Home Selling Sentiment At Record High

Home Selling Sentiment at Record High

Consumer attitudes toward both buying and selling improved in October, although the number who feel it is a good time to buy a home remains at record lows.

This is 3 percentage points higher than in the September survey, but 60 points lower than a year ago.

Asked the same question about selling a home, 77 percent said it was a good time, a 60 percent net.

While homebuying and home-selling sentiment remain at historically low and high levels, respectively, more consumers now expect that their personal financial situation will not improve over the next 12 months.

Duncan continued: "In October, consumers also reported greater concern about the direction of the economy, with 'right track' sentiment reaching its lowest level since October 2013.

Housing Starts Flatten, Permits Promise Future Improvement

Residential construction numbers were mixed in October.

Permits for residential construction were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.650

million compared to 1.586 million in September, an increase of 4.0 percent.

Permitting activity was at the top of the range of forecasts from analysts polled by Econoday.

Single-family permits were up 2.7 percent from September, but down 6.3 percent from the prior October at 1.069 million units.

Over the first 10 months of 2021 there were permits issued for 1.439 million residential units, an increase of 20 percent from 1.199 million at the same point in 2020.

On an unadjusted basis, construction was begun on 131.000 residential units in October compared to 133,300 in September.

Most Lenders Will Now Consider On-Time Rent Payments

Most Lenders Will Now Consider On-Time Rent Payments

More mortgage applicants will find it easier to get approved now that Freddie

Mac joined Fannie Mae in making on-time rent payments a lending consideration.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back more than half of all U.S. mortgages, and Freddie just followed Fannie in announcing

a system to allow on-time rent payments to be a consideration when applicants apply for a home loan.

In August, Fannie Mae announced its own system for including credit scores in mortgage lending decisions.

The new policy went into effect Sept. 18.

Regardless of the system, the rent-check option is expected to open homeownership to more people, notably those in protected classes under the Fair Housing Act.

Soaring Home Prices Rolling Appraisals, Upending Sales

Soaring Home Prices Roiling Appraisals, Upending Sales

In Aug., 13% of appraisals came in below a home’s contract price.

It was higher in May (19.7%), but is still up compared to sales early last year (7.3% in Jan. 2020).

The disparity underscores the risks buyers face in the current market, especially those stretching their dollars to win a bidding war.

Many buyers prepare for the possibility of a lower appraisal by making down payments of just 5% to 10% and holding their extra cash in case they need it to make up any difference should the appraisal fall below the sales price, says Phoenix-area Realtor Nicole Dudley.

FHA And VA Loan Buyers Struggle To Compete For Homes

FHA, VA and other government-backed loans are often favored by first-time and low-income buyers.

But in bidding wars, cash offers or conventional financing seem less problematic to sellers.

While 89% of sellers say they’re likely to accept an offer from a buyer with conventional financing, only 30% would be willing to accept one using a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or Veterans Affairs (VA) loan,

The average time to close on an FHA or VA purchase loan in the first three months of this year was 57 and 58 days, respectively, compared to 51 days for conventional loans.

Florida Closing Cost are 2.32% Of Home Price

Florida Closing Costs Are 2.32% Of Home Price

In the U.S., closing costs, including taxes, were up 10.5% year-to-year, and almost $7K for an average price home.

In Fla. it’s a bit higher: $8.5K for the average home.

In Florida, the average home price used for the study for the first half of the year was $368,560.

Based on that, total closing costs, including taxes, were $8,551.

If taxes are backed out, it’s $4,484.

For the closing-cost calculation, ClosingCorp included the lender’s title policy, owner’s title policy, appraisal, settlement, recording fees, land surveys and transfer tax, based on CoreLogic data.

High Home Prices Continue To Weigh on Home Buying Sentiment

High Home Prices Continue to Weigh on Home Buying Sentiment

Fannie Mae’s index dropped 1.2 points in Sept. More consumers (66%) thought it was a bad time to buy a home while only 28% believed it was a good time to buy.

Overall, three of the index’s six components decreased month over month.

Year over year, the full index is down 6.5 points.

The survey’s story is also largely unchanged: Consumers feel it’s a bad time to buy a home but a good time to sell – and they continue to cite high home prices as the primary reason.

As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to sell increased 1 percentage point month over month.

How Much Can You Save By Downsizing?

How Much Can You Save by Downsizing? It Depends

In the biggest 20 U.S. metros, you could save an average of $194K going from a 4-bedroom to a 2-bedroom home.

As property values continue to rise, homeowners looking to downsize can save varying amounts based on where they live.

A new StorageCafe study found homeowners in the 20 largest U.S. metros could save $194,000 when downsizing from a four-bedroom home to a two-bedroom home.

In South Florida, downsizers in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach ranked fifth on the list for savings.

Downsizing in the city of Miami could save homeowners about $160,000, while Fort Lauderdale homeowners could save $364,000.

Housing Costs May Be Affecting Employment Numbers

Housing Cost May Be Affecting Employment Numbers

People quit jobs if they grow discontented, and rising rental costs may be causing some discontent: 51.2% of workers say they plan to look for a new job this year.

Renters have adopted different tactics to help offset the higher prices.

Some have decided to split expenses between a larger group of people: Nearly one-third of renters say they’ve combined households during the pandemic and 11% plan to in the future.

However, many renters are now looking at the income side of the equation, seeking ways to boost their earnings in order to afford the cost of rising rent.

Need An Appliance? Beware Long Delivery Waits

Need a refrigerator, washing machine, or range?

Watch for long delivery times due to the pandemic

Boggs and other retailers cite three reasons:.

Springtime plant shutdowns, where some US plants were closed for 3 months.

Shipping delays from China, with crates of appliances stuck in ports around the world for several months.

Surging demand, as homeowners redo their homes this year instead of spending thousands of dollars on vacations.

A Sears.com refrigerator that first said "3-day delivery" actually won't be available for almost 6 weeks.