor.com’s Chief Economist, Danielle Hale, pointed to low-inventory at the entry-level price range for the increase in willingness to renovate.
“The combination of rising home prices and limited entry-level homes for sale is prompting many home shoppers to consider homes that need renovating.
Replete with inspiration at their fingertips – like Pinterest, Instagram, and various home renovation TV shows – some home shoppers are comfortable tackling home renovation jobs to find a home that balances their needs with their budget.”
Just over half of all respondents who said they would be willing to buy a home in need of some TLC, would also spend more $20,000 to make the home fit their needs.
The most common ‘expected’ renovation is a kitchen remodel which can run anywhere from $22,000 for a minor remodel to $66,000 for a major remodel.
This isn’t a new trend by any means. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University,home improvement project spending reached a new high in 2018.
“Americans spent $336.9 billion on remodeling projects, up 7.4% from the $313.6 billion a year earlier.”
Home renovation television shows have given many buyers hope that they could renovate a home they can afford into their dream home!
Bottom Line
If you are one of the many Americans considering buying a home this spring, meet with a local real estate professional who can help you find a house with the potential to be your dream home!
Homebuyers Shouldn’t Worry About 2008 All Over Again
Last week, realtor.com released a survey of active home shoppers (those who plan to purchase their next home in 1 year or less). The survey asked their opinion on an impending recession and its possible impact on the housing market.
Two major takeaways from the survey:
- 42% believe a recession will occur this year or next (another 16% said 2021)
- 59% believe the housing market would fare the same or worse than it did in 2008
Why all the talk about a recession recently?
Over the last year, four separate surveys have been taken asking when we can expect the next recession to occur:
- The Pulsenomics Survey of Market Analysts
- The Wall Street Journal Survey of Economists
- The Duke University Survey of American CFOs
- The National Association of Business Economics
70% of all respondents to the four surveys believe that a recession will occur in 2019 or 2020 with an additional 18% saying 2021.
However, we must realize that a recession does not mean we will experience another housing crash. According to the dictionary definition, a recession is:
“A period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.”
During the last recession, a dramatic fall in home values helped cause it.
However, according to research done by CoreLogic, home values weren’t negatively impacted as they were in 2008 during the previous four recessions:
During the four recessions prior to 2008, home values depreciated only once (at a level that was less than 2%). The other three times home values appreciated, twice well above the historic norm of 3.6%.
Bottom Line
If there is an economic slowdown in our near future, there is no need for fear to set in. Most experts agree with Ralph McLaughlin, CoreLogic’s Deputy Chief Economist, who recently explained that there’s no reason to panic right now, even if we may be headed for a recession.
“We’re seeing a cooling of the housing market, but nothing that indicates a crash.”
Homes More Affordable Today Than 1985-2000
Rising home prices have many concerned that the average family will no longer be able to afford the most precious piece of the American Dream – their own home.
However, it is not just the price of a home that determines its affordability. The monthly cost of a home is determined by the price and the interest rate on the mortgage used to purchase it.
Today, mortgage interest rates stand at about 4.5%. The average annual mortgage interest rate from 1985 to 2000 was almost double that number, at 8.92%. When comparing affordability of homeownership over the decades, we must also realize that incomes have increased.
This is why most indexes use the percentage of median income required to make monthly mortgage payments on a typical home as the point of comparison.
Zillow recently released a report comparing home affordability over the decades using this formula. The report revealed that, though homes are less affordable this year than last year, they are more affordable today (17.1%) than they were between 1985-2000 (21%). Additionally, homes are more affordable now than at the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 (25.4%). Here is a chart of these findings:
What will happen when mortgage interest rates rise?
Most experts think that the mortgage interest rate will increase to about 5% by year’s end. How will that impact affordability? Zillow also covered this in their report:
Rates would need to approach 6% before homes became less affordable than they had been historically.
Bottom Line
Though homes are less affordable today than they were last year, they are still a great purchase while interest rates are below the 6% mark.
Gena Glaze
Real Estate Matters in Charleston SC - Gena Glaze 