Category: Uncategorized

By Suzanne De Vita

Home builder confidence in the single-family 55-plus housing market took a leap forward in the second quarter of 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) recently released 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI). The Index reading for the second quarter was 66, up a solid 11 points from the first quarter. An above-50 reading indicates more builders have a positive outlook than a negative one.

“Demand for 55-plus housing continues to grow, and this quarter’s Index is a reflection of that,” said Dennis Cunningham, chairman of NAHB’s 55+ Housing Industry Council, in a statement. “Consumers in this market want a home that addresses their specific needs, and 55-plus builders and developers are able to create homes and communities that cater to these needs.”

Home builders’ expectations regarding present and expected single-family home sales in the 55-plus market both rose in the second quarter, up to 70 and 80, in order, while expected homebuyer traffic rose 19 points to 53—an Index high.

“We are seeing strong demand in the 55-plus housing sector due to favorable market conditions, such as record highs in the stock market and rising home prices,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist at NAHB. “This quarter’s reading is in line with our forecast, as we expect to see continued gradual gains in 2017.”

Source: National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

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From:: Real Estate News

By Beth McGuire

When you hear the term “sustainable real estate,” what topics come to mind? Perhaps your first thoughts are environmentally-friendly properties, or creating walkable communities, or using fewer resources in your real estate practice. Each of these topics, and many more, fall under the umbrella of sustainability.

Regardless of how you think about sustainability as a broker, we all need to recognize that it plays an increasingly important role in real estate, especially as certain aspects of sustainability are becoming mainstream, moving beyond a “nice-to-have” and becoming a top priority for consumers’ life at home.

NAR’s Sustainability Program

For decades, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has supported sustainability in numerous ways. Last year, in response to strong member interest, our efforts were centralized and expanded into an official NAR Sustainability Program. This program serves as a hub to support member resources and a platform for leadership in the real estate industry, with coordination and outreach to allied trade associations and organizations.

Among the new initiatives launched under the program is a special Sustainability Summit, hosted by NAR, and including representatives from other cooperating industries such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and the Council of MLS (CMLS). The first summit, held in July, offered an excellent forum to discuss where sustainability and real estate overlap, and to explore collaboration among industry groups for the future of our industry.

Member Research

Another new initiative sponsored by NAR’s Sustainability Program is an annual survey of members. Some of the noteworthy facts drawn from NAR’s benchmark REALTORS® and Sustainability Report include:

• A significant majority (60 percent) of agents surveyed agreed that consumers are somewhat or very interested in sustainability.
• Eighty percent of respondents said that solar panels are available in their market, and 42 percent said solar panels increased a property’s perceived value.
• Seventy-one percent said that energy efficiency promotion in listings was very or somewhat valuable.
• Forty-three percent of respondents report that their MLS has green data fields.

Additional Resources

With each passing year, it becomes more and more apparent property buyers and sellers place a priority on the benefits provided by sustainability. NAR’s Sustainability Program pulls together extensive resources—including publications, research, advocacy, grants, and links to existing NAR programs—all designed to help you respond to growing consumer and professional interest, and to position your brokerage for success as market shifts continue to urge adaptation. To learn more and access these additional resources, visit www.nar.realtor/sustainability.

Steps to Take

There are many things you can do to raise the bar on sustainability within your brokerage, including:

Help your listings achieve certification. In particular, take a look at Pearl Certification, a company recently selected for NAR’s 2017 REach® technology accelerator program. Pearl’s third-party verification system for new and existing homes provides a market edge through a property certification by awarding up to 1,000 points for a property’s performance across four key dimensions (insulation, heating/cooling system, ENERGY STAR appliances, and smart thermostats).

Support efforts to green your MLS. Buyers, sellers and appraisers all rely on a green MLS to help ensure fair …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Beth McGuire

There are some new rules coming down the pike for banks that will drastically alter the lending landscape. What are they, and should you care?

I’m amazed that there has not been more talk regarding a big change in banking regulation. There are new regulations being phased in that will impact every borrower in a big way.

What is the new rule? The CFPB issued a new HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) rule in October 2015, which vastly expands the data points and fields that are required to be collected and reported. The new data fields include very specific information about the borrower and the property. In a nutshell, the new items include race, gender, age, credit scores, cost of the loan, etc.

The collection of all these data begin in 2018, with the first reports coming out 2019. With the new rules, you will be able to find out at the bank level what loans were made based on age, race, gender, etc., in any given year.

Shouldn’t this be great since the primary purposes of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) are to help authorities monitor discriminatory and predatory lending practices, as well as to ensure government resources are allocated properly to enforcement? Like many government plans, on the surface, yes—but the issues lurk in the details.

Why should a bank care? The Denver Post ran an article, “Qualifying for a Mortgage Is Getting Easier, but Minority Applicants Still Face Higher Denial Rates.” (Specific banks were not named, since the data was analyzed at a city level.) Under the new rules, let’s say for example there is a bank in a high-end resort town that does 100 loans a year (each loan is over $2 million). The bank gets 10 applicants from people under 30; of those, only two qualify for a loan. The statistics look terrible. I can see the headlines: “Bank X Discriminates Against Young Borrowers Since 80 Percent of All Applications Were Turned Down.” You can substitute the word “young” for a specific minority, gender, etc. This is definitely not a time where the bank wants to be in the news! You can quickly see where this is going to be problematic for lenders.

Why should you care? 2019 will also be the year of the lawsuits for banks. It will not take long for attorneys to begin filing suits based on gender, age, credit score, minority status, zip code, etc. Shouldn’t lawsuits help ensure banks are lending fairly? In theory, yes—but in practice, the results of these changes will definitely not help consumers.

Here are three side effects of the new regulation for banks. All three will negatively impact consumers.

1. Lending costs will increase. As banks’ risk (lawsuits, etc.) to lend increases, so will the costs on consumers. Banks will basically build in perceived risks/costs associated with litigation for all borrowers. The banks will not simply absorb the new costs—someone will have to pay! This will be a pass-through cost that every borrower will now pay with increased lending …read more

   From:: Real Estate News

By Beth McGuire

There are some new rules coming down the pike for banks that will drastically alter the lending landscape. What are they, and should you care?

I’m amazed that there has not been more talk regarding a big change in banking regulation. There are new regulations being phased in that will impact every borrower in a big way.

What is the new rule? The CFPB issued a new HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) rule in October 2015, which vastly expands the data points and fields that are required to be collected and reported. The new data fields include very specific information about the borrower and the property. In a nutshell, the new items include race, gender, age, credit scores, cost of the loan, etc.

The collection of all these data begin in 2018, with the first reports coming out 2019. With the new rules, you will be able to find out at the bank level what loans were made based on age, race, gender, etc., in any given year.

Shouldn’t this be great since the primary purposes of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) are to help authorities monitor discriminatory and predatory lending practices, as well as to ensure government resources are allocated properly to enforcement? Like many government plans, on the surface, yes—but the issues lurk in the details.

Why should a bank care? The Denver Post ran an article, “Qualifying for a Mortgage Is Getting Easier, but Minority Applicants Still Face Higher Denial Rates.” (Specific banks were not named, since the data was analyzed at a city level.) Under the new rules, let’s say for example there is a bank in a high-end resort town that does 100 loans a year (each loan is over $2 million). The bank gets 10 applicants from people under 30; of those, only two qualify for a loan. The statistics look terrible. I can see the headlines: “Bank X Discriminates Against Young Borrowers Since 80 Percent of All Applications Were Turned Down.” You can substitute the word “young” for a specific minority, gender, etc. This is definitely not a time where the bank wants to be in the news! You can quickly see where this is going to be problematic for lenders.

Why should you care? 2019 will also be the year of the lawsuits for banks. It will not take long for attorneys to begin filing suits based on gender, age, credit score, minority status, zip code, etc. Shouldn’t lawsuits help ensure banks are lending fairly? In theory, yes—but in practice, the results of these changes will definitely not help consumers.

Here are three side effects of the new regulation for banks. All three will negatively impact consumers.

1. Lending costs will increase. As banks’ risk (lawsuits, etc.) to lend increases, so will the costs on consumers. Banks will basically build in perceived risks/costs associated with litigation for all borrowers. The banks will not simply absorb the new costs—someone will have to pay! This will be a pass-through cost that every borrower will now pay with increased lending …read more

   From:: Real Estate News