Featured

A crowded seller’s market has left some homeowners who want to move into nicer homes frustrated. Though they are getting record-high offers for their starter abodes, when it comes time to buy, their money is not going as far in the trade-up market. Based on seven criteria, here is a list of the 10 hardest places to trade up.

On Tuesday, at 10 a.m. EST, the U.S. Census Bureau along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release the New Residential Sales Report for April 2017. With construction activity droppping off slightly, how will sales react?

Potential buyers could be taking a temporary step back from the housing market as the volume of mortgage applications declines even though fixed and adjustable rates continue to fall. Yet, even taking into account the current decline, mortgage rates remain higher than they were a year ago. The average loan size for applications that have been pushed through has also reached a new high.

High down payments and the amount of time required to save for these payments are among the reasons for millennials not quite settling yet. Millennials lifestyles change over time, and a lower down payment could make a difference in the long run.

Higher existing-home sales do not necessarily mean high homeownership rate. With homes selling fast, homebuyers are starting to realize they can afford less of what is on the market. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Jonathan Spader, senior research associate at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, and Mark Calabria, chief economist and assistant to Vice President Mike Pence weigh in on the 2017 midyear forecast.

On Thursday, both FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin separately addressed the current state of the GSEs. Though Mnuchin discussed the priority of housing finance and regulatory reform in front of the Senate, at an industry conference Watt described the many successes of the FHFA in the last nine years. Watt warned that reforms made during conservatorship should not be ignored by congress during the reworking of housing finance reform.

A recent survey concluded that the number one misconception and cause for dwindling first time homebuyers is being required to put 20 percent down when it comes to securing a mortgage. Other believed factors include a reduced number of houses on the market, growing student debt, and rising interest rates. Constant dialogue between industry professionals and the education of prospective buyers can help remedy this trend.

While April continues a 19-month trend of decline in the number of houses on the national market, down 13.3 percent, market demand continues to surge, causing rising prices and decreased median time from listing to going under contract. Many houses across the country are selling above their asking price. This trend could continue through May and June as more houses appear on the market.

Following in the footsteps of other industries, mortgage firms are starting to adopt new technologies like Application Programming Interfaces (API) in order to reduce errors and costs and speed up transactions. Lenders utilizing APIs said they do so primarily to integrate appraisal and verification information with their Loan Origination System. According to lenders, loan production holds the greatest potential for APIs and Chatbots alike.

Fifty-six percent of homebuyers deem that “forever homes” are outdated. With changing lifestyles and shorter tenure in homes, buyers are looking to new home construction rather than a resale in order to get the exact floor plan they want. Higher interest rates are not a turn off for the present-day buyer who prefers convenience to price.