Every month RE/MAX researches 53 major metropolitan markets and analyzes the data to get a pulse on the US housing market. Here’s a short video with some highlights from this month’s report. To view past months’ videos or catch up anytime, visit my YouTube channel.
The number of home buyers who say now’s a good time to buy dipped to an all-time survey low in Fannie Mae’s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index. Meanwhile, home owners who say now’s a good time to sell soared to an all-time survey high. Read on to find out why there’s such a disconnect.
With the 2016 home-buying season just starting, April sales saw a 7.5% increase over March and a 3.2% rise over April last year, which nearly matches the average year-over-year sales increase of 4.3% so far in 2016. The Median Sales Price in April was $215,000, which was 5.4% higher than one year ago and 7.5% above the median price in March. The inventory of homes for sale remains very tight in many markets across the country, with the April inventory 15.2% lower than April 2015. At the rate of home sales in April, the national Months Supply of Inventory was 3.2, down from 3.7 in March.
When considering moving to a new neighborhood, factoring in your commute time is important. Whether driving to work or running errands, you will want to be within a convenient distance to places that are important to you. There are several simple smartphone apps that can be used to calculate commute time and avoid traffic.
Many real estate agents fail within the first five years of their career because they never learned how to run a business. Here are six things you should do at the start of your career to ensure the longevity of your business.
The home ownership rate made gains in the second half of 2015, but that progress was muted in the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. The first quarter of this year saw the home ownership rate back on the decline, plummeting to 63.6 percent, the third lowest on record.
For comparison, in 2004, home ownership soared to a high of 69.4 percent.
Good news for first-time buyers: more starter homes are on the way. A recent analysis by BUILDER online shows the number of homebuilders offering entry-level housing rose 25 percent last year compared to the year prior.
The average median property tax rate across the nation is 1.31 percent. That means a home owner with a home valued at $200,000, on average, pays an annual amount of $2,620 in property taxes, according to an analysis by CoreLogic’s data team.
Illinois has the highest median property tax rate at 2.67 percent. Hawaii, on the other hand, has the lowest at 0.31 percent.
Read the article to see where your state lands in property tax rankings…
Americans ranked real estate as the best long-term investment, even over stocks and gold, according to a recent Gallup Poll of about 1,000 U.S. adults. Real estate has been the top investment choice for the past two years, and it’s lead is increasing over four other popular investment choices.
Renters in some cities may face a long road toward home ownership. Faced with high rents, some may even have to wait a few decades before they’ll be able to save enough for a down payment – that is, if they keep saving at the same rate, finds a new survey by Apartment List.
Managing The Real Estate Details 