House passes 5-year flood insurance extension
The House passed legislation Tuesday to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for five years, which would include reforms backed by NAR. The bill still needs Senate approval, however, before the NFIP expiration date of Dec. 8, 2017.
Flood insurance is required for any property that’s in a flood zone and has a federally related mortgage. Any loan backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHA, the VA, or the Rural Housing Services is a federally related mortgage.
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President Trump approves Lake Ontario disaster declaration
President Donald Trump has issued a major disaster declaration for Lake Ontario shoreline flooding this spring and summer, an action that clears the way for some degree of federal recovery aid. A news release from the White House listed the following shoreline counties that are part of the plan: Niagara, Orleans, Wayne, Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence.
A background document from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said more counties could be added to the declaration “if warranted by the results of further damage assessments.”
The aid in question serves to reimburse the state, tribal agencies, local governments and some non-profits for money they spent coping with shoreline flooding and rebuilding damaged infrastructure.
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Homes are more affordable than 20 years ago
Homes are actually more affordable now than they were in the late 1990s, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor Report by Black Knight Inc., a mortgage data and performance information provider.
Interest rates have plunged by 40 basis points over the past six months. However, the bulk of the potential savings is offset by the accelerating rate of home price appreciation across the country.
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Trust Stamp is now a free safety tool for REALTORS
Trust Stamp, an identification authenticity tool that leverages artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies to verify prospective clients’ identities, is now available to REALTORS free of charge as part of the National Association of REALTORS’ investment in the startup through its Second Century Ventures technology fund.
The tool is intended to improve the safety of real estate professionals, using software that scours public records, social media profiles, and other sources of information to present a “trust score” for prospective clients. Such a verification process reduces the risks posed by meeting prospects in the field.
Learn more about this opportunity at truststamp.net/re. REALTORS can enter their NRDS number when they sign up for the product to receive the free tool.
House Tax Proposal will harm many New York homeowners
Statement from NYSAR CEO Duncan R. MacKenzie
“Our initial read of the House tax proposal released today is that it will harm many New York homeowners. It will lessen the value of the property tax deduction and it cuts a host of other key housing-related tax incentives. New York’s REALTORS® urge the seven GOP House members from New York who voted with homeowners last week to continue to resist this tax reform proposal. We will have additional comments upon a thorough reading of the bill.”
Despite odds, ownership rate moves higher
Despite tight housing inventories and rising home prices, the homeownership rate rose slightly in the third quarter and reached the highest level since 2014, according to a recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report also showed Americans are showing a preference for owning: The number of owner households increased by 755,000 from a year ago, while the number of renter households fell 348,000.
Still, finding a home remains a challenge for many Americans. The inventory levels for both new and existing single-family homes is about 20 percent below the long-term average.
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Report: Average owner stays put for 10 years
Homeowners continue to delay moving, as the typical seller in 2017 had stayed in his or her home for 10 years before selling – a tie for the record tenure set in 2014, according to the National Association of REALTORS’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Homeowner tenure has steadily increased since 2009, when sellers typically lived in their home for a median of six years before selling.
Economists speculate that low inventory and soaring home prices are forcing homeowners to stay put longer. Instead, they are choosing to renovate their current homes rather than trade up. But the good news is that homeowners are accruing more equity: The typical seller saw a gain of $47,500 this year, according to NAR’s report.
When buyers do move, they tend to trade up to something bigger. Fifty-two percent of sellers say they planned on purchasing a bigger home, an increase from 46 percent in 2016, according to NAR’s report.
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New research finds four social benefits of homeownership
Improved educational performance, higher civic participation, lower crime rates, and improved health remain the biggest social benefits linked to homeownership, according to a new research paper by NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun and research economist Nadia Evangelou.
“Owning a home embodies the promise of individual autonomy and is the aspiration of most American households,” the researchers note. “Homeownership allows households to accumulate wealth and social status, and is the basis for a number of positive social, economic, family, and civic outcomes.”
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NYSAR CEO joins Gov. Cuomo, Senator Schumer in call for NY Congressional Delegation to protect homeowners
NYSAR CEO Duncan MacKenzie joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senator Charles Schumer at a press conference calling for New York’s Congressional Delegation to protect middle class homeowners by opposing the repeal of state and local tax deductions, including property taxes. Read more here.
New York State home sales fall short of record 3Q high
Albany, NY – Oct. 20, 2017 – There were 38,445 homes sold across New York State during the 2017 third quarter, a 3.1-percent decline from the 2016 third quarter’s record total, according to the housing market report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS. The 2017 third quarter sales total is the second best on record for the period. The median sales price growth trend continued in the third quarter, posting a 5-percent increase to $261,500.
“Home sales remained strong across the Empire State through the third quarter, constrained only by the ongoing decline in the number of homes available for sale,” said Duncan R. MacKenzie, CEO of the New York State Association of REALTORS. “Given the positive market factors including a healthy economy and stable mortgage rates, we believe sales would have pushed higher had more homes been available to buyers.”
“Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we expect New York State home sales to remain on track to finish near the 2016 record total and that the median sales price growth will finish the year more than 5 percent ahead of last year.”
There were 98,176 closed sales through the first nine months of 2017, a 1.7-percent increase from 2016.
There were 38,445 closed sales in the 2017 third quarter, a decrease of 3.1 percent from the 2016 third quarter total of 39,693. September 2017 closed sales were 11,340, the third highest total for the month, despite a 9.8-percent decrease compared to a year ago.
The statewide median sales price through the first three quarters of the year was $250,000, a 5.5-percent increase from the same period in 2016. The third quarter statewide median sales price was $261,500, an increase of 5 percent compared to the third quarter 2016 median of $249,000. The September 2017 statewide median sales price of $257,500 represents an increase of 6 percent compared to the September 2016 median of $243,000.
Pending sales increased 2.3 percent to reach 36,687 in the 2017 third quarter compared to the 2016 third quarter total of 35,870. September 2017 pending sales (10,894) were 0.7 percent below September 2016.
The months supply of inventory dropped 8.6 percent at the end of the third quarter to 6.4 months supply. It was at 7 months at the end of the 2016 third quarter. A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market. The number of homes for sale stood at 71,930, a decrease of 7.7 percent compared to the 2016 third quarter.
Additional data is available at http://www.nysar.com/industry-resources/market-data
Editor’s Note: All data is compiled from multiple listing services in the state of New York and the data include townhomes, condominiums and existing single-family homes.
The New York State Association of REALTORS is a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 55,000 of New York State’s real estate professionals. The term REALTOR is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS. These REALTORS are also members of the New York State Association of REALTORS as well as their local board or association of REALTORS.
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Salvatore I. Prividera Jr.
Director of Communications
518-463-0300×208 office
[email protected]
U.S. Commerce Department: Northeast housing starts fall, building permits rise in September
Privately-owned housing starts fell 9.2 percent to 99,000 in the Northeast in September, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department. August’s total was 109,000.
Nationally, housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,127,000, a 4.7-percent decrease from the revised August total of 1,183,000.
Building permits for the Northeast rose in September, increasing 9.2 percent to 119,000, while nationally, building permits fell 4.5 percent to 1,215,000.
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Builder confidence rises one point for Northeast in October, four points nationally
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose four points to a level of 68 in October on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This was the highest reading since May.
In the Northeast, the HMI rose one point to 50.
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