If You are Thinking of Selling, Now’s the Time

If you thought about selling your house this year, now may be the time to do it. The inventory of homes for sale is well below historic norms and buyer demand is skyrocketing. We were still in high school when we learned the concept of supply and demand: the best time to sell something is when supply of that item is low and demand for that item is high. That defines today’s real estate market.

Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist of realtor.com, in a recent article revealed:

“Our preliminary review of April activity on realtor.com shows that traffic, searches, and listing views are up more than 35% over last year. With 3 million jobs created and close to 1.5 million new households formed in the past 12 months, many more people want a new home of their own, and they want it bad. Their patience will be tested with tight supply—indeed, the No. 1 impediment of active shoppers in April was not being able to find a home that meets their needs.”

In this type of market, a seller may hold a major negotiating advantage when it comes to price and other aspects of the real estate transaction including the inspection, appraisal and financing contingencies.

Bottom Line

As a potential seller, you are in the driver’s seat right now. It might be time to hit the gas.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale and schedule your Home Sellers Consultation! 954-235-3589

Search for Fort Lauderdale Homes for Sale online at http://JTeamFL.com

Homeownership as an Investment: The Role of Price Appreciation

We recently posted on the results from the latest Home Price Expectation Survey(HPES) showing where residential home prices are headed over the next five years. Today, we want to show you what the results of the report could mean to you.

A good portion of every family’s wealth comes from the equity in the home they live in. As the value of their home (an asset) increases so does their equity. Let’s look at a possible case scenario based on the latest HPES.

Here is a chart showing the survey’s projections on annual appreciation over the next five years:

We then looked at the five-year impact this would have on the equity of a family that purchased a home in January for $250,000:

Their family wealth (based on increased equity) would increase by $47,772 over those five years.

Bottom Line

If you don’t yet own, perhaps you should be thinking about purchasing. If you already own, maybe it’s time to move up to enjoy your dream home and also ride the increase in equity of the larger asset.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale and schedule your Home Buyers Consultation today!  954-235-3589 

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes For Sale Online now at http://JTeamFL.com

“Lagging Supply” Leads to Slowdown in Sales

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released the results of their Existing Home Sales Report. Despite the fact that properties are selling faster than they have at any other time since July of 2013, existing home sales declined 3.3% from March.
NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun explained the main reason for the slow:

"April's setback is the result of lagging supply relative to demand and the upward pressure it's putting on prices.”

One major news organization actually used this headline about the decline:

Existing home sales crater in April, falling 3.3%

They certainly haven’t cratered! April marked the second month in a row that the annual sales pace remained above the five million mark (5.04 million). Year-over-year sales have increased for seven consecutive months and are still 6.1% above a year ago.
Every month, SentriLock, LLC provides NAR Research with data on the number of homes shown to potential buyers. This data is referred to as ‘Foot Traffic’ and is a great predictor of future sales and buyer demand. In April, buyer demand remained at the same level experienced in March.

So why did sales go down?

Buyers who are ready and willing to make a purchase are entering a market where their dream house may not have been listed yet. They can’t find it! Or if they find it, it happens to catch the eye of other buyers and an ‘auction like environment’ begins.

"Housing inventory declined from last year and supply in many markets is very tight, which in turn is leading to bidding wars, faster price growth and properties selling at a quicker pace," says Yun. "To put it in perspective, roughly 40 percent of properties sold last month went at or above asking price, the highest since NAR began tracking this monthly data in December 2012." (emphasis added)

The median home price of existing homes sold in April was $219,400, which is 8.9% higher than last year, and marks the 38^th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains.

Bottom Line

So how do you make sense of everything that’s going on in the housing market when there are so many conflicting headlines on the same report?
John Burns, real estate expert and CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting gives this advice:

“The bottom line is this: don't make decisions based on newspaper articles. Read the actual press release, including the methodology, and make sure the results jive with other data points and qualitative feedback you receive.”

If you are one of the many homeowners out there realizing that now may be the time to list your home for sale, or one of the many renters debating a purchase, sitting with a local real estate professional who takes the time to find out what’s really going on in the market, should be your first step!

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale for your home buyers consultation today at 954-235-3589!  Search Fort Lauderdale Homes for Sale at Http://JTeamFL.com

New Construction: Hear Those Hammers in the Background?

If you are planning on selling your home over the next two years, now may be the time to act. Demand is high, supply is low and many homeowners are benefiting from an almost auction atmosphere with several buyers fighting for their house in the current multi-bid environment. Higher prices and less stringent contingencies are making it easier for the seller and their family.

However, there may be more (and better) competition about to hit the market in the form of newly constructed homes. This may put an end to the buyers’ frenzy over the limited inventory of existing homes which has been below normal levels for over a year.

According to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the forecast for new housing starts and sales will increase significantly over the next two years:

• NAR is forecasting 1.1 million new housing starts in 2015, jumping to 1.4 million in 2016.
• New home sales are projected to increase from the 437,000 in 2014 to 570,000 this year and 720,000 in 2016.

Bottom Line

In major urban areas across the country, building cranes are again stretched across the city skyline. In many suburbs, you can again hear the thumping of a carpenter’s hammer in the background. Those are the sights and sounds that inform us that it may be time to sell.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale and schedule your Home Buyers Consultation and we can discuss your New Construction options!  954-235-3589

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes for Sale including new construction at http://JTeamFL.com

Buying a Home is 35% Less Expensive than Renting!

In the latest Rent vs. Buy Report from Trulia, they explained that homeownership remains cheaper than renting with a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage throughout the 100 largest metro areas in the United States.

The updated numbers actually show that the range is from an average of 16% in Honolulu (HI), all the way to 55% in Sarasota (FL), and 35% Nationwide!

The other interesting findings in the report include:

• Interest rates have remained low and even though home prices have appreciated around the country (3.9%), they haven’t greatly outpaced rental appreciation (3.7%). “In the past year, these two trends have made homeownership even more affordable compared with renting.”
• Some markets might tip in favor of renting if home prices increase at a greater rate than rents and if – as most economists expect – mortgage rates rise, due to the strengthening economy.
• Nationally, rates would have to rise to 10.6% for renting to be cheaper than buying – and rates haven’t been that high since 1989. 

Bottom Line

Buying a home makes sense socially and financially. Rents are predicted to increasesubstantially in the next year, so lock in your housing cost with a mortgage payment now.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today at 954-235-3589 and schedule your Home Buyers Consultation!

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes for Sale online at http://JTeamFL.com

You Want to Raise My Rent How Much?

We recently reported that investment purchases in 2014 fell 7.4% for the year, that combined with a diminished supply of distressed inventory allowing for big profits, has real estate investors looking for a new way to make more money in 2015.

So if they don’t have new properties to buy… how would they make more money? Easy… they are going to raise your rent!

A recent article from Bloomberg Business gave insight into exactly what the CEO’s of major investment firms are thinking.

“We are focusing aggressively on rent bumps,” American Residential Properties CEO Stephen Schmitz said during a panel discussion. “There’s a supply imbalance in some markets. The same thing that keeps occupancy high also drives rents.”

How Much Are They Going To Raise Your Rent?

Rental rates are predicted to increase 4% on renewals and as much as 5.7% for new tenants.

Haendel St. Juste, a Morgan Stanley analyst put it this way:

“The focus is now on optimizing revenue, compared to getting heads in beds,”

So What Can You Do?

If you are one of the millions of renters out there dreading the day that you have to renew your lease, or planning to move into a new rental property, now may be the time to sit with a real estate professional and evaluate your ability to lock in your housing cost, by buying now.

The J Team Fort Lauderdale is committed to helping you buy a home, contact us Today and schedule your homebuyers consultation 954-235-3589.

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes for Sale at http://JTeamFl.com

The Truth About Rising Prices & Family Wealth

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released a report revealing that the growing wealth gap in this country has been impacted by the recent increases in real estate values coupled with the drop in homeownership rates. The report discloses:

“Over 90 percent of metro areas have experienced declining homeownership rates at a time when home values have risen and incomes have remained flat.”

Increasing home values in many regions of the country have helped homeowners build housing wealth in recent years. However, the continued decline in homeownership means this increase in wealth is shared by fewer people and likely leading to worsening inequality in the U.S.
Here is a chart showing the aforementioned increasing gap between renters and homeowners in regard to family wealth:

Bottom Line
If the experts are correct, and a homeowner really will have an average of 40 times the wealth of a renter by the end of this year, doesn’t it make sense to evaluate if a purchase could be in your future? Meet with a real estate professional in your local market to find out how you can start building your family’s wealth.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale for your Home Buyers Consultation today!  954-235-3589 or Search Fort Lauderdale Homes online at http://JTeamFL.com

Homeownership Still a Great Investment

Four recent news articles confirmed that most Americans still see real estate as a great long term investment. The Gallup organization polled the American people and discovered that they believe that real estate is a better long term investment than stocks/mutual funds, gold, savings or bonds:

A second survey was done by Edelman Berland which showed that:

At the same time, Tim Rood, chairman of the business advisory firm The Collingwood Group, explained that real estate is:

“…one of the last legitimate wealth creation opportunities…The leveraged return if you put down 10 percent on a house, the trajectory of appreciation lately is you’re going to get your money back inside of a year and then after that 5 to 10 percent appreciation rates. It's phenomenal."

Bottom Line

Real estate continues to be a sensational long term investment. If you need help with any of your real estate needs, contact a local real estate professional and discuss the opportunities available in today’s market.

The J Team Fort Lauderdale is here to help with all of your Real Estate Needs in Southeast Florida.  Schedule your Home Buyer's consultation today at 954-235-3589.

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes for sale online at http://JTeamFL.com

Easy Chicken Little: Homeownership Rates Are NOT Crashing

The Census recently released their 2015 Q1 Homeownership Statistics, and many began to worry that Americans have taken a step back from the notion of homeownership.

The national homeownership rate (Americans who owned vs. rented their primary residence) increased significantly during the housing boom, reaching its peak of 69.2% in 2004. The Census Bureau just reported the first quarter of 2015 ended with a homeownership rate of 63.7%. Many reported on this and began to question Americans’ belief in the ideal of homeownership as a major part of the American Dream.

Everyone Calm Down…

It is true the homeownership rate has fallen over the last several years. However, if you look at the national rate over the last 30 years (1984-2014), you can see that the current homeownership rate has returned closer to historic norms. The 63.7% rate is less than a percentage point under the rate in 1985 and 1995.

What Will the Future Bring?

In a Housing Wire article this week, Ed Stansfield who manages the housing market research at Capital Economics said:

“The homeownership rate fell further at the start of the year to a 22-year low of 63.7. However, with credit conditions now loosening and employment set to continue growing strongly, we suspect this long downward trend may not last for much longer.”

In the same article referenced above, Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com, explained why the homeownership rate will probably begin to increase:

“The homeownership rate is likely to bottom this year or next not far from where we are now. By historical patterns, the rate could indeed go up. The simple math behind what it costs to rent versus buy shows that if you can afford the down payment and qualify for a mortgage, it is cheaper to buy rather than rent in 80% of the counties in the US now.”

Bottom Line 

With interest rates and prices still below where experts predict, perhaps we should get together and evaluate your ability to purchase a home.  

Are you thinking of buying a home? Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale to help with all of your Real Estate Needs at 954-235-3589!  Contact us today and schedule your FREE Home buyers consultation!

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes online at http://JTeamFL.com

Homeowners: We Need to Sell Your House Twice

Every house on the market has to be sold twice; once to a prospective buyer and then to the bank (through the bank’s appraisal). In a housing market where supply is very low and demand is very high, home values increase rapidly. One major challenge in such a market is that bank appraisal. If prices are jumping, it is difficult for appraisers to find adequate comparable sales (similar houses in the neighborhood that closed recently) to defend the price when doing the appraisal for the bank.
With escalating prices, the second sale might be even more difficult than the first. And now, there may be a second issue further complicating the appraisal issue.
The Mortgage News Daily (MND) recently published an article titled Conservative Appraisals Increasingly Mentioned in 2015; Did Something Change?
The article revealed that there was a “flurry” of comments on their website from members expressing concern about…

“…a sudden increase in appraisals reflecting market values well below what had been expected. In some cases the low appraisals had merely required the restructuring of the loan, in others they killed the deal.”

The National Association of Realtors revealed this month that 8% of the contracts that fell through over the last three months were terminated because of appraisal issues.
MND decided to survey their members and ask why this sudden increase in “short” appraisals could be taking place. Here is one result of that survey:

“Almost everyone we spoke to mentioned Fannie Mae's new Collateral Underwriter (CU).”

Collateral Underwriter provides a risk score on individual appraisals which will lead to a ranking of appraisals by risk profile, allowing lenders to identify appraisals with heightened risk of quality issues, overvaluation, and compliance violations. It went on-line on January 26.
Marianne Sullivan, senior vice president of single-family business capability with Fannie Mae believes that CU is not a problem for appraisers. She claimed:

“From an appraiser perspective, one of the lender's responsibilities has always been to review the quality of an appraiser, and they have been using various methods to do that forever. I don’t think appraisers will find this tool to be disruptive.”

However, some think that CU has caused appraisers to become too cautious with their appraised values. One mortgage professional in the MND article explained it this way:

"My personal opinion is that appraisers are being overly conservative in choosing comps because of CU. If CU questions the comps, adjustments, etc., the appraiser would have to do a lot of extra work to justify them. I had anticipated that CU would cause delays because of this extra work, but it seems that appraisers are one step ahead and are being ultra conservative, thus avoiding the extra work in the first place. I haven't spoken to an appraiser about it; this is just my interpretation of what I am seeing."

Ryan Lundquist, a Certified Residential Appraiser in the Sacramento area, agreed:

“One of the unintended consequences of CU may be more conservative appraisals.”

Bottom Line

We must realize that, in today’s housing market, every house must be sold twice and the second sale (to the bank’s appraiser) could be the more difficult one.

The J Team Fort Lauderdale can help you navigate through the Real Estate Transaction.  Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale at 954-235-3589 and schedule your Real Estate Consultation today!

Buying A Home? You Don’t Need To Do It Alone

Discover Home Loans conducted an interesting survey that revealed how prepared homebuyers are for the actual mortgage process.
The survey reported that 94% of prospective buyers believe they are making a good investment decision if they buy a home. The survey also explained that 66% of buyers reach out to real estate agents to help determine whether buying a certain home would be a good investment.
However, there is less certainty regarding the mortgage process.

Most buyers overwhelmed

The majority of potential buyers are actually overwhelmed with the plethora of information available about the home financing process.  Here are some interesting highlights from the report:

• Nearly 66% feel overwhelmed with the amount of information available
• 76% of those under the age of 30 feel overwhelmed
• 76% of first time buyers feel the same way
• 54% of those buyers who have previously owned also were overwhelmed
• 59% of buyers turn to mortgage bankers to help evaluate mortgage terms and comparing offers
• 49% of buyers turn to real estate agents to help evaluate mortgage terms and comparing offers

There is help available…use it!

Cameron Findlay, chief economist at Discover Home Loans, gives great advice:

“The industry is becoming more transparent in an effort to help homebuyers become informed about changes that may affect their process. The sheer amount of information can lead to confusion and stress. Those looking to purchase should work closely with their lender and realtor to make sure they are comfortable with mortgage terms and understand the impact a loan will have on their finances.”

Bottom Line

Purchasing a home can put great pressure on a family. Reach out to the best mortgage and real estate professionals in your market for assistance throughout the process.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today at 954-235-3589 and schedule your FREE Home Buyers Consultation!  Let us help you with your next real estate purchase!

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes online now at http://JTeamFL.com