“To help REALTORS® and other housing market analysts get the most out of the plethora of data that is available, NAR Research produces a series of Local Market Reports (LMRs) which provide insights into the fundamentals and direction of the nation’s largest metropolitan housing markets.” From Alabama to Wyoming, head over to the NAR website and download the PDF for your Local Market Reports and see how things are stacking up in your neck of the woods.
2. EXTREME MEASURES
Business Insider reported this week Penthouses, mansions, and luxury ranches aren’t selling across the US — and it could be a recession red flag. “The wealthy aren’t buying homes as much as they used to, leaving a surplus of empty high-end real estate across the US, reported Robert Frank for CNBC. According to Frank, luxury real estate hasn’t been this bad since the financial crisis.” What are you seeing in your local market?
3. FDISEE!
Although we are still waiting, “Certain home sales of $400,000 and under may soon not need an appraisal, as federal regulators are close to approving a proposal to increase the threshold at which residential home sales require an appraisal for the first time since 1994… It’s important to note, the new rules do not apply to loans wholly or partially insured or guaranteed by, or eligible for sale to, a government agency or government-sponsored agency.” Read the entire Housingwire article, Appraisals may soon not be required on certain home sales of $400,000 and under.
4. LARGE SCALE 3-D PRINTING
I love the idea of helping the homeless. An “Austin-based firm ICON, together with nonprofit company New Story and designer Yves Béhar, hope so. They have partnered to construct a brand-new village of homes in Latin America to house impoverished families. Fifty homes in the village will be 3D printed and finished this year.” Realty Times reports this week on a New 3D Printed Village Has an End to Homelessness In Its Sights. Again, I love the idea but I can’t help but think of the environmental impact with 3-D printing projects. The production of portland cement, an essential constituent of concrete, leads to the release of significant amounts of CO2, a greenhouse gas (GHG); production of one ton of portland cement produces about one ton of CO2 and other GHGs. Hmmm…
5. CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
USA Today says Chinese buyers pull back from U.S. housing market, hurting home sales. “A big reason Chinese investors are retreating from the American housing market is that Beijing has placed tight limits on how much capital can leave the country in the wake of a devaluation in the yuan a few years ago. California is the epicenter of Chinese residential investment in the U.S., with 34% of purchases in the state.” Find out what other states will see the effect of the Chinese investor pull-back.
