More Buyers Open to Relocating

 

Home Buyers Say They're Open                                                                    to Relocating Remote work has Americans spreading out and the trend doesn't look likeit's going anywhere any timesoon. More and more, Americans are moving further from city centers and into suburbs and exurbs.  In fact, according to one recent survey, two-thirds of participants said they either already had, or would like to, move  somewhere within 50 miles of their current home. Some even  wanted to move further, with 4 percent saying they moved more than 50 miles away and 10 percent said they'd like to in the future. In short, there are a lot of Americans who are using their newfound ability to work from home as a reason to move elsewhere - whether for extra space, privacy, or to save money. It's not surprising. It's also likely to continue. That's because, just 17 percent of respondents said they thought their work-from-home arrangement would end when the pandemic subsides, while 72 percent said they expect it to be permanent. More here.

Mortgage Demand Rises 17% After                                                                  the Holidays According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, demand for mortgage applications was up 16.7 percent during the first week of January. The increase includes an adjustment for the holidays, but represents a significant spike from the previous week. Refinance activity was up 20 percent, while purchase demand rose 8 percent. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the numbers contain evidence that first-time home buyers are becoming more active in the market. "Sustained housing demand continued to support purchase growth, with activity up nearly 10 percent from a year ago, " Kan said. "The lower average loan balance observed was partly due to a 9.2 percent increase in FHA applications, which is a positive sign of more lower-income and first-time buyers returning to the market. " Also in the report, average mortgage rates were up slightly from the previous week, with increases seen for both 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances and loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration. The MBA's survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. More here.

MORTGAGE NEWS

More Buyers Buying Homes Sight Unseen How we buy homes has undergone a significant transformation in the past year. The proof is in newly released data that shows a record number of recent home buyers made an offer on a home without having ever visited it in person. The numbers, from an online real-estate portal, show 63 percent of buyers who purchased a home last year made an offer without having seen the property. That's up from 32 percent one year earlier and 45 percent in July 2020. So what's driving the trend? Well, mostly it's the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus caused us all to changethe way we do things,including buying a home. After its onset,home buyers became more comfortable using technology like virtual home tours to further explore listings that caught their eye online. It also meant more Americans working from home,which lead home shoppers to look for houses in areas that weren't as easy to get to for an in-person walkthrough. The combination of pandemic, technological advancement, and remote work means an increasing number of us have had to - or have chosen to - take our home search virtual. It remains to be seen, though, whether or not the trend will continue after the virus subsides. More here.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Will There Be a Buyer's Market In 2021? A buyer's market means there are more homes available for  sale than there are interested home buyers. When this happens, home shoppers have more negotiating power and time to choose - since sellers are less likely to have more than one offer to pick from. This was the case after the housing crash and financial crisis, when the market was flooded with homes but had few buyers, outside of real-estate investors looking to capitalize. So what should we expect from 2021? Well, most likely, not a buyer's market. The number of homes for sale fell significantly last year and remains low. Conversely, home buyer demand is elevated and has been for a while. That means, more buyers than homes,  which leads to competition and higher prices. But while home buyers aren't likely to find a buyer's  market, they will find conditions softening from last year. With mortgage rates still at record lows and  new-home construction improving, experts expect home-price increases to moderate and inventory to begin its recovery. In other words, the 2021 housing market won't be a buyer's market, but it should be  better than last year. More here. Thanks to Sue Baxter at FM Home Loans for sharing this information