Housing News
Foreclosures lag, consumer attitudes continue to sour
As we recently reported, foreclosure sales volume is down 31% while the average discount is up 32% and we the drumbeat here and elsewhere continues to sound “jobs, jobs, jobs.”
There has been an increase in foreclosure filings as well as sales this year, so Trulia and RealtyTrac teamed up to survey consumer attitudes and found that 58% of Americans expect the housing market to recover after 2012. Of those surveyed, 35% believe the robo-signing issue will delay a real estate recovery, and a paltry 6% think the robo-signing issue will have no effect on the recovery.
Attitudes toward foreclosures:
We found the following infographics pertaining to Americans’ attitudes toward foreclosures to be extremely interesting, especially those about people walking away from their homes…
Delays in the foreclosure process
Over time, with the number of foreclosures being processed and the robo-signing debacle, the length of time a home is in the foreclosure process has increased. The Wall Street Journal has posted an interactive map showing the time a homeowner spends in their home during delinquency and foreclosure.
We believe that with the rising number of foreclosures and the rising amount of time borrowers may spend in delinquency, the sentiment of Americans is tainted because most are either going through the foreclosure process or are close to someone who is which makes it difficult to see any promise of a recovery. As jobs increase in America and the pressure valve is loosened, we will see this negative attitude dissipate, but it’s difficult for most consumers to have a rosy outlook when they themselves or those around them are experiencing difficulties.
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Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
Click here to continue reading this story…
Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Agent for Movoto
December 14, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Bad news all around, but thanks for posting anyway. That map is TERRIFYING.
Lani Rosales
December 20, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I agree!!!
danschuman
December 15, 2010 at 2:42 pm
I think the map says it all. I am hopeful though that there will be some more positive news that will start to change the sentiment of consumers.
Lani Rosales
December 20, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I hope consumer sentiment changes but in this case, sentiment isn’t driving the market, so I don’t know if the sun will shine in the next few months… maybe Q3 of 2011? Thoughts?