Elena Zimina's Real Estate

HOMEBUYERS GETTING MORE ANXIOUS ABOUT AFFORDABILITY Source: Investors Business Daily Homebuyers in the U.S. are growing more anxious about their ability to afford a dwelling of their own, and that's especially true of millennials, says a new survey from Redfin. Another concern they have is high rent, with nearly half of first-time homebuyers surveyed saying that it pushed them into the housing market. And while low inventory was blamed as a major factor in July's drop in sales of existing homes, that was third on the list of homebuyers' worries, after affordability and competition from other shoppers. Making sense of the story In previous surveys, the second- and third-most cited concerns made up a far higher percentage of total responses. Last year it was 31.4 percent, while in May it was 33.5 percent. In other words, affordability is gaining prominence as the number one concern among buyers.  Among the 1,887 homebuyers participating in the Redfin survey, those who sa...

Calif. median home price: June 2016: California: $519,440 Calif. highest median home price by region/county: San Francisco, $1,350,000 Calif. lowest median home price by region/county: Glenn, $205,560 Calif. Pending Home Sales Index : The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) increasied 3.2 percent from 123.4 in June 2015 to 127.3 in June 2016 Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index : First Quarter 2016: 34 percent Mortgage rates : Week ending 7/21/2016 (Source: Freddie Mac) 30-yr. fixed: 3.45% fees/points: 0.5%  15-yr. fixed: 2.75% fees/points: 0.5%

HOUSING REMAINS A PRIORITY FOR MOST AMERICANS An overwhelming four-out-of-five Americans believe that owning a home is a good investment, according to a recent poll commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to gauge public sentiment on the value of homeownership and government programs that encourage homeownership and housing production Among the key findings: 82 percent rate “a home for you to live in” a good or excellent investment (the highest of six choices), far ahead of the second option, retirement accounts, at 67 percent. 81 percent of 18-29-year-olds want to buy a home. 72 percent support the government providing tax incentives to encourage homeownership. 46 percent say now is a good time to buy a home, twice the 23 percent who say it is not. 36 percent would like to buy a home in the next three years.

FOREIGN INTEREST IN U.S. HOMES COOLS Source: Wall St. Journal Purchases of U.S. residential real estate by foreigners who aren’t residents of the United States fell by $10 billion in the year ending March to $44 billion, the lowest level since 2013, according to a survey by the National Association of REALTORS®. Rising U.S. home prices and a strong U.S. dollar have hurt the purchasing power of foreign buyers. The survey looks at two categories of foreign buyers: Recent immigrants and non-residents. Purchases by immigrant foreigners actually rose to $59 billion from $49 billion, and the share of non-resident buyers decreased to 41 percent from about 50 percent in previous years. The average price of homes purchased by foreign buyers fell to about $480,000 from nearly $500,000 in 2015.

FOREIGN INTEREST IN U.S. HOMES COOLS Source: Wall St. Journal Purchases of U.S. residential real estate by foreigners who aren’t residents of the United States fell by $10 billion in the year ending March to $44 billion, the lowest level since 2013, according to a survey by the National Association of REALTORS®. Rising U.S. home prices and a strong U.S. dollar have hurt the purchasing power of foreign buyers. The survey looks at two categories of foreign buyers: Recent immigrants and non-residents. Purchases by immigrant foreigners actually rose to $59 billion from $49 billion, and the share of non-resident buyers decreased to 41 percent from about 50 percent in previous years. The average price of homes purchased by foreign buyers fell to about $480,000 from nearly $500,000 in 2015.

MORTGAGE REFINANCES JUMP 21 PERCENT ON NEAR RECORD LOW RATES Source: CNBC Applications to refinance home loans jumped 21 percent for the week, and they are now 113.5 percent higher compared to one year ago, when rates were about three quarters of a percentage point higher, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Clearly, the Brexit bonus to U.S. homeowners is well underway, as the drop in mortgage interest rates is putting more money in the pockets of owners. Application volume is now 66 percent higher than one year ago. Mike Fratantoni, Chief Economist for the MBA, commented, “Mortgage rates have been low for years, but the impact of Brexit has brought us close to record lows once again, with jumbo rates already at their lowest levels, giving more borrowers a larger incentive to refinance.”

MILLIONS OF BOOMERS PREFER TO RENT Source:  DSNews.com   Are aging baby boomers looking for a change of pace with their living arrangements? According to a new Freddie Mac 55+survey (polling 6,000 homeowners and renters born in 1961 or earlier), approximately six million homeowners stated they would prefer to move at some point and rent instead of owning. The supply of affordable rental housing will be greatly impacted by this trend, as nearly as many renters age 55 and over said they would prefer to move out and continue renting, and more than five million of those said they are likely to move and rent by the year 2020. Affordable rental housing will likely play a key role in determining who moves and when among the baby boomer crowd.