San Diego Real Estate Expert: October 2015

Sunday, October 25, 2015

#1 Reason to List Your House Today

If you are debating listing your house for sale this year or even early next year, here is the #1 reason not to wait!

Buyer Demand Continues to Outpace the Supply of Homes For Sale

According to the National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) Foot Traffic report, there are more buyers out in the market right now than at any other time in the past three years. The graph below shows the significant increase in foot traffic experienced this year compared to 2014.

The latest Existing Home Sales report shows that there is currently a 5.2-month supply of homes for sale. This remains lower than the 6-month supply necessary for a normal market and well below August 2014 numbers. The chart below details the year-over-year inventory shortages experienced so far in 2015:

Bottom Line

Meet with a local real estate professional who can show you the supply conditions in your neighborhood and assist you in gaining access to the buyers who are ready, willing and able to buy today!

Looking to Buy, Sell, or Invest? Contact:

David Demangos
858.232.8410
Locally Known, Globally Connected
Luxury Home Marketing Specialist
Global Property Specialist

David@AwesomeSanDiegoRealEstate.com
www.AwesomeSanDiegoRealEstate.com
Our Team Goes to Extremes to Fulfill Your Real Estate Dreams!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Sales Up In (Almost) Every Price Range!

The National Association of Realtors’ most recent Existing Home Sales Report revealed that home sales were up rather dramatically over last year in five of the six price ranges they measure. Only those homes priced under $100,000 showed a decline (-7.7%). The decline in this price range points to the lower inventory of distressed properties available for sale and speaks to the strength of the market. Every other category showed a minimum increase of at least 5.6%, with sales in the $250,000- $500,000 range up 16.9%!

Here is the breakdown:

What does that mean to you if you are selling?

Houses are definitely selling. If your house has been on the market for any length of time and has not yet sold, perhaps it is time to sit with your agent and see if it is priced appropriately to compete in today’s market.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

3678 Herbert St, 92103 New to Market

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Is Qualifying for a Mortgage Getting Easier?

There has been a lot of talk about how difficult it is to get a home mortgage in today’s lending environment. However, three recent reports have revealed that lending standards are beginning to ease. This is great news for both first time buyers and current homeowners looking to move or buy a second vacation/retirement home. Let’s look at the three reports:

The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index

This index, issued by the Mortgage Bankers’ Association, measures the availability of credit available in the home mortgage market. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of a loosening of credit. We can see that the index has been increasing nicely this year:

Fannie Mae’s latest Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey

This survey revealed that more lenders report that mortgage lending standards across all loan types are easing. The survey asked senior mortgage executives whether their company’s credit standards have eased, tightened, or remained essentially unchanged during the prior three months. The gap between lenders reporting easing as opposed to tightening over the prior three months jumped to approximately 20%. This represented a new survey high of "net easing." In addition, the share of lenders who expect their organizations to ease credit standards over the next three months also ticked up this quarter. Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, addressed this easing of standards:

"For the first time in seven quarters, we see a pronounced increase in the share of lenders, particularly medium- and larger-sized lenders, reporting on net an easing of credit standards … This is a significant result in light of public discourse on credit availability and standards … Overall, we expect that lenders' tendency toward easing credit standards, together with relatively low mortgage rates and a strengthening labor market, will continue to support the housing market expansion."

Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insights Report

The easing of credit standards is also confirmed in this report which showed that the average FICO score on a closed loan fell to its lowest point in well over a year. Here is a chart of average FICO scores on closed loans so far in 2015:

Just keep an eye on interest rates…

Although this is all great news, there was one challenge in the recently released data. Ellie Mae reported that the average interest rate on closed loans is beginning to inch upward:

What this means to you…

If you are a first time buyer or a current homeowner thinking of moving up to a bigger home or buying a vacation home, now may be the time to act. Mortgage lending standards are beginning to ease and interest rates are beginning to inch up.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

New Home Sales Surge

According to the latest report from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, newly constructed home sales jumped 5.7% month-over-month and 21.6% year-over-year to an annual pace of 552,000. Many buyers are looking to the new homes market to make up for the lack of existing home sales inventory. National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe explains:

"Today's report indicates the release of pent-up housing demand as the overall economy strengthens, consumer confidence grows and mortgage interest rates remain low. The housing market should continue to move forward at a modest but more persistent pace throughout the rest of 2015."

Regionally, the Northeast led the way with a 24.1% increase in new home sales, followed by the South (7.4%) and West (5.4%). Sales in the Midwest declined by 9.1%. The inventory of new homes for sale currently sits at a 4.7-month supply down slightly from July (4.9) and significantly from August 2014 (5.4). Buyers who purchased a new home were willing to spend more to get the amenities that they wanted. The median home price for new homes was $64,000 higher than existing homes in August at $292,700! Approved applications for building permits increased 3.5% over July and 12.5% over this time last year. Permit applications are seen as a strong indicator of builder confidence in the market.

Bottom Line
Buyer demand continues to outpace inventory of homes for sale. If you are thinking of selling your house this year, now may be the time to list before builders have a chance to replenish the supply of new homes. Want to know more about New Home Sales?

Friday, October 16, 2015

Are Millennials Finally Entering the Market?

It appears that Millennials are finally beginning to enter the housing market. In a recent report, CoreLogic looked at the annual net change in household formations over the last decade (see graph below): It appears this is the year that Millennials are finally moving out of their parents’ basements and finding a place of their own. And they are not all renting According to the National Association of Realtors’ latest Existing Home Sales Report, the percentage of first–time buyers rebounded to 32 percent in August, up from 28 percent in July and matching the highest share of the year set in May.

What has kept the others from buying a home?

Recent surveys have revealed that there are major misunderstandings as to what is required to get a mortgage in today’s lending environment. Many Americans believe you need at least a 780 FICO score and a 20% down payment. In reality, neither is required. Here are the mortgage statistics (FICO score, % of down payment, mortgage interest rate and debt-to-income ratio) for Millennials who have completed the mortgage process in the first half of this year according to realtor.com:

Bottom Line

More and more Millennials are beginning to enter the housing market. As they begin to better understand the mortgage process, we will see even greater numbers buying a home.