Remodeling market indicator remains in positive territory
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 55 in the second quarter of 2017, down three points from the first quarter. For 17 consecutive quarters, the RMI has been at or above 50, which indicates that more remodelers report market activity is higher than report it is lower.
“While remodelers continue to see robust demand across the country, the lack of skilled labor continues to be a serious issue,” said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Dan Bawden. “Remodelers are finding they have to decline projects because they can’t hire enough skilled staff to keep up with the demand.”
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New York State foreclosure filings down in second quarter 2017
In its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the second quarter of 2017, ATTOM Data Solutions reported that New York State ranked 14 out of all 50 states for quarterly total foreclosure filings. New York had 14,667 total foreclosure filings in the second quarter and 5,072 of them were in the month of June.
Foreclosure filings in New York State fell 2.54 percent from the previous quarter and 14.09 percent from the second quarter of 2016. June’s foreclosures were down 2.35 percent from May and 5.74 percent from June 2016. One in every 557 housing units in New York State received a foreclosure filing in the second quarter and one in every 1,611 received a foreclosure filing in June.
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Builder confidence slips one point for Northeast in July, two points nationally
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes slipped two points in July to a level of 64 from a downwardly revised June reading on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). It is the lowest reading since November 2016.
The HMI rose one point to 47 in the Northeast.
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U.S. Commerce Department: Northeast housing starts rise more than 80 percent in June
Privately-owned housing starts in June rose an impressive 83.7 percent in the Northeast to 158,000, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department. May’s total was 86,000.
Nationally, housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,215,000, an 8.3-percent increase from the revised May total of 1,122,000.
Building permits for the Northeast fell in June, dropping 13.9 percent to 105,000, while nationally, building permits rose 7.4 percent to 1,254,000.
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Foreign investments in U.S. residential real estate surges in 2017
Fueled by a substantial increase in sales dollar volume from Canadian buyers, foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate skyrocketed to a new high, as transactions grew in each of the top five countries where buyers originated. This is according to an annual survey of residential purchases from international buyers released by the National Association of REALTORS.
NAR’s 2017 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate found that between April 2016 and March 2017, foreign buyers and recent immigrants purchased $153 billion of residential property, a 49-percent jump from 2016. This surpasses 2015 ($103.9 billion) as the new survey high.
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SRI: Home buying plans down in latest consumer sentiment poll
According to the latest poll by the Siena Research Institute (SRI), New York State consumer home buying plans were down 9.2 percent in June. Overall, New York State consumer confidence stands at 92.1, down 2 points from the last measurement in March 2017. New York’s overall consumer confidence is 3 points below the nation’s index of 95.1.
Buying plans were also down for cars/trucks and furniture. Buying plans were up in June for consumer electronics and major home improvements.
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Seller optimism reaches a record high
Consumer sentiment about the housing market zoomed to a record high in June, with seller optimism making up most of the uptick, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The index rose 2.1 percentage points last month to an 88.3 reading, which matches a record high in February.
The number of consumers who say now is a good time to sell a home reached a record high in June, rising 7 percentage points from the previous month. Researchers note that a strong seller’s market is emerging, as the margin of those who expressed optimism in selling grew wider than for those who expressed optimism in buying, according to the survey.
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CFPB: Agents can receive closing disclosure
Real estate professionals officially are entitled to receive a copy of the closing disclosure from lenders, according to an announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Agents traditionally have used the information in the disclosure form to advise their clients during transactions, but about two years ago, when the CFPB made sweeping changes to the settlement process, some lenders stopped making the form available due to privacy concerns.
The National Association of REALTORS has been working to clarify with the CFPB the customary procedure for real estate professionals to receive the closing disclosure. NAR has argued that nothing in such a procedure affects the CFPB’s newly instituted privacy rules for lenders. About a year ago, the CFPB did release this clarification, and last week’s action makes it official.
NAR President William E. Brown said in a statement that the final rule “again made clear that lenders may share disclosures with third parties, including real estate agents. This was common practice for years in advance of Know Before You Owe, and REALTORS are eager to see that cooperative atmosphere take hold once again.”
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NAR report: Home staging decreases time on market
Sixty-two percent of sellers’ agents say that staging a home decreases the amount of time a home spends on the market, according to the National Association of REALTORS’ 2017 Profile of Home Staging. Seventy-seven percent of buyers’ agents said that staging a home makes it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their future home, and 40 percent are more willing to walk through a staged home they first saw online.
REALTORS representing both buyers and sellers agreed that the living room is the most important room in a home to stage, followed by the master bedroom, the kitchen, and then the yard or outdoor space.
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Survey: More buyers make offers sight unseen
The number of buyers making offers sight unseen – meaning they haven’t physically visited the property – is on the rise, according to a survey of recent home buyers conducted by Redfin. Thirty-three percent of respondents in 11 major markets say they made an offer on at least one house sight unseen. These types of offers are more common when working with foreign buyers and in markets where homes are selling quickly, real estate professionals say.
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NAR: Pending home sales tumble in May for third straight month
The ongoing supply shortages that are propping up home prices in many metro areas caused pending home sales in May to slump for the third consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS’ Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings.
In the Northeast, pending home sales decreased 0.8 percent to 96.4 in May, but remain 3.1 percent above a year ago.
Nationwide, pending home sales also fell 0.8 percent to 108.5, 1.7 percent below a year ago.
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Spike in renters looking to buy
A surge in renters are ready to make the leap into homeownership. According to a new TransUnion analysis on the U.S. rental market, 55 percent of those who actively shopped for a mortgage in the first quarter of 2017 were non-homeowners and primarily renters. This is up from 50 percent in the first quarter of 2016, and 45 percent in the first quarter of 2015.
The report shows that millennials’ interest in homeownership is continuing to grow, with 29 percent of non-homeowners who have shopped for a mortgage in 2017 coming from the millennial age range.
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