Tag: house realtor

The Fed Just Jammed Another Wrench Into the Housing Market

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On the precipice of the hotly anticipated spring housing market, the US Federal Reserve just dealt homebuyers another crushing blow.

Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, told Congress on Tuesday that more aggressive interest rates might be needed to cool inflation. And while mortgage interest rates are separate from the Fed’s short-term rates, they often follow the same trajectory. Those higher rates have hit homebuyers where it hurts: their budgets.

In response to Powell’s comments, mortgage rates hit 7.03% for 30-year fixed-rate loans on Tuesday afternoon, according to Mortgage News Daily. Those higher rates are in part responsible for today’s buyers paying more than 50% a month in their mortgage payments than they would have a year ago.*

“That’s a boomer for buyers who had their hopes raised that rates would be falling,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “It’s going to be a more challenging spring than some people were expecting.”

Less than two months ago, there was speculation that rates would fall below 6%. Buyers had returned to the market, and bidding wars had heated up again. But the higher rates could threaten the rebound.

“It will continue to be a damper on how much

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Limited supply keeps Colorado’s housing market off balance

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Colorado homebuyers continue to struggle with an ongoing housing shortage.

Although the Denver metro area experienced an inventory increase from 2475 active listings in February 2022 to 4108 last month, the housing market remains unbalanced, according to the Colorado Association of Realtors February report.

Last month, the monthly supply of houses statewide was just over one month, and while that’s a 120% year-over-year increase, there is still a need for more homes to meet demand.

“With supply remaining low — up four times the amount from this time last year but still 75% short of anything resembling a balance of supply and demand — one would hope that more inventory and lower prices would be a positive development for the buyers who just want to get into a good home,” Realtor Matthew Leprino said in the report.

Prices tick up

Statewide, single-family homes recorded a median price jump of 3.1%, rising from $520,000 in January to $536,000 in February.

The number of homes sold statewide dropped last month compared to February 2022 — 4,231 properties changed hands — a drop of about 20% from a year ago.

In the Denver metro area, 2537 homes sold in February 2021 — down

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Realtors say roosters taking over Phoenix neighborhood deterring potential buyers

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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — There are chickens and roosters all over yards and even some roofs in one Valley neighborhood. Many residents in the area say they enjoy it, but a real estate agent says it could be impacting home values.

For years, chickens and roosters have been roaming the neighborhood south of the Biltmore area, and they seem to be multiplying. The city of Phoenix says they have not received any recent complaints, but a realtor here in the Valley says selling there has been a challenge.

If you take a drive through the neighborhood of 34th Street and Earll, you will find roosters, chickens and even peacocks all over people’s yards, on roofs, and even crossing the streets. “I’ve been here 50 years the chickens were here before me,” resident Andrew Trombetta said. He explains why he believes the birds are still in the area. “Before the houses were built there were four farms and they had the chickens and let them run loose and once the houses were built the chickens were still there,” he said.

The city of Phoenix says because the birds are feral and have no ownership claims, there is no code they can

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Outlook 2023: Western Massachusetts Realtors say home sales market is becoming ‘more realistic’

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It’s the American dream – owning your own home.

But for some, that dream may take a little longer as rising mortgage rates put their dreams on hold in a market that is low on inventory as fewer people put their homes up for sale – all resulting in falling home sales.

The numbers from the National Association of Realtors have not been encouraging.

“In essence, the residential real estate market was frozen in November, resembling the sales activity seen during the COVID-19 economic lockdowns in 2020,” said the association’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun. “The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes. Plus, available housing inventory remains near historic lows.”

To put the local market into perspective, the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley, in its mid-January report of single family home sales for December showed a 36.8% drop year-over-year from 601 sales in December 2021 to 380 in 2022.

“2022 started off as an overheated market, where people would put their house up for sale and expect multiple offers, some having over the price, resulting in the house selling quickly. But the second half of

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New association president excited for realtors to do ‘our whole jobs again’

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Stepping into a leadership role at any time is an adjustment and doing so on the heels of a changing real estate landscape offers its own set of complications.

But Amy Layton, who took over as president of the Niagara Association of Realtors in December, understood what she was facing.

The region’s real estate market is still finding its footing, following a series of ups and downs. Last year, Niagara saw its overall home value fall 12 per cent year-over-year, after an increase of 25.4 per cent from 2020 to 2021. But that market, with its sky-high prices, quick transactions and multiple bids was “completely unsustainable,” said Layton.

This year is a different year, and her role as president is a motivating return-to-normal. It’s time for realtors, herself included, to “sharpen it up.”

“This is back to reminding everybody (to) sharpen their skills and brush up on everything if they haven’t done it already,” said Layton. “We’re always going to be needed as a realtor but now you actually have to use your skills again, which I’m really excited about. We get to do our whole job again.”

It’s also about getting back to basics, and a reminder of why

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What’s the 2023 Florida Outlook?

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ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — What consumers, Realtors should do® and policy makers expect when it comes to Florida real estate over the next year? After the unexpectedly strong years of 2020 and 2021 despite an ongoing pandemic, Florida’s housing sector in 2022 was affected by rapidly rising inflation and higher mortgage interest rates, Florida Realtors® Chief EconomistDr. Brad O’Connor told nearly 500 Realtors during the 2023 Florida Real Estate Trends summit last Thursday.

Florida Realtors logo (PRNewsPhotos/Florida Realtors)
Florida Realtors logo (PRNewsPhotos/Florida Realtors)(PRNewswire)

“Now, we expect the state’s residential real estate market to return to a more typical pace,” he said. “I believe 2023 will look more like the ‘traditional’ housing market year of 2018-2019 in Florida as supply and demand become more balanced.”

The event was part of this year’s Florida Realtors®‘ Mid-Winter Business Meetings at the Renaissance SeaWorld Orlando. In addition to O’Connor, the summit featured John Leer, chief economist of Morning Consult, which uses high-frequency survey data to capture insights into consumer attitudes and concerns. Leer leads global economic research and oversees the firm’s economic data collection, validation and analysis. He is an authority on the effects of consumer preferences, expectations and

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