Cities Poised for a Surge in Sales

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014

More baby boomers are planning a move, and they're targeting cities with a lower cost of living, greater job potential, and warmer weather, according to new research by the National Association of REALTORS®.

"A broadly improving economy and rebounding home prices are giving baby boomers the opportunity to sell and move to support their retirement lifestyle," says Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Furthermore, our research identified cities movers are gravitating to while still remaining in the workforce as a business owner."

According to an NAR generational study earlier this year, baby boomers represent 30 percent of all buyers. They have a median income of $92,400, and their home purchases average about $210,000.

For its most recent research, NAR analyzed population trends, housing affordability, and local economic conditions, among other trends, in 100 metro areas to determine the housing markets baby boomers are most likely to gravitate toward.

NAR singled out Boise, Idaho, and Raleigh, N.C., as top standouts for baby boomers, mostly because of their solid job growth, share of self-employed workers, and affordable home prices. Yun also notes that Florida and Arizona cities are attracting many baby boomers.

NAR identified the following markets as the most likely to see an influx of baby boomers moving there in the coming years (listed alphabetically):

• Albuquerque, N.M.
• Boise, Idaho
• Denver
• Fort Myers, Fla.
• Greenville, S.C.
• Orlando, Fla.
• Phoenix
• Raleigh, N.C.
• Sarasota, Fla.
• Tucson, Ariz.

Additional markets NAR identified as having "strong potential for attracting" baby boomers include:

• Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Dallas
• McAllen, Texas
• Riverside, Calif.
• Tampa, Fla.

"These metro areas are attractive to baby boomers because of their housing affordability, lower tax rates, and welcoming business environment," Yun says. "With baby boomers working later in life, these factors will likely play as much of a deciding role of where boomers eventually retire as will areas with a warm climate or variety of outdoor activities."

Source: National Association of REALTORS®

Valley Home Prices on the Upswing

Valley home prices on the upswing
With fewer houses for sale, buyer competition mounts

By Catherine Reagor
The Republic

Home prices are climbing in metroPhoenix faster than they have since the housing boom.

Some parts of the region experienced home-value increases of 5 to 10 percent a month this year because of a shortage of homes for sale that is sparking bidding wars between investors and regular buyers armed with pre-approvals for mortgages.

This emerging recovery of homeprices in the Phoenix area started late last year and has been building each month.

Home values still have a long way to go to recover to pre-boom levels. MetroPhoenix’s median existing-home price is currently $124,500, about $20,000 below the area’s median in 2002 and well below the $267,000 from the height of the boom in summer 2006.

But many housing-market analysts see this as the beginning of a long-awaited recovery for the area’s battered housing market. The uptick in prices is enticing more buyers who have been waiting for the market’s bottom to purchase a home and now have likely missed it.

New FHA Rule to 'Kick Some Buyers Out'?

Daily Real Estate News ~ Tuesday, March 27, 2012 

 

The Federal Housing Administration announced that starting April 1 it will not insure mortgages to borrowers who have an ongoing credit dispute of $1,000 or more on their file.

To be considered for an FHA-backed loan, borrowers will either have to pay the remaining balance on the credit dispute or enter into a payment plan, making at least three payments on it. Any payment plans will need to be documented and submitted to FHA, which will then figure it into the debt-to-income ratio for the new mortgage.

FHA’s new rule does not include disputed credit accounts from more than two years ago or any related to reported identity theft.

Still, the new rule has some in the housing industry worried that it’s going to keep more potential home buyers from securing a mortgage.

"We expect this revision will certainly kick some buyers out of the marketplace, and we’re in ongoing efforts to quantify how extreme the impact will be," Lisa Jackson, senior vice president of research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, told HousingWire.

Jeremy Radack, a real estate attorney in Houston who assists with financing, estimated FHA originations may be reduced by 33 percent to 50 percent this year due to the new rule.

FHA says the rule is aimed at protecting the FHA’s emergency fund, which has fallen below the mandated amount Congress requires.

"We found that many borrowers with mortgage payment delinquencies had prior credit deficiencies including unpaid collections and unresolved disputed accounts prior to the approval of their loan," the spokesman said. "This change was made to eliminate this layer of risk to FHA-insured loans and help protect our insurance fund."

Also in reimbursing the emergency fund, FHA announced it would raise its insurance premiums starting April 1st.

To get per-qualified for an FHA loan in order to buy a Phoenix historic home or a home in Phoenix Metro, contact Laura today at 602.400.0008 and she'll fit you with the perfect lender.