In terms of the settlement, the agents’ commission will no longer be included in listings placed on multiple listing services. This move is expected to push home prices lower, with the abolishment of the current homebuying model where sellers pay both their broker and the buyer’s broker.

With prices expected to fall, TD Cowen Insights reported that real estate commissions are set to fall between 25% and 50% following the decision to bring an end to 6% commissions. Real estate shares slumped following the decision, with Zillow and Compass both sinking by more than 13%. Real estate brokerage Redfin declined by 5%.

The post Ending of Sales Commission Expected to Boost Homebuying appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant insisted that while economic conditions remain tight, steep mortgage rates are not solely to blame for slower home sales. “We can’t blame high mortgage rates for the deficit in transactions last year. In reality, demand for housing — and homeownership, in particular — has remained high, despite higher rates,” Sturtevant explained, continuing, “Prospective homebuyers have been shut out of the market by a lack of inventory. If there had been more listings on the market in 2023, we would have had more home sales.”

Prices have also dissuaded buyers, the NAR reported. While the median home price in 1995 was $114,600, the median home price in the current market is around $389,800.

The post Existing Home Sales Fall to Slowest Pace in 30 Years appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

With prices and mortgage rates continuing to simmer, experts explain that the current market is composed of high-income buyers who are financially self-sufficient. “Just among all buyers, they tend to be wealthier. We’re seeing that especially in the current market, [buyers] might need to have that extra income just to be able to get into the homeownership market,” Brandi Snowden, the NAR’s director of member and consumer survey research explained.

Data from Realtor.com indicated that the percentage share of down payment to home price rose to 14.71% in the third quarter of 2023; the highest level in the past 10 years.

The post Homebuyers Rely Increasingly Less on Down Payment Loans appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“Buyers are extra cautious right now,” Redfin premier agent Heather Kruayai observed. They want to make sure they’re getting a good deal given how much mortgage payments have gone up, and when they don’t feel like they’re getting a good deal, they’re backing out.”

The towns that were hit the hardest were those that experienced a home purchase boom during the pandemic due to the arrival of remote workers. Some areas in Florida experienced contract cancellation rates of up to 20%.

The post Home Sales Dive as Mortgage Rates Hit 23-Year High appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Several property sector experts have attributed this sales decline to rising mortgage rates. “Mortgage rates have been rising above 7% since August, which has diminished the pool of homebuyers,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist observed. According to Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, higher mortgage rates, as well as seasonality, have contributed to falling sales, given that sales usually decline at this time of the year.

According to figures released by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage has risen to 7.23%; the highest since June 2001 when rates hit 7.24%.

The post Home Sales Plummeted in August According to Pending Data appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The 30-year mortgage rate jumped to an average of 7.19% last week; its highest level since July 2001 according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates have been increasing on the back of concerns that rising oil prices could sever the Federal Reserve’s fight to combat inflation.

While the central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged in the region of 5.25%-5.50% at its September meeting, bets are on that the Fed will likely implement another interest rate hike before the end of the year.

The post New Home Sales Plummet in August appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the report, the median home sale price in the U.S. for June came at $426,056. This was only 1.5% below the record of $432,397 that was set in May 2022.

On the other hand, there were 1,318,154 homes on the market in June, which represents a 15% drop compared to the same period in 2022 and represents an all-time low. The new listings have been particularly scarce at 450,000 units, declining by more than 30% compared to last year.

Redfin’s Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather says that the housing market remains “hot” despite the fact that there aren’t many sales taking place. A total of 404,331 homes were sold in June, which constitutes a 19.8% drop compared to the same month of last year.

 “Sellers are getting multiple offers if their home is priced well and in a desirable area even though there aren’t a lot of buyers out there. That’s because house hunters have so few homes to choose from,” Fairweather concluded. 

The post Home Prices in U.S. Close to All-Time High Due to Depressed Supply appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Rising from 50 to 55 in June, this is the first time in 11 months that the index has pushed into positive territory. It is also the sixth consecutive month that homebuilder sentiment has increased.

“Builders are feeling cautiously optimistic about market conditions given low levels of existing home inventory and ongoing gradual improvements for supply chains,” NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey observed.

Also helping to fuel builder sentiment is the gradual return of buyers to the market. Buyers largely exited the market over the past year as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes pushed mortgage rates upward. Now, it appears as if buyers are adjusting to mortgage rates that have stabilized in the 6% to 7% range, Toll Brothers Chairman and CEO Douglas C. Yearley.

While the 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.69% last week, many builders do have the ability to offer a lower rate through their financing arms, thereby proving attractive to price-conscious buyers.

The post U.S. Housing Market Turns Favorable for Homebuilders appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index rose 0.4% in March. The index uses data on properties that have been sold at least twice in the past so as to calculate the changes in each property’s value more accurately.

According to the index, housing values in the 20 largest metros in the U.S. showed rose by 0.5% over the last month on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is a 1.10% decrease compared to the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected to change on a monthly basis and a 1.60% decline on an annual basis.

Miami proved to be the city with the steepest price rise of 7.7%, followed by Tampa and Charlotte, where housing prices rose by 4.8% and 4.7% respectively. In contrast, Seattle experienced a price decline of 12.4%, followed by San Francisco with an 11.2% drop.

The post Home Prices Rise for Second Straight Month appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Much of the success that Gen Zs have experienced when navigating the property market has been attributed to the demographic group’s use of social media to gain industry knowledge.

Vayna Jerabek, a 22-year-old real estate agent, has amassed over 640,000 followers on Tik Tok. The realtor offers a range of housing tips on her page, including a video on “house hacking” that received over 1.6 million likes. “House hacking” refers to purchasing a property and then renting out several rooms as a way of offsetting the mortgage payment.

“My personal mission is to empower my generation so that they know that real estate is a serious vehicle to creating wealth,” Jerabek explained. “It’s just such a big driver of your future prosperity.”

The post Gen Z Homebuyers Leverage Social Media appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In terms of the settlement, the agents’ commission will no longer be included in listings placed on multiple listing services. This move is expected to push home prices lower, with the abolishment of the current homebuying model where sellers pay both their broker and the buyer’s broker.

With prices expected to fall, TD Cowen Insights reported that real estate commissions are set to fall between 25% and 50% following the decision to bring an end to 6% commissions. Real estate shares slumped following the decision, with Zillow and Compass both sinking by more than 13%. Real estate brokerage Redfin declined by 5%.

The post Ending of Sales Commission Expected to Boost Homebuying appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant insisted that while economic conditions remain tight, steep mortgage rates are not solely to blame for slower home sales. “We can’t blame high mortgage rates for the deficit in transactions last year. In reality, demand for housing — and homeownership, in particular — has remained high, despite higher rates,” Sturtevant explained, continuing, “Prospective homebuyers have been shut out of the market by a lack of inventory. If there had been more listings on the market in 2023, we would have had more home sales.”

Prices have also dissuaded buyers, the NAR reported. While the median home price in 1995 was $114,600, the median home price in the current market is around $389,800.

The post Existing Home Sales Fall to Slowest Pace in 30 Years appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

With prices and mortgage rates continuing to simmer, experts explain that the current market is composed of high-income buyers who are financially self-sufficient. “Just among all buyers, they tend to be wealthier. We’re seeing that especially in the current market, [buyers] might need to have that extra income just to be able to get into the homeownership market,” Brandi Snowden, the NAR’s director of member and consumer survey research explained.

Data from Realtor.com indicated that the percentage share of down payment to home price rose to 14.71% in the third quarter of 2023; the highest level in the past 10 years.

The post Homebuyers Rely Increasingly Less on Down Payment Loans appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“Buyers are extra cautious right now,” Redfin premier agent Heather Kruayai observed. They want to make sure they’re getting a good deal given how much mortgage payments have gone up, and when they don’t feel like they’re getting a good deal, they’re backing out.”

The towns that were hit the hardest were those that experienced a home purchase boom during the pandemic due to the arrival of remote workers. Some areas in Florida experienced contract cancellation rates of up to 20%.

The post Home Sales Dive as Mortgage Rates Hit 23-Year High appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Several property sector experts have attributed this sales decline to rising mortgage rates. “Mortgage rates have been rising above 7% since August, which has diminished the pool of homebuyers,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist observed. According to Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, higher mortgage rates, as well as seasonality, have contributed to falling sales, given that sales usually decline at this time of the year.

According to figures released by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage has risen to 7.23%; the highest since June 2001 when rates hit 7.24%.

The post Home Sales Plummeted in August According to Pending Data appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The 30-year mortgage rate jumped to an average of 7.19% last week; its highest level since July 2001 according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates have been increasing on the back of concerns that rising oil prices could sever the Federal Reserve’s fight to combat inflation.

While the central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged in the region of 5.25%-5.50% at its September meeting, bets are on that the Fed will likely implement another interest rate hike before the end of the year.

The post New Home Sales Plummet in August appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the report, the median home sale price in the U.S. for June came at $426,056. This was only 1.5% below the record of $432,397 that was set in May 2022.

On the other hand, there were 1,318,154 homes on the market in June, which represents a 15% drop compared to the same period in 2022 and represents an all-time low. The new listings have been particularly scarce at 450,000 units, declining by more than 30% compared to last year.

Redfin’s Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather says that the housing market remains “hot” despite the fact that there aren’t many sales taking place. A total of 404,331 homes were sold in June, which constitutes a 19.8% drop compared to the same month of last year.

 “Sellers are getting multiple offers if their home is priced well and in a desirable area even though there aren’t a lot of buyers out there. That’s because house hunters have so few homes to choose from,” Fairweather concluded. 

The post Home Prices in U.S. Close to All-Time High Due to Depressed Supply appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Rising from 50 to 55 in June, this is the first time in 11 months that the index has pushed into positive territory. It is also the sixth consecutive month that homebuilder sentiment has increased.

“Builders are feeling cautiously optimistic about market conditions given low levels of existing home inventory and ongoing gradual improvements for supply chains,” NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey observed.

Also helping to fuel builder sentiment is the gradual return of buyers to the market. Buyers largely exited the market over the past year as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes pushed mortgage rates upward. Now, it appears as if buyers are adjusting to mortgage rates that have stabilized in the 6% to 7% range, Toll Brothers Chairman and CEO Douglas C. Yearley.

While the 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.69% last week, many builders do have the ability to offer a lower rate through their financing arms, thereby proving attractive to price-conscious buyers.

The post U.S. Housing Market Turns Favorable for Homebuilders appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index rose 0.4% in March. The index uses data on properties that have been sold at least twice in the past so as to calculate the changes in each property’s value more accurately.

According to the index, housing values in the 20 largest metros in the U.S. showed rose by 0.5% over the last month on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is a 1.10% decrease compared to the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected to change on a monthly basis and a 1.60% decline on an annual basis.

Miami proved to be the city with the steepest price rise of 7.7%, followed by Tampa and Charlotte, where housing prices rose by 4.8% and 4.7% respectively. In contrast, Seattle experienced a price decline of 12.4%, followed by San Francisco with an 11.2% drop.

The post Home Prices Rise for Second Straight Month appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Much of the success that Gen Zs have experienced when navigating the property market has been attributed to the demographic group’s use of social media to gain industry knowledge.

Vayna Jerabek, a 22-year-old real estate agent, has amassed over 640,000 followers on Tik Tok. The realtor offers a range of housing tips on her page, including a video on “house hacking” that received over 1.6 million likes. “House hacking” refers to purchasing a property and then renting out several rooms as a way of offsetting the mortgage payment.

“My personal mission is to empower my generation so that they know that real estate is a serious vehicle to creating wealth,” Jerabek explained. “It’s just such a big driver of your future prosperity.”

The post Gen Z Homebuyers Leverage Social Media appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.