National News
Although pending home sales are up 29% from last year, they are starting to slow down, dropping 9.7% from their peak four weeks ago.
With high costs slowing construction and potentially lowering homeownership for many, easing zoning rules may be the most effective way to increase the supply of new housing.
High-end home sales surged in the three months ended April 30 as prices also rose and listings increased.
The COVID pandemic has caused a shakeup in where, and how, many people work. That has helped propel a thriving housing market.
Of the 99 million residential properties in the U.S., approximately 1.4 million (or 1.4%) are vacant this quarter, with “zombie” home rates increasing both quarterly (21%) and annually (5.6%).
A recent NAHB survey shows that regulatory costs imposed by the government account for $93,870 (or 23.8%) of the current price of new homes.
Residential property equity continued to grow in the first quarter of 2021, with one in three homes considered equity rich.
Forty-three percent of respondents to the first-quarter Zillow Home Price Expectations survey expect inventory to improve in the second half of the year, followed by 26% who expect it in the first half of 2022.
“A credit report and credit score are the gateway to a mortgage,” — NAR President Charlie Oppler.
The National Association of Realtors sends a message to members that it is working to ensure that the proposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act will not hurt their status as independent contractors.
Much of the year-over-year increase in home sales was supported by continued robust activity in the Southeast, which saw a 20.2% rise to an annual rate of 458,000 transactions.
It is not “first comes love, then comes marriage,” but for many women, “first comes homeownership,” according to First American Chief Economist Odeta Kushi.
“More jobs are very likely, due to the near certain passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package and from two million vaccinations per day,” National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a release.
The stimulus bill includes aid for state and local governments, new homeowners, small businesses and renters.
The increase follows a decline earlier in February that cut the number of homeowners in forbearance plans to less than 2.7 million, the first dip below that threshold since April 2020.
The National Association of Real Estate Brokers has joined the RE/MAX Strategic Alliances program to help grow homeownership among minority groups.
