Next year will be hard on the housing market, especially in these big cities reports CNBC. They are saying, “sales of existing homes will fall 1.8% from 2019. Home prices will flatten nationally but prices will fall in a quarter of the 100 largest metropolitan markets. As demand heats up in the spring, driven by the growing number of millennials entering the market, the supply of homes for sale could hit its lowest in history.” Smart investors continue to buy up distressed properties, rehab them, and put them on the single-family rental market. Strong rental markets entice investors to hold homes longer than they anticipated which directly affects the supply of affordable homes.
2. CATCH THE WAVE
Market Watch published this week that “roughly one in three homes in the U.S. are owned by someone age 60 or older”, and reveals that These housing markets will feel the biggest impact from the ‘Silver Tsunami’. I think many of the folks in these markets will hold on a little longer until prices start rising significantly again, but the eventual “flood of homes this trend will bring to these markets should help keep prices more affordable and make the prospect of homeownership more feasible. Unfortunately, though, many of the cities that will see the most homes freed up are locations that have proven to be less popular places to live among millennials and Gen-Xers.” Check out the complete list of the 20 cities that will feel the biggest impact.
3. CAN’T MISS TIPS
You may have already seen this but it’s worth mentioning it again here. Realtor.com just posted eight of its most-read advice pieces of 2019. Head over to the compilation of headlines and share them with anyone you think who may be interested in becoming a more knowledgeable homeowner now and in 2020! Here you go: The Best Real Estate Advice of 2019—Back by Popular Demand.
4. SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist tells Housing Wire that Builders are coming to the housing market’s rescue. “Yun predicts the median U.S. price for a new home will drop 4% to $313,500 in 2019 and remain almost flat in 2020, rising just 0.02% to $314,200. Existing home medians will climb 4.3% in 2019 and 3.6% in 2020, the NAR forecast said.” According to Commerce Department data, “one sign that builders are beginning to construct more entry-level homes is the share of new-home mortgage financing backed by the Federal Housing Administration rose to 19% in 2019’s second quarter, a six-year high.”
5. CREDIT CARDS TO REAL ESTATE
Ris Media wrote this week about how “Realogy President and CEO Ryan Schneider is fast-tracking transformation at the country’s largest provider of residential real estate services. Schneider is no stranger to steering corporate giants through consumer-driven change, thanks to his years at Capital One.” My question is how do you organize six franchises and residential real estate brands with more than 300,000 affiliated agents (independent contractors)? Just reading how Mr. Schneider is planning on Redesigning Real Estate is exhausting!