Author: admin

By Susanne Dwyer

President-Elect Donald Trump made his early fortune in the real estate sector, and his business holdings clearly indicate he is a firm believer in the economic power of the U.S. housing market. Real estate analysts are hopeful that Trump’s business background will boost housing significantly. Despite concerns regarding his cabinet pick for the top post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Trump believes that HUD should go through a process of reform that cuts down on bureaucracy.

The question of how the housing market will react in 2017 and beyond can be answered in different ways:

Positive Economic Sentiment
The U.S. housing market is intrinsically tied to the global economy. On the night of the presidential election, the global markets tumbled momentarily before getting back to normal. Since that incredible night, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has come very close to closing at 20,000 points, the highest level in the history of Wall Street.

According to Fortune, based on economic sentiment alone, financial markets seem to favor a Trump presidency, which means that the housing market is bound to react in a similar manner. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently announced that confidence among the residential construction sector is at a nine-year high.

Higher Mortgage Costs
The final meeting of the Federal Reserve this year resulted in a decision to raise interest rates, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen hinting at the possibility of rates increasing a couple of times in 2017. If you are planning on buying a home or refinancing your existing mortgage, be ready to pay more for financing costs during the Trump Administration. Yellen’s statements were very clear insofar as her intention of cooling down market volatility with higher rates. She has made allusions to the fiscal package that Trump plans to introduce during his first 100 days in office, but according to The Atlantic, if the stimulus results in a Wall Street bonanza, she will be ready to put out the fire of irrational exuberance with a bucketful of higher interest rates. Naturally, you will end up paying more as a mortgage borrower.

The Housing Market May Not Be Affected after All
Some analysts are brushing off the idea of the Trump Administration having a profound effect on the market. This rationale is based on the fact that the housing market should have reacted negatively to the presidential campaign. Nothing of the sort happened; this can be construed as the housing market operating independently from political sentiment.

As for other factors related to housing, insuring your home and paying your utilities should not be affected unless the U.S. enters a period of high inflation. There is somewhat of a chance that this may happen; after all, the Fed has been concerned that the economic recovery of the U.S. has largely occurred without a substantial increase of inflation rates. The 10-year Treasury Yield has been inching up since the summer, and bond market analysts believed that this was a sure sign of inflation. They may …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Housing’s collective value grew to $29.6 trillion this year, a record-high reflecting 5.7 percent appreciation—an additional $1.6 trillion—in 2016, according to a recently released analysis by Zillow. The most housing value in the nation is in Los Angeles, Calif., New York, N.Y., and San Francisco, Calif., at 8.6 percent, 8 percent and 4.2 percent, in order.

The continuing growth in prices, however—now marking a full recovery since the crash—has the potential to push more prospective homebuyers to the sidelines, says Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell.

“Housing is incredibly important to us personally and to the economy as a whole,” says Gudell. “The U.S. housing stock is worth more than ever, which is a sign of the ongoing housing recovery. As buying a home gets more expensive, affordability remains a concern for many, and these numbers highlight just how much people are spending on housing. The total value of the housing stock grew nearly 6 percent this year, a pace that will likely mean some American families are priced out of homeownership.”

Despite this year’s appreciation, approximately 60 percent of housing markets remain below values reached during the bubble years, according to the analysis.

Renters, to compare—with approximately 635,000 new renter households formed this year—paid $478.5 billion in 2016, up $17.7 billion from 2015. Apartment renters paid $50 billion more than single-family home renters, and the most rent was paid in New York and Northern New Jersey, at $55 billion.

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Housing Value at Record-High: Will Buyers Be Able to Keep Up? appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Housing’s collective value grew to $29.6 trillion this year, a record-high reflecting 5.7 percent appreciation—an additional $1.6 trillion—in 2016, according to a recently released analysis by Zillow. The most housing value in the nation is in Los Angeles, Calif., New York, N.Y., and San Francisco, Calif., at 8.6 percent, 8 percent and 4.2 percent, in order.

The continuing growth in prices, however—now marking a full recovery since the crash—has the potential to push more prospective homebuyers to the sidelines, says Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell.

“Housing is incredibly important to us personally and to the economy as a whole,” says Gudell. “The U.S. housing stock is worth more than ever, which is a sign of the ongoing housing recovery. As buying a home gets more expensive, affordability remains a concern for many, and these numbers highlight just how much people are spending on housing. The total value of the housing stock grew nearly 6 percent this year, a pace that will likely mean some American families are priced out of homeownership.”

Despite this year’s appreciation, approximately 60 percent of housing markets remain below values reached during the bubble years, according to the analysis.

Renters, to compare—with approximately 635,000 new renter households formed this year—paid $478.5 billion in 2016, up $17.7 billion from 2015. Apartment renters paid $50 billion more than single-family home renters, and the most rent was paid in New York and Northern New Jersey, at $55 billion.

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Housing Value at Record-High: Will Buyers Be Able to Keep Up? appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

A fundamental belief in our organization is to give, and to give wholeheartedly. With great success comes great opportunity, and we’re genuinely ready and eager to use that opportunity to help those in need. We strive to demonstrate an attitude of selflessness, which has become an essential part of who we are as a company. By giving to those around us, with no hidden agenda, we grow closer with one another while helping the community become a stronger place for all of us to live. We divide our outreach in two directions: the company, including agents and their families; and the community itself.

Our company provides several different events throughout the year where our agents and their families can unite and enjoy time together. During the spring and summer, we put on a friendly, yet very competitive volleyball league. We invite agents and their families to play so that we can get to know one another, especially outside of a working environment. For the fall and winter, we host a ping pong league at our office building. Throughout the year, we throw events such as our chili cook-off, BBQ grill-outs and holiday potlucks. Bounce houses, water balloon fights, pumpkin carvings, face paintings, water slides, and yes, even clowns, are all part of the experience. We want families to feel how much we care and to truly enjoy these events, creating everlasting memories.

This year, we also implemented The Ambassador Care Fund, a very unique form of giving to our agents. This fund was established to help people as they face challenging times, to ease the burdens of current life situations, and to give a lending hand of support as needs arise. For each housing transaction, agents donate $5 and the company matches it dollar for dollar. We raise at least $75,000 each year. This fund ultimately allows us to become more aware of what other agents and staff members are going through, and to not only give with our time and focus, but to provide financial aid, as well.

These company-oriented events have a direct impact on our office, making it a more productive and friendly environment. We believe that by bringing agents together on a more personal level, they’re more willing to share ideas, advice, etc. The bonds that are created benefit everyone and help cultivate an environment that agents are passionate about and proud to be part of.

The second direction of outreach is focused on the community. Every 18 months, we partake in our largest event raising funds for The Sunshine Kids. This charity holds a special place in our hearts because it aims to improve the quality of life for kids with cancer. This past September, we had approximately 2,000 people at our event and raised over $300,000. Most importantly, however, we get to come together for something bigger than ourselves. It takes about five months, five multiple committees, and 100 agent volunteers to organize and plan this special event. We split the committees into food and beverage, fundraising, silent …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Confidence among consumers catapulted to a 13-year high in December, posting a 105.5 Expectations reading of The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, the highest level since 107.4 in December 2003. The upshot builds on optimism expressed in November, with the Index overall posting 113.7 in December.

“Consumer confidence improved further in December, due solely to increasing Expectations which hit a 13-year high,” said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. “The post-election surge in optimism for the economy, jobs and income prospects, as well as for stock prices—which reached a 13-year high—was most pronounced among older consumers.”

President-Elect Donald Trump commented on the growing optimism through Twitter, tweeting, “The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points to 113.7, THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS! Thanks Donald!”

The Present Situation reading of the Index, which posted 126.1 from 132.0 in November, remains a solid indicator, according to Franco.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions, which declined, still suggests that economic growth continued through the final months of 2016,” Franco said. “Looking ahead to 2017, consumers’ continued optimism will depend on whether or not their expectations are realized.”

The percentage of consumers who believe business conditions are “good,” as defined by the Index, decreased from 29.7 percent in November to 29.2 percent in December; the percentage of those who believe business conditions are “bad” increased from 15.2 percent in November to 17.3 percent in December. The percentage of those who expect business conditions to improve increased from 16.4 percent in November to 23.6 percent in December; the percentage of those who expect business conditions to worsen decreased from 9.9 percent in November to 8.7 percent in December.

The percentage of consumers who believe jobs are “plentiful” decreased from 27.8 percent in November to 26.9 percent in December, according to the Index; the percentage of those who believe jobs are “hard to get” increased from 21.2 percent in November to 22.5 percent in December. The percentage of those who expect more jobs in the coming months increased from 16.1 percent in November to 21.0 percent in December; the percentage of those who expect less jobs in the coming months increased from 13.5 percent in November to 14.0 percent in December.

The percentage of consumers who expect higher income, as well, increased from 17.4 percent in November to 21.0 percent in December; the percentage of those who expect less decreased from 9.2 percent in November to 8.6 percent in December.

Source: The Conference Board

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Thank Trump? Consumer Confidence Catapults to 13-Year High appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Confidence among consumers catapulted to a 13-year high in December, posting a 105.5 Expectations reading of The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, the highest level since 107.4 in December 2003. The upshot builds on optimism expressed in November, with the Index overall posting 113.7 in December.

“Consumer confidence improved further in December, due solely to increasing Expectations which hit a 13-year high,” said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. “The post-election surge in optimism for the economy, jobs and income prospects, as well as for stock prices—which reached a 13-year high—was most pronounced among older consumers.”

President-Elect Donald Trump commented on the growing optimism through Twitter, tweeting, “The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points to 113.7, THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS! Thanks Donald!”

The Present Situation reading of the Index, which posted 126.1 from 132.0 in November, remains a solid indicator, according to Franco.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions, which declined, still suggests that economic growth continued through the final months of 2016,” Franco said. “Looking ahead to 2017, consumers’ continued optimism will depend on whether or not their expectations are realized.”

The percentage of consumers who believe business conditions are “good,” as defined by the Index, decreased from 29.7 percent in November to 29.2 percent in December; the percentage of those who believe business conditions are “bad” increased from 15.2 percent in November to 17.3 percent in December. The percentage of those who expect business conditions to improve increased from 16.4 percent in November to 23.6 percent in December; the percentage of those who expect business conditions to worsen decreased from 9.9 percent in November to 8.7 percent in December.

The percentage of consumers who believe jobs are “plentiful” decreased from 27.8 percent in November to 26.9 percent in December, according to the Index; the percentage of those who believe jobs are “hard to get” increased from 21.2 percent in November to 22.5 percent in December. The percentage of those who expect more jobs in the coming months increased from 16.1 percent in November to 21.0 percent in December; the percentage of those who expect less jobs in the coming months increased from 13.5 percent in November to 14.0 percent in December.

The percentage of consumers who expect higher income, as well, increased from 17.4 percent in November to 21.0 percent in December; the percentage of those who expect less decreased from 9.2 percent in November to 8.6 percent in December.

Source: The Conference Board

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Thank Trump? Consumer Confidence Catapults to 13-Year High appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News