Author: Brad Beckett

BuilderOnline recently posted an interesting story about how demographics tell of solid & strengthening housing demand as Millennials age, work, form households, and make families.  Using data from the U.S. Census bureau, they suggest sheer numbers are not a guarantee of good times but instead suggest people patterns around work choice, proximity to jobs, use of time, and educational attainment will serve as the windows of opportunity & risk.  Indeed… “We may have gotten used to overstating–understandably–the economic importance of the Baby Boom by conflating the impact of the generational cohort’s coming of age with the effect of women’s game-changing…

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is reporting that pending home sales declined in May by 3.7% (year over year), the first decline in nearly two years.  The blame?  Low inventory.  The data was released as part of the NAR’s Pending Home Sale Index (PHS) which measures housing contract activity, and is based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops.  The PHS generally leads existing home sales by one to two months. “Total housing inventory at the end of each month has remarkably decreased year-over-year now for an entire year…There are simply not enough homes coming…

HousingWire is reporting that the Governor of New York recently signed “sweeping” legislation that attempts to reform the state’s foreclosure process as well as addressing issues with zombie foreclosures.  The legislation combats the blight of vacant and abandoned properties by expediting the rehabilitation, repair and improvement of these properties, and enables the state to assist homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure.  Additionally, the legislation imposes impose a pre-foreclosure duty on banks and servicers to maintain zombie homes, creates an electronic registry of abandoned properties, and expedites foreclosure for vacant and abandoned properties to get them back on the market.  The legislation also…

This week S&P/Case-Shiller released their monthly Home Price Indices for April which showed that home prices increased 5%, year-over-year;  virtually unchanged from last month.  In addition, their 10-City Composite is up slightly at 4.7% for the year and their 20-City Composite’s year-over-year gain is 5.4%. “The housing sector continues to turn in a strong price performance with the S&P/Case-Shiller National Index rising at a 5% or greater annual rate for six consecutive months,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.” “However, the outlook is not without a lot of uncertainty…

Last month we featured a link to an episode in new video series called “Crowdfunding with Cat” that delved deeper into the new rules for equity crowdfunding.  This week Entrepreneur is featuring the “Crowdfund with Cat” Cliff’s notes with links to all 8 of her first season. “If you are interested in learning more about what it means to invest in a startup through equity crowdfunding or how to raise money through more traditional, donation-based crowdfunding, then welcome. This is your video-tutorial-introduction-to-crowdfunding crash course. Here’s a complete list of each episode we have published so far. ” Episode 1: Equity…

Housing data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released their Q2 2016 Home Affordability Index showing affordability by county, across the U.S.   The report analyzed median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by RealtyTrac and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 417 U.S. counties with a combined population of nearly 210 million. The affordability index was based on the percentage of average wages needed to make monthly house payments on a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed rate and a 3 percent down payment — including property taxes and insurance. “Although nearly one in…

The National Association of Realtors reported this week that existing-home sales for May were up 1.8% – representing the highest pace in nearly a decade.  Total sales numbers for May were 5.53 million.  All-cash sales represented 22% of transactions in May with individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchasing 13% of those homes.  By the way, 63% of those investors paid in cash……Good data….Happy Friday! Click here to read the full release on Realtor.org.

This week Black Knight Financial Services released their May 2016 “First Look” report containing performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market. Key takeaways: Foreclosure inventory now below 575,000 from over 800,000 just 12 months ago Foreclosure starts up from 10-year low in April, but at 62,100 remain below pre-crisis levels Prepayment speeds (historically a good indicator of refinance activity) continue to trail 2015 levels despite interest rates being lower than last year Delinquencies inched up in May; still down by over 13 percent on an annual basis Click here to read the…

This week Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released their State of the Nation’s Housing 2016 report which says the U.S. housing market has “now regained enough momentum to provide an engine of growth” for the economy.  The report suggests that as the lingering effects of the housing crash fade, homeownership will regain some lost ground, but to what degree remains open for debate.  The State of the Nation’s Housing has been published annually since 1988 by the JCHS and provides a current assessment of the state of the rental and homeownership markets; the economic and demographic trends driving housing…

National Mortgage News is reporting that title agents saw an average increase of $184 per transaction during the 2nd quarter of 2016.  Citing data from First American Financial, the increases varied by state with New Mexico seeing the highest at $313 and Indiana at the bottom with a $58 average increase. “Change is difficult, and the implementation of the new Know Before You Owe processes and forms was a challenge for title agents as well as lenders, requiring significant investments in new technology and time,” First American chief economist Mark Fleming said in a news release. Click here to read…