Housing News
Home builder confidence levels reach important milestone
Home builder confidence has hit a significant milestone, but not so fast, this doesn’t imply housing has recovered as some are stating it does.
Home builder confidence jumped in June
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder confidence rose eight points to 52 in June, the first time the HMI has been above 50 since April 2006 and was the biggest single-month gain in nearly 11 years. Any reading above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions positively than negatively. Gains have been made for many months in a row, but exceeding 50 is a milestone the NAHB is lauding.
“This is the first time the HMI has been above 50 since April 2006, and surpassing this important benchmark reflects the fact that builders are seeing better market conditions as demand for new homes increases,” said NAHB Chairman Rick Judson
“Builders are experiencing some relief in the headwinds that are holding back a more robust recovery,” said NAHB Chief Economist, Dr. David Crowe. “Today’s report is consistent with our forecast for a 29 percent increase in total housing starts this year, which would mark the first time since 2007 that starts have topped the 1 million mark.”
NAHB survey details
The HMI survey gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers, all of which improved in June. Confidence in current sales conditions rose 8.0 points to 56, future sales expectations jumped 9.0 percent to 61, and sentiment on traffic rose 7.0 points to 40.
The HMI three-month moving average was up in three of the four regions, with the Northeast and Midwest posting a one-point and three-point gain to 37 and 47, respectively. The South registered a four point gain to 46 while the West fell one point to 48.
Does this spell a comeback?
Some are implying this reading indicates a housing recovery is under way and in full swing, but is that really accurate? Imagine you put 100 builders in a room and ask them how they feel about the market and only 52 raise their hand to state they feel positively while the other 48 say they feel negatively, that’s hardly a comeback.
That said, reading confidence levels and seeing them above the 50 point mark is a sign that the recovery has begun, but the road to recovery is a long one and will continue to remain a challenge, particularly if lending remains unreasonably tight and uncertainty surrounding taxes and tax reform remain. This reading is good news, but should not be blown out of proportion as nearly half of all builders surveyed still feel negatively toward housing.
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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.
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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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