Tag Archives: Demand

A report released by Prudential Real Estate finds that the number of consumers--particularly young ones--who are optimistic about residential real estate took a healthy step higher in December. According to Prudential, 78 percent of consumers (and nearly 90 percent of Millennials) surveyed look favorably toward the residential market in 2014. This is a full 5 percentage points more than the company's third-quarter 2013 results and 15 points more than its end-of-year 2012 results.

The year started off with relatively strong homebuyer interest, but that interest has not translated into actual home purchases, according to the latest Real-Time Demand Pulse released Thursday by Redfin, a national online real estate brokerage. After a normal lull during the holiday season, the number of consumers taking home tours increased 53.8 percent in the first month of the year. Meanwhile, the number of offers made in January is only up 28.7 percent compared to last year's 42.6 percent.

The Federal Reserve released Monday its January 2014 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, a poll examining changes in lending standards and demand in the latest quarter. Whether it was because of higher hurdles to clear or last year's rise in interest rates, a moderate fraction of banks reported a drop in demand for prime purchase mortgages, with a combined 47.9 percent saying demand was weaker. Only 19.7 percent saw greater consumer interest in prime residential loans.

For the entire year, industry numbers point to a total of $1.8 trillion in originations, well above what many analysts projected at the opening of the year. Given the current trend of declining mortgage rates and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's expected push to open credit availability at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FBR Capital Markets says we might see originations in 2014 push to $1.3 trillion or higher, depending on how the next few months play out.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) latest underwriting survey shows lending standards have continued to relax as banks duke it out over a dwindling market. Despite the drop in standards, examiners indicated risk in residential mortgage portfolios remained unchanged or decreased at 87 percent of banks. Still, OCC cautions banks to ensure they're giving "appropriate attention" to underwriting, loan structures, and loan administration.

If this year's subfreezing temperatures have you fantasizing about warmer climes, you're not alone: An analysis of Web search traffic on Trulia finds home searches in the country's warmer regions have gone up this winter as the mercury has plunged. The company's statistics (collected from December 1, 2013, through January 21, 2014) show that for every 10-degree drop in temperature, searches on the company's engine increase by 2.6 percent nationally. For warm regions specifically, home searches rise 4.4 percent.

Ever since home prices bottomed out, increases in Nevada, Arizona, California, and Florida have outpaced the country. At the same time, however, homebuilding has remained "very subdued."

According to Redfin's most recent Real-Time Bidding Wars report, 52.0 percent of offers made by the company's agents faced competition last month, down from 52.8 percent in November and 62.4 percent a year earlier. Competition plummeted in the Northeast, which experienced "[p]articularly frosty weather" in the year's final month. Instances of competing offers dropped most in Boston and Baltimore, falling 19.7 and 13.5 percentage points, respectively.

LendingTree released recently the results of an online survey conducted near the end of the last year. According to the findings, more than two-thirds--69 percent--of respondents have a positive outlook on housing this year, and 63 percent hold a similar view for the economy at large. With hopes this high, 71 percent of respondents said they are considering selling their home in 2014. Out of that group, the majority said they would have to see their home's value increase before acting.

Despite the numerous challenges that sprang up throughout 2013, the housing market still managed to finish the year in a healthier position than in 2012, according to the latest figures from Realtor.com. The site's statistics for December indicate the median national list price ended 2013 at $194,500, up 8.1 percent compared to the end of 2012. Relative to November, however, prices were down 1.6 percent--marking the late arrival of the "usual seasonal winter slow down," Realtor.com says.