Coit Group Fine Homes

  How Much Leverage Do Today’s House Sellers Have? The housing market has been scorching hot over the last twelve months. Buyers and their high demand have far outnumbered sellers and a short supply of houses. According to the latest  Existing Home Sales Report  from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), sales are up 23.7% from the same time last year while the inventory of homes available for sale is down 25.7%.  There are 360,000 fewer single-family homes for sale today than there were at this time last year.  This increase in demand coupled with such limited supply is leading to more bidding wars throughout the country. Rose Quint,  Assistant Vice President for Survey Research  with the  National Association of Home Builders  (NAHB), recently  reported : “The number one reason long-time searchers haven’t made a home purchase is not because of their inability to find an affordably-priced home, but because they continu...

  The Luxury Market Is Attracting Buyers in 2021 As more people continue to identify their changing needs this year, some are turning to the upscale housing sector for more space or finer features. In their most recent  Luxury Market Report , the  Institute for Luxury Home Marketing  (ILHM) shares: “In a snapshot of 2020,  despite the devasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the luxury real estate market has seen one of its strongest years since 2008 . In comparison to experts’ predictions in early 2020, it is remarkable how significant demands for property type, location, and amenity preferences have changed amid the pandemic.” With more opportunities to work from home and a growing interest in having extra space for things like virtual school, working out, and cooking more meals, the desire to own a home that can meet these needs continues to increase. Additionally, record-low mortgage  rates  are creating opportunities for homebuyers to stretc...

  3 Reasons We’re Definitely Not in a Housing Bubble Home values appreciated by about ten percent in 2020, and they’re forecast to appreciate by about five percent this year. This has some voicing concern that we may be in another housing bubble like the one we experienced a little over a decade ago. Here are three reasons why this market is totally different. 1. This time, housing supply is extremely limited The price of any market item is determined by supply and demand. If supply is high and demand is low, prices normally decrease. If supply is low and demand is high, prices naturally increase. In real estate, supply and demand are measured in “ months’ supply of inventory ,” which is based on the number of current homes for sale compared to the number of buyers in the market. The normal months’ supply of inventory for the market is about 6 months. Anything above that defines a buyers’ market, indicating prices will soften. Anything below that defines a  sellers’ market ...

  The reality TV shows are great but few of them represent a real life transaction. Check out this video to unpack a few of the myths and if you have questions on the selling or buying process, just give us a call!

A Remarkable Recovery for the Housing Market For months now the vast majority of Americans have been asking the same question:  When will the economy turn around?  Many experts have been saying the housing market will lead the way to a recovery, and today we’re seeing signs of that coming to light. With  record-low  mortgage rates driving high demand from potential  buyers , homes are being purchased at an accelerating pace, and it’s keeping the housing market and the economy moving. Here’s a look at what a few of the experts have to say about today’s astonishing recovery. In more than one instance, it’s being noted as truly remarkable. Ali Wolf, Chief Economist, Meyers Research "The housing recovery has been nothing short of remarkable...The expectation was that housing would be crushed. It was—for about two months—and then it came roaring back.” Fannie Mae “Recent home purchase measures have continued to show remarkable strength, leading us t...

Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows for Three Consecutive Weeks Over the past several weeks,  Freddie Mac  has reported the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropping to record lows, all the way down to  3.03% . Last week’s reported rate reached the lowest point in the history of the survey, which dates back to 1971  (See graph below ): What does this mean for buyers? This is huge for homebuyers. Those currently taking advantage of the increasing  affordability  that comes with historically low interest rates are winning big. According to Sam Khater,  Chief Economist  at  Freddie Mac: “The summer is heating up as record low mortgage rates continue to spur homebuyer demand.” In addition,  move.com   notes : “Summer home buying season is off to a roaring start. As buyers flooded into the market, realtor.com ®  monthly traffic hit an all-time high of 86 million unique users in June 2020, breaking May's record o...

What Are Experts Saying about Home Prices? Last week, a very well-respected real estate analytics firm surprised many with their home price projection for the next twelve months.  CoreLogic , in their latest  Home Price Index  said: “The economic downturn that started in March 2020 is predicted to cause a 6.6% drop in the HPI by May 2021, which would be the first decrease in annual home prices in over 9 years.” The forecast was surprising as it was strikingly different than any other projection by major analysts. Six of the other eight forecasts call for appreciation, and the two who project depreciation indicate it will be one percent or less. Here is a graph showing all of the projections: There’s a simple formula to determine the future price of any item: calculate the supply of that item in ratio to the demand for that item. In housing right now, demand far exceeds supply. Last week mortgage applications to buy a home were  33% higher  than they...