Tag Archives: Affordable Housing

National Housing Market Experiencing More Price Cuts

Posted on by
Reply

– There are more price cuts now than a year ago in over two-thirds of the nation’s largest metros, with West Coast markets reporting the greatest increase

– About 14 percent of all listings across the U.S. had a price cut in June 2018, up from a recent low of 11.7 percent near the end of 2016.

– In San Diego, 20 percent of listings had a price cut in June, up from 12 percent a year ago.

– Home value growth is slowing in almost half of the 35 largest U.S. metros, with Sacramento and Seattle reporting the greatest slowdown since the beginning of the year.

– U.S. home values rose 8.3 percent over the past year, and Zillow expects home value growth to slow to a 6.6 percent appreciation rate by this time next year.

Seattle, WA – Aug. 16, 2018 (PRNewswire) The share of home listings with a price cut is greater now than a year ago in two-thirds of the nation’s largest housing markets, according to a new Zillow® analysis. The share of listings with a price cut increased the most in markets along with West Coast, with the median amount of the price cut remaining steady across the U.S. for the past several years, at about 3 percent.

In San Diego, 20 percent of all listings had a price cut in June 2018, up from 12 percent a year ago. In Seattle, still one of the nation’s fastest appreciating housing markets despite a recent slowdown, 12 percent of all listings had a price cut in June, the greatest share since October 2014. Portland, Sacramento, Calif. and Riverside, Calif. also experienced an increase in the share of listings with a price cut compared to a year ago.

The share of listings with a price cut is on the rise across the U.S., as well. About 14 percent of all listings had a price cut in June, up from a recent low of 11.7 percent at the end of 2016. Since the beginning of the year, the share of listings with a price cut increased 1.2 percentage points, the greatest January-to-June increase ever reported, and more than double the January-to-June increase last year.

Nationally, price cuts are more common among higher-priced listings. The share of higher-priced listings with a price cut rose 0.9 percentage points since the beginning of the year, to 16.2 percent, while the share of lower-priced listings with a price cut fell 0.1 percentage points, to 11.2 percent. Higher-priced listings have seen a disproportionately large increase in price cuts in 23 of the 35 largest metros since the beginning of the year.

U.S. home values rose 8.3 percent over the past year to a median home value of $217,300. While home value growth isn’t slowing down nationally, it is slowing in some of the nation’s hottest housing markets. In almost half of the 35 largest markets, home value growth is appreciating more slowly now than at the beginning of the year. The median home value in Seattle rose 11.4 percent over the past year, but the annual growth rate was close to 14 percent at the beginning of the year.

“The housing market has tilted sharply in favor of sellers over the past two years, but there are very early preliminary signs that the winds may be starting to shift ever-so-slightly,” said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas. “A rising share of on-market listings are seeing price cuts, though these price cuts are concentrated at the most expensive price-points and primarily in markets that have seen outsized price gains in recent years. It’s far too soon to call this a buyer’s market, home values are still expected to appreciate at double their historic rate over the next 12 months, but the frenetic pace of the housing market over the past few years is starting to return toward a more normal trend.”

There are fewer listings with a price cut in some of the nation’s more affordable housing markets. San Antonio, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Houston reported fewer listings with a price cut in June than a year ago. In San Antonio, where the median home value is $185,000, 17.8 percent of all listings had a price cut in June, down from about 20 percent of listings a year ago.

Zillow forecasts home value growth across the U.S. to slow to a 6.6 percent annual appreciation rate over the next year. Among the 35 largest metros, home value growth in San Jose, Calif., Indianapolis and Charlotte, N.C. are forecasted to slow the most.

Zillow

Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with great real estate professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow Group’s Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

Virginia Beach, Memphis and Indianapolis are the Most Affordable Housing Markets for Veterans

Posted on by
Reply

Across 45 major metros, 9% of homes for sale are affordable for veterans, down from 27% in 2012

Seattle, WA – May 25, 2018 (PRNewswire) (NASDAQ: RDFN) — Of the more than 600,000 homes currently listed for sale in the 45 most populous metro areas, only 8.9 percent are affordable to someone earning the local median veteran income, according to a new report by Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. This is down from 27.4 percent in 2012. Every market in Redfin’s analysis posted a decrease in its share of listings affordable to veterans in the last six years.

“The affordability of VA loans is a major reason why the homeownership rate among veterans has historically been higher than for the general population. But this may be changing,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Homeownership among active-duty military declined significantly during the housing crisis and remains at historic lows. Veteran homebuyers are battling affordability as the fast pace, high prices and low inventory in today’s market make it hard to compete with all-cash buyers. U.S. housing policy should continue to ensure that the people who serve our country also have the opportunity to invest in our country through homeownership.”

Virginia Beach is the most affordable metro for veterans, with 38.1 percent of homes for sale affordable, followed by Memphis (36.3%), Indianapolis (26%) and Louisville (25.3%).

“Virginia Beach is the San Diego of the East Coast with several bases representing virtually all branches of the military,” said Redfin Virginia Beach agent Jordan Hammond. “For veteran homebuyers transferring to the area, Virginia Beach is the perfect location. Not only is it close to the water and the nation’s capital, but it offers a much lower cost of living than California, where many are moving from.”

San Jose, CA, the nation’s most competitive market, is the least affordable for veterans. Unsurprisingly, many coastal markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle, have fewer than 2 percent of listings within the reach of veterans.

Below is a ranking of metros according to the percentage of homes affordable for veterans.

To read the full report, with with a complete methodology and data set, as well as a discussion of the relatively worse housing affordability for female veterans, please visit www.redfin.com.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry’s lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $60 billion in home sales.

Passage of FY 2018 Spending Bill Critical Step for Affordable Housing Funding and Flood Reauthorization

Posted on by
Reply

Washington, D.C. – March 22, 2018 (nar.realtor) With six months remaining in the 2018 fiscal year (FY), the National Association of REALTORS® urges the passage of the “omnibus appropriations bill” agreed upon by U.S. House and Senate negotiators last night, which is designed to fund the federal government through September 30, 2018.

The 2,232-page bill contains important provisions related to housing that REALTORS® have been fighting for, including alleviating the weakening of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) from the new tax law, and extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through at least mid-summer. The highlights critical to the continued health of the nation’s housing market include:

  • Meaningful improvements to the LIHTC, including a significant increase in funding and a change in the average income test, which should result in hundreds of thousands of new affordable housing units.
  • An extension of NFIP until July 31, 2018. This avoids another lapse and provides several more months for the Senate to act on 5-year reauthorization and reform legislation adopted by the House last November.
  • Doubling flood map funding to $263 million, up from $177 million in the previous year and more than a 150-percent increase over the Administration’s request this year.
  • Maintains funding for the flood mitigation, proofing and elevation of properties ($175 million), as well as the Office of the Flood Insurance Consumer Advocate ($5 million) to assist homeowners with concerns over flood mapping and/or insurance ratings.

President Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation Realtor® from Columbia, Missouri and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty, says Congress must now do their part to enact the bill before the current stop-gap spending measure expires on Friday, March 23, 2018.

“In addition to extending the NFIP through July, with the goal of passing a long-term reauthorization and reform of the program soon, this spending bill contains significant improvements for providing affordable housing options for low-income households,” she said. “REALTORS® were a key part of a larger coalition that fought for these necessary changes, and we’re pleased to see the steps taken to strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to address our country’s housing needs. It’s now time for Congress step up to the plate, pass the bill and fund the government through the rest of the 2018 fiscal year.”

The National Association of REALTORS® is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.