Student debt joins weather in slowing housing sales

Source: Jeff Clabaugh, Washington Business Journal

Sales of existing homes in February were down 0.4 percent from January, and sales were 7.1 percent lower than a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

It blames much of the slowdown in closed sales in February on severe winter weather, but there are other factors dragging on the housing market now, including record student loan debt. 

NAR president Steve Brown says 20 percent of buyers under the age of 33, a prime group for first-time buyers, are putting off buying their first condo or house because of outstanding debt. And a NAR survey found 56 percent of younger buyers who took longer to save for a down payment identified student debt as the biggest obstacle. 

"It's clear there are other people who would like to buy a home that are not in the market because of debt issues, so we can expect a lingering impact of delayed home buying," Brown says. 

A slowdown in sales is not hurting prices, though. The median price of a closed sale of an existing home in February was up 9.1 percent from a year ago, largely because of continued tight inventory, NAR says. 



The number of home sales may be down nationwide, but sale prices are certainly going up! Current inventory in the DC metro area is as tight as anywhere in the country, meaning now is the time to get the most out of selling your home.
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Posted: Oct 3, 2013, 3:30pm PDT

Has housing reached the 'new normal'?

Big home-sale and housing-start increases are sparking optimism, but will the good news last through the winter?

It was a great day for the Real Estate market the moment news about home sales increasing 7.8% in August and housing starts rising to 2.3% came out.

According to The Wall Street Journal, those were the latest numbers in a series that showed that the housing market seems to be finally making its way out of the doldrums. And the numbers are real.

But tucked into the bottom of most of those happy little stories are the hurdles that housing still needs to leap before this becomes any kind of a normal market. And just what will the new "normal" look like? It's safe to say it won't look like the go-go market of the mid-2000s.

The number of existing homes sold in August was 9.3% above the same time last year, the highest rate since May 2010, when a tax credit spurred sales, the National Association of Realtors reported.  The number of single-family homes upon which construction started was up 27% from last August and at its highest rate since April 2010, according to figures from the Census Bureau.

• Feds' move and the housing market? Ho-hum

The trends look good, but will the trends hold? One looming question is whether the gains of the summer will all be lost during the winter, historically a slower time for home sales.

 Then there are the problems that are lingering nationwide: tight credit, job insecurity, high unemployment. In many cities, there are actually more buyers than there are homes to buy, which could also put a dent in some of those happy numbers in upcoming reports.

• Trulia: Buying costs 45% less than renting

"Total sales this year will be 8% to 10% above 2011, but some buyers are frustrated with mortgage availability," NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates in Miami, said in a news release. "If most of the financially qualified buyers could obtain financing, home sales would be about 10% to 15% stronger, and the related economic activity would create several hundred thousand jobs over the period of a year."

• Number of improving markets up almost 25%

The national median price for an existing home in August was $187,400, an increase of 9.5% from August 2011.  

A few highlights from home-sale numbers:

• The percentage of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) was down from 31% of all sales in August 2011 to 22% this past August.
• First-time buyers accounted for 31% of sales, compared with 32% in August 2011.
• A total of 27% of transactions were all cash, up from 22% in August 2011.
• Investors bought 18% of the homes sold in August, down from 22% in August 2011.

So, what do you all think the NEW NORMAL would look like?

Source: realestate.msn.com

Do you want to work with a Realtor who never fails to keep his clients updated about Real Estate trends? Call me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium. 

Will an Open House Help You Sell Your Rock Creek Forest Home?

The “For Sale” sign is up; you’ve got a great agent; the house is in lovely Rock Creek Forest. So now it’s time to schedule the Open House. But will it help? According to the AOL Real Estate  website, there are several things to consider for a productive open house.

Statistics show that 95 percent of potential buyers will visit an open house within three months of making a decision.  However, so too will many “browsers” who aren’t looking to buy right away. But even those who just peruse can be helpful by providing positive and negative reactions to various aspects of the home which you as the seller can then enhance or correct.

To make an open house productive, be sure to schedule it when convenient for working folks and parents, typically on a weekend. Hold the open house with regular frequency so if interested buyers miss one weekend they can come back on the next one.  And be sure to have a friendly, knowledgeable real estate agent on site who can tell potential buyers about the house and the local real estate market.

Rather than hopping in their cars, potential buyers now use the Internet for “virtual drive-bys.” So how you present your Rock Creek Forest home online will impact the success of your open house.  Consider photos, videos, virtual tours, and even a separate web site for the home, but remember to leave some things for the buyers to discover only when inside the house.

When would you ever skip an open house? Generally it’s not a good choice if 1) the property needs work and it’s dangerous to be inside or 2) there are tenants living there.

Even though an open house leads to a sale only about one-third of the time, it’s still worth the effort.  You’ll get feedback on your home’s good and bad points and will have people talking to others about your house—and who doesn’t want free advertising?  Used properly, the open house can be a valuable selling tool.

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.