Tag Archives: homebuyer

Pennsylvania Homebuyers Report Rapid Success In Finding A Home

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Lemoyne, PA – Feb. 20, 2018 (PRNewswire-USNewswire) Half of new Pennsylvania homebuyers are finding their home in less than three months, according to the Welcome Home survey, conducted quarterly for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. And 75 percent of buyers said the process took less than six months from the time they began searching for a home until the transaction closed.

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“The current real estate market is creating some pressure on buyers to make an offer on a home more quickly and to make higher offers to ensure they get the home they want,” said PAR President Todd Umbenhauer. “With the challenging inventory situation many markets throughout the state are facing, buyers do have to make decisions in a shorter amount of time.”

The survey showed that location is a key factor for many homebuyers. “We saw 34 percent of new homebuyers chose their home because of location, whether that was what they deemed a ‘good neighborhood,’ proximity to schools, or easy travel to work,” Umbenhauer said. “Buyers over 65 focused more on interior features of a home and were driven by considerations like finding a home with one floor or a master bedroom on the ground floor.”

Pennsylvania homebuyers are sticking to traditional local banks and credit unions to get a mortgage. Thirty-five percent of new homebuyers used a local bank or credit union, while 27 percent used a mortgage broker. Only six percent of new buyers used an online-based lending company.

“The Welcome Home survey has shown consistently that Pennsylvania homebuyers choose a 30-year mortgage to purchase their home,” he added. “In fact, 49 percent of buyers under the age of 50 used a 30-year mortgage. Thirty-three percent of buyers over the age of 50 use cash to buy their home.”

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® is a trade/professional association that serves more than 33,000 members in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Homebuyer Demand Continues to Rise Unabated as National Showing Index Charts 5.2% Year-Over-Year Increase in January

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West Region leads U.S. in showing activity with double-digit gains; other regions exhibit substantial growth

Chicago, IL – Feb. 22, 2018 (PRNewswire) The ShowingTime Showing Index, a leading indicator of confirmed homebuyer demand, revealed that home showings on the national level posted a 5.2 percent year-over-year increase in January as 2017’s high consumer demand continued into the new year.

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All four regions experienced growth from the previous January, with the West Region seeing an 11.9 percent year-over-year increase in buyer interest. The Midwest (5.8 percent), South (4.7 percent) and Northeast (4.2 percent) regions also saw an increase in showing activity compared to the same period last year.

ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy said January’s increase in showing activity is a direct reflection on buyer demand continuing to outpace inventory.

“Showing activity continued to increase overall as we moved into 2018, with several markets outpacing the National Index,” Cherkasskiy said. “Some areas in the South Region saw relative increases in showing activity in January, compensating for the slowdowns experienced in the fourth quarter due to Hurricane Irma.”

Although a number of real estate experts have adopted a “wait and see” perspective on the potential impact of a revised federal tax plan, this early indicator shows that consumers are potentially moving ahead regardless.

The ShowingTime Showing Index, the first of its kind in the residential real estate industry, is compiled using data from property showings scheduled across the country on listings using ShowingTime products and services, which facilitates more than 4 million showings each month.

It tracks the average number of appointments received on an active listing during the month. The Showing Index, released the third week of each month, will eventually be released on a weekly basis. Local MLS indices are also now available for select markets, and are distributed to MLS and association leadership to provide them with another resource to share with members and to communicate to local media.

To view the full report, visit www.showingtime.com/index.

ShowingTime is the leading market stats and showing management technology provider to the residential real estate industry. Its MarketStats division provides interactive tools and easy-to-read market reports for MLSs, associations, brokers, agents and other real estate companies, along with recruiting software that enables brokers to identify top agents. Its showing products and services take the inefficiencies out of the appointment scheduling process for real estate professionals, buyers and sellers, resulting in more showings, more feedback and quicker sales. ShowingTime products are used in more than 180 MLSs and associations representing more than 900,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada. Visit www.showingtime.com.

LendingTree Ranks Most Competitive Homebuyer Markets

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LendingTree Study Reveals Where Homebuyer Competition is Toughest Based on Down Payment Percentages, Credit Scores and Pre-Approved Financing

Charlotte, NC – Jan. 18, 2018 (PRNewswire) LendingTree®, the nation’s leading online loan marketplace, has released the findings of its study on where homebuyers will face the fiercest competition to achieve their dream of homeownership in 2018.

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We’ve been hearing for years about competitive housing markets, but with low levels of housing inventory and rising home prices, almost any market can be competitive. What it really comes down to is the competition among buyers. That’s why LendingTree ranked the top 100 Most Competitive Homebuyer Markets based on the house hunters who are putting more money down, have high credit scores and start loan shopping before home shopping.

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LendingTree looked at 1.5 million purchase mortgage loan requests that came through the LendingTree marketplace in the 100 largest cities in 2017. The study ranks cities using three criteria:

  • The share of buyers shopping for a mortgage before identifying the house they want. Buyers with financing in place are more appealing to sellers and can compete with cash buyers.
  • Average down payment percentage. Having a higher amount of money saved for a down payment can enable you to borrow more money or be offered a lower interest rate, allowing you to make a stronger offer.
  • Percentage of buyers who have prime credit (above 680). Borrowers with higher scores have more financing options to make more competitive offers. The cities/markets below are ranked for 2018 using the criteria noted above, including the relative data used to determine the ranking along with the market’s overall rank from the prior year.

Key Findings:

California markets dominate the top 10.

Six of the top 10 most competitive housing markets are in California. San Francisco and San Jose lead the rankings in 2018, with a vast number of credit-worthy and well-heeled borrowers making it one of the most challenging markets for prospective home shoppers.

Some 60 percent of home shoppers applied for a mortgage before identifying a house. The two cities also came to the table with the highest average down payment of any region, at 19 percent. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Bay Area shoppers had prime credit scores, above 680.

Tech industries are key.

The strength in the Bay Area may be attributed to the concentration of high-paying technology jobs. This also applies to Seattle, which came in at No. 7, and Portland at No. 9.

Go west. When you get to the water, keep going.

The top 10 are all in western states. If you go further west you get to Honolulu, another top 10 city. The rest of the country comes into play with Boston at No. 11, also a technology hub.

The opposite to being the most competitive is not a bad thing. Here are the most accessible cities:

At the other end of the list are three cities where less than half of home shoppers apply for their mortgage before house hunting; the average home shopper offers a down payment of just 12 percent and less than 40 percent of shoppers have prime credit scores. This is great news for buyers in Youngstown, Ohio, McAllen, Texas, and Scranton, Pa., and other accessible cities, which are often in rustbelt and southern states, as homeownership is accessible to a larger part of the population.

Regardless of the level of competition in your area, being a well-prepared buyer increases your odds of securing that dream home. The most significant of the three variables is having financing in place, giving homebuyers a leg up on the competition and reducing delays in the process. Buyers with less cash available for a down payment or those with less than perfect credit should start the loan process even earlier to get pre-approved before house hunting. Homebuyers across the credit or down payment spectrum should check their credit scores beforehand, know what they can reasonably afford, and shop around for multiple loan offers since interest rates vary between lenders – regardless of whether they are in the hottest, or most accessible housing markets in America.

For more information on the study, click here.

About LendingTree

LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is the nation’s leading online loan marketplace, empowering consumers as they comparison-shop across a full suite of loan and credit-based offerings. LendingTree provides an online marketplace which connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for their business, as well as an array of online tools and information to help consumers find the best loan. Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than 65 million loan requests. LendingTree provides free monthly credit scores through My LendingTree and access to its network of over 500 lenders offering home loans, personal loans, credit cards, student loans, business loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans and more. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc. For more information go to www.lendingtree.com, dial 800-555-TREE, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter @LendingTree.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Megan Greuling
(704) 943-8208
Megan.greuling@lendingtree.com