Monthly Archives: March 2017

Outdoor spaces: What homebuyers are looking for

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Sustainable and tech-friendly are what homebuyers want in outdoor living spaces, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ 2017 Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey.

The survey included responses from 817 landscape architects. Overall, the projects that attracted most demand are native or adapted drought-tolerant plants, according to 82 percent of those surveyed. Low-maintenance landscapes were also a big winner, according to 79.3 percent.

Other popular projects include food and vegetable gardens, including orchards and vineyards (76.5 percent), permeable paving (76.3 percent), reduced lawn area (72.7 percent), fire pits and fireplaces (71.5 percent) and drip/water irrigation (71.1 percent).

The outdoor design elements expected to be the most popular this year include fire pits and fireplaces, wireless/internet connectivity, lighting, outdoor furniture and seating/dining areas.

“The fact that more consumers want outdoor wireless access shows that they want expanded options for remaining connected to their devices,” said Nancy C. Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA.

The outdoor structures anticipated to be the most-wanted for this year include pergolas, decks, fencing, arbors and ADA-accessible strictures, such as ramps, bars and shelving.

The most popular outdoor recreation amenities for 2017 most likely will be sports courts, spa features and swimming pools (39.2 percent).

“Well-designed residential landscapes provide social interaction, enjoyment of nature, and physical activity, while also reducing water use and stormwater runoff,” added Somerville. “Landscape architects are pros at creating sustainable outdoor spaces that reflect their clients’ dreams for relaxation and meaningful activity.”

More millennials having children and moving to the suburbs

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As the millennial generation ages, their preferences are evolving.

According to the National Association of Realtors® 2017 Homebuyer and Seller Generational Trends study, 49 percent of millennial homebuyers have at least one child, up 4 percent from last year and 6 percent from 2015. Approximately two-thirds are married, comparable to previous years.

With a growing family, less millennials are choosing city life when buying. Only 15 percent choose to buy in the city, down 2 percent from 2016 and 6 percent from two years ago.  Two-thirds of millennials who purchased in the past year are first-time homebuyers.

Eighty-five percent said homes are a good investment.

“Millennial buyers, at 85 percent, were the most likely generation to view their home purchase as a good financial investment,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “These strong feelings bode well for even greater demand in the future as more millennials settle down and begin raising families. A significant boost in new and existing inventory will go a long way to ensuring the opportunity is there for more of them to reach the market.”

However, the survey also found that younger baby boomers are more apt to consider their millennial children when they are purchasing a home, with 20 percent purchasing a multi-generational home, and 30 percent reporting it was because their adult children had never left or were moving back home.

Millennials have made up the largest generation of homebuyers since the report’s inception in 2013. More than 90 percent of millennials searched for a home online, and 90 percent reported they purchased a home using an agent.

“Online and mobile technology is increasingly giving consumers a glut of real estate data at their disposal,” said NAR President William E. Brown. “However, at the end of the day, buyers and sellers of all ages — but especially younger and often DIY-minded consumers — seek and value a Realtors®’ ability to dissect this information and use their expertise and market insights to coach buyers and sellers through the complexities of a real estate transaction.”

Two Pa. Realtors® named finalists in Realtor® Magazine’s 30 Under 30

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Kara Chen, a Realtor® with Keller Williams of Central PA East in Hummelstown, and Melissa Shipley, a Realtor® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeService in Pittsburgh, are two of the 50 finalists for Realtor® Magazine’s 30 Under 30 class of 2017.

For Shipley, this is the last year she is eligible, so she figured why not apply? The Realtor® described herself as “very involved” in the industry. She is on the Board of Directors for the Realtors® Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh and she is also involved with the local Young Professionals Network.

“I am very active besides selling homes,” said Shipley. “I help new agents in our office get started, and I try to guide them in ways to be successful,” she said.

Shipley has been a licensed agent for about seven years, and has been practicing for five. Upon graduating from Duquesne University in 2009, she found job prospects bleak. She struggled to find a job, and was working in a hotel, which she hated.

“I knew I needed a new challenge,” she said. “I saw advertisements to become a real estate agent, so I took an interview with a manager and she told me I would be great at it. I didn’t like what I was doing, so it couldn’t hurt. I went to school at night and got my license in about two months. I wanted a new challenge,” she said.

Shipley has accomplished much in the industry. In 2016 alone, she received 18 top sales awards from Berkshire Hathaway HomeService.

Chen is another agent in the commonwealth that made the list. She has only been an agent for two years, but has seen much success in that period of time, having sold over $20 million of real estate. She also serves in her company’s Board of Directors and was nominated by her peers and Harrisburg Magazine as a Local Real Estate Leader in South Central Pennsylvania.

“I feel blessed to have had a huge trajectory in a short amount of time.” said Chen. “I was in medical school at Penn State in Hershey and had some health issues, so I decided to take a break from academia and start a family. While I was at home taking care of my son full time, I felt a pressing need to start paying off my medical school loans. Through prayer, I decided to go into real estate.” she said.

Since then, Chen’s career has taken off, and she recently gave birth to her second son. She hasn’t taken any time off though. She showed a house the day after she gave birth and had two settlements the same week.

“I don’t want my family life to hinder my work life, and I don’t want my work life to break into my family life. I love being a mom, and I love being a Realtor®. I am grateful to my supportive husband and friends who encourage me to do both, and do them well,” says Chen.

Judges will pick 29 of the finalists, while one finalist, the Web Choice Award winner, will be chosen by readers. Voting will open today at 1 p.m. and go until Friday, March 24 at 1 p.m. You can vote once every 24 hours.

Make the Realtor® Party voice heard

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Are you ready to respond?

NAR has highlighted several important federal legislative issues facing Realtors® this year. The three key issues are: reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program, tax reform including retaining the mortgage interest and property tax deductions, and the restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

You can expect to learn more about these issues at NAR’s Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., May 15-20.

In the meantime, I urge you to be ready to respond to future calls-for-action by signing up for NAR’s Realtor® Party Mobile Alerts. With these important issues, you’ll want to make your voice heard and help our federal lawmakers understand how these issues affect homeowners.

To sign up, simply open a text message on your cell phone, use the number 30644 and text the word: REALTORS. You’ll only receive a text when a call-for-action is issued, which allows you to quickly send your response to your legislators. Or you can sign up online at the RealtorActionCenter.com.

Together, we can make the Realtor® voice heard.

Baby boomers expected to lead remodeling over next decade

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For the past two decades, baby boomers have been the leaders in renovation spending.

According to the Demographic Change and the Remodeling Outlook, it looks like they aren’t backing down any time soon. Renovations by homeowners 55 and older are expected to increase by nearly one-third in the next decade (by 2025), representing more than 75 percent of total gains.

In 2025, baby boomers are expected to represent 56 percent of all renovation spending, up from 31 percent in 2005. Generation X members are expected to finally do the remodeling they have put off, due to the economy, and millennials are also expected to pour some money into renovations in their newly-purchased homes. Remodeling is expected to grow about 2 percent each year until 2025, the report found. In 2015, homeowner remodeling hit $340 billion, a new high.

“With national house prices rising sufficiently to help owners rebuild home equity lost during the downturn, and with both household incomes and existing home sales on the rise, we expect to see continued growth in the home improvement market,” says Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The study said that rising home prices are leading owners to update their homes, but this could be making these homes even pricier when they do hit the market. Baby boomers are most likely to update their homes to be more accessible, while millennials are updating for energy efficiency and automation.

“The remodeling industry should see numerous growth opportunities over the next decade,” says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. “Strong demand for rental housing has opened up that segment to a new wave of capital investment, and the shortage of affordable housing in much of the country makes the stock of older homes an attractive option for buyers willing to in invest in upgrades.”

New home sales kick off 2017 on a high note

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Newly built single-family homes also saw an increase in sales in 2017.

Sales of these homes increased 3.7 percent in January. This is seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 555,000 homes, reported the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S.. Census Bureau, according to a recent release from the National Association of Home Builders.

“This increase in new home sales is in line with our forecast for a steady, gradual recovery of the housing market,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of NAHB. “However, the pace of growth may be hampered by supply-side headwinds, such as shortages of lots and labor.”

Median sales price of newly built single-family homes sold came in at $312,900. Inventory of newly built single-family homes is currently at a 5.7-month supply at the existing sales pace. In January, inventory hit 265,000.

“We can expect further growth in new home sales throughout the year, spurred on by employment gains and a rise in household formations,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “As the supply of existing homes remains tight, more consumers will turn to new construction.”

The Northeast saw the highest increase in sales, rising 15.8 percent, with 44,000 new homes sold in January, compared to 38,000 in December. The Midwest also saw a large increase, rising 14.8 percent from 61,000 new homes sold in December to 70,000 in January. The South saw a slight rise, increasing 4.3 percent from 278,000 in December to 290,000 in January. However, sales in the West did see a decline of 4.4 percent, decreasing from 158,000 in December to 151,000 in January.

Single women unable to afford rent and mortgage in most major metros

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Single people, especially women, are struggling to afford homeownership and rent in most major cities.

Since single women’s median income is lower than men’s on average, they are priced out of several major cities.

PropertyShark and  RENTCafé recently priced the 50 biggest metros in the country to determine where single people could afford housing on their own. Being able to afford housing is defined as spending no more than 30 percent of one’s monthly income on rent or mortgage payments. They defined homes as starter units, such as studios and one-bedroom rentals, condos or houses.

Results found that in nine of the 50 cities, single men could afford mortgage, but single women could not. Fourteen cities, including Philadelphia, have priced out all singles. Philadelphia does have lower costs than other cities on the list, such as Manhattan and San Francisco, but based on the average salary, single people of both genders would struggle to afford housing. Women, more so, have a tough time in Philadelphia, the study found that it costs 54 percent of the average woman’s salary to pay a mortgage.

Renting is even worse, according to the study. For single men, they can afford the mortgage in 35 out of 50 cities. But rent? Not so much. They can only afford the rent on a similar building (typical one-bedroom or studio) in 18 cities. Single females can only afford rent in two of the 50 cities analyzed.

In Philadelphia, neither gender is likely to be able to afford a rent or a mortgage solo on the average salary.

Wichita, KS and Tulsa, OK are the lone two cities where both genders can afford a rent and a mortgage with their average salary.

Number of foreclosures continues to decrease

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Foreclosures have dropped nearly 40 percent year-to-year, according to CoreLogic’s recently-released December 2016 National Foreclosure Report.

In December 2016, there were 21,000 completed foreclosures, down 15,000 from December 2015. In December 2015, about 467,000 houses were in a stage of disclosure, compared to 335,000 a year later.

Additionally, the seriously delinquent rate was 2.6 percent in December, the lowest it has been since June of 2007. The serious delinquent rate is those homes that are 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure or REO.

“While the decline in serious delinquency has been geographically broad, some oil-producing markets have shown the effects of low oil prices on the housing market. Serious delinquency rates have rose in Louisiana, Wyoming and North Dakota, reflecting the weakness in oil production,” said Frank Nothaft, the chief economist at CoreLogic.

The national foreclosure inventory has dropped as well. From November to December 2016, it fell 1.9 percent, the 62nd month in a row that it declined. Year-to-year, foreclosure inventory decreased 29.5 percent.

The foreclosure rate of all homes with a mortgage dipped below 1 percent, falling to .8 percent, once again matching June 2007 levels.

In Pennsylvania, the foreclosure inventory is 1.1 percent, slightly above the national average, but nowhere near New Jersey (2.8 percent) and New York (2.7 percent). Year-to-year, the commonwealth saw a decrease of 29.1 percent in foreclosure inventory. The number of completed foreclosures for the year 2016 in Pennsylvania was 13,366, and Pennsylvania’s serious delinquency rate is above the national average, at 3.5 percent.

“Foreclosure and delinquency trends continue to head in the right direction powered principally by increasing employment levels, stringent underwriting standards and higher home prices over the past few years,” said CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi.

How to Get Involved in the REALTOR® Party

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Being a member of the National Association of REALTORS® is a distinguished honor. As NAR members, you are automatically a member of the REALTOR® Party—the only advocacy group in America that fights exclusively for homeownership, real estate investment, strong communities and the free enterprise system. The REALTOR® Party speaks with one voice to advance candidates and public policies that uphold private property rights, real property ownership, strong communities and a vibrant business environment.

Since the REALTOR® Party was launched in 2012, REALTOR® Party Resources have been put to work more than 13, 000 times by more than 1,000 REALTOR® Associations.  In recent years, local level activities have increased; REALTORS® have gained political clout through legislative victories in every corner of the country; and state and local REALTOR® Associations have expanded their community and political presence…all because of the actions of the REALTOR® Party.

While the thought of political advocacy and community engagement on a large scale maybe daunting, here are five easy ways to get started.

Register to Vote

With all the local, state and federal legislative efforts, ballot initiatives and major elections, REALTORS® around the country need to get involved.  Today, approximately 82% of REALTORS® are registered to vote and our goal is to have as many of our members registered and at their polling place on Election Day as possible. Register today, especially if you’ve recently relocated, by visiting www.realtoractioncenter.com/registertovote.

Respond to Calls for Action and Sign up for the REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts

REALTORS® are busy people, and the REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts—NAR’s official texting platform—are the simple, easy way for REALTORS® to stay connected from their cell phone or tablet outside of their email inboxes.  It is also the way we make sure our voice is heard from Capitol Hill to the state capitol and in city hall when a call for action is launched. Calls for action send messages from you to your national, state and local legislatures about issues that are important to our business. When a legislative call for action is launched, REALTOR® Party Mobile Alert subscribers get a short text message with ways to take action.

Sign up today by simply texting the word REALTOR to 30644.  In addition to receiving text messages to participate in calls for action, you’ll receive a link to help you locate your polling location and election and primary voting day reminders to make sure we get out the vote.

Visit the REALTOR® Action Center at www.realtoractioncenter.com

Looking for ways to vote, act and invest in the REALTOR® Party? Want to see how REALTORS® and REALTOR® Associations are successfully using REALTOR® Party programs, grants and tools? The REALTOR® Action Center is a one-stop shop for your REALTOR® Party needs, whether you want to apply for grants, learn more about RPAC or participate in a national call for action.   The website offers valuable resources and tools to strengthen their advocacy and community outreach programs, building political clout at every level of government and strong communities nationwide.

Follow the REALTOR® Party and Share Your REALTOR® Party Stories Online

Follow the REALTOR® Party on Facebook (REALTOR® Action Center) and Twitter (@REALTORAction) for the latest information on issues that matter to you.  Join the conversation by tagging us in your posts and use the hashtags #REALTORParty AND your two-letter state abbreviation (i.e., #REALTORParty #IL for Illinois) when posting your stories, photos and videos online.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Each photo, video, post and tweet tells a story—a story of improving and building strong communities, advancing and promoting public policies and candidates that benefit real estate and championing a vibrant business environment.  We want to hear from you and acknowledge your success by sharing your photos and videos with the REALTOR® Family and in our publications.

Read the REALTOR® Party News

The REALTOR® Party News is a monthly newsletter emailed to every member of the National Association of REALTORS® on the second Thursday of the month.  This newsletter provides important advocacy updates and resources, opportunities for REALTORS® to get involved in the REALTOR® Party and highlights the success of REALTORS® and REALTOR® Associations working across America.

You are the REALTOR® Party.  Your advocacy efforts—Voting, Acting and Investing in the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC)—not only make the REALTOR® Party, but our cities, communities and our country stronger and more effective.