The housing market is really heating up and buyer demand is dramatically increasing as we enter the spring season. However, one challenge to the current market is a major shortage of inventory. Below are a few comments made in the last month by industry experts. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of NAR “Looking ahead, the key for sustained momentum and more sales than last spring is a continuous stream of new listings quickly replacing what's being scooped up by a growing pool of buyers. Without adequate supply, … [Read more...]

A few weeks ago, Jonathan Smoke, the Chief Economist at realtor.com, exclaimed: “All indicators point to this spring being the busiest since 2006.” Now, Freddie Mac has doubled down on that claim and is saying that 2016 will be the best year that the real estate industry has seen in a decade. In their March Housing Outlook Report, Freddie Mac explained: “Despite the challenges facing the housing market, we expect this to be the best year for housing in a decade. Home sales, housing starts, and … [Read more...]

Some of the housing headlines are causing concern for some consumers who are in the process of either buying or selling a home. Pundits are concerned over the lack of new construction or the month-over-month sales numbers. Let’s set the record straight; 2015 was a good year for residential real estate in the United States and 2016 is starting out stronger. Here is a graph of total homes sold (new construction and existing homes) in the first two months in 2016 compared to last year: Will this momentum … [Read more...]

In CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index, they revealed home appreciation in three categories: percentage appreciation over the last year, over the last month, and projected appreciation over the next twelve months. Here are state maps for each category: The Past – home appreciation over the last 12 months The Present – home appreciation over the last month The Future – home appreciation projected over the next 12 months Bottom Line Homes across the country … [Read more...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just announced that the February Pending Home Sales Index reached it’s highest reading since July 2015. What is the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)? NAR’s PHSI is “a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings”. The higher the Pending Home Sales Index number, the more contracts have been signed by buyers that will soon translate to sales. February’s Index rose 3.5% month-over-month to 109.1. What does this mean for the … [Read more...]