The nation’s leading land brokers report both an increase in business and an uptick in land values as rural land grew in demand last year, according to a new survey of more than 100 land brokers nationwide conducted by the National Land Realty, a real estate land brokerage. 2021 is poised to be another strong year for land purchases, the report says.

More than half of the surveyed brokers reported an increase in their business in 2020 over 2019. More than 60% of brokers reported seeing an increase in land values, particularly recreational land and farmland.

“Investors rediscovered a safe haven in land real estate in 2020, which made for a very good year for land sales, with record-breaking volume in the second half of the year,” says Jason Walter, CEO of National Land Realty. “And with all of the traumatic events of 2020, people are looking to not only invest in land outside of the city, but they are also wanting to live on the land they buy, to be able to breathe the fresh COVID-free air and reconnect with the great outdoors.”

Indeed, brokers reported that the majority of the most recent buyers of land are coming from urban or suburban areas.

Nearly 90% of the brokers surveyed believe that land sales will continue to perform strongly over the next year to 18 months, according to the survey. “And more than 75 percent of [land brokers] believe their business will grow at least 5 percent, if not more than 10 percent, in that same time frame,” adds Jason Burbage, president of National Land Realty.

The biggest challenges in 2021 moving forward, land brokers say, will center around geopolitical risk (nearly 24%), followed by financing or interest rate risk (20%) and COVID-related issues (17%).

Mortgage Rates Rise to 3-Month High

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course this week, moving up to a 2.81% average. That marks its highest point since mid-November, Freddie Mac reports.

“Economic spending has improved, due to the most recent stimulus, but supply chain shortages are causing downstream inflation, leading to higher mortgage rates,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While there are multiple temporary factors driving up rates, the underlying economic fundamentals point to rates remaining in the low 3 percent range for the year.”

Indeed, mortgage rates continue to hover near record lows. The all-time low for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.65%, set in January.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 18:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.81%, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 2.73% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.49%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.21%, with an average 0.7 point, increasing from last week’s 2.19% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.99%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.77%, with an average 0.2 point, dropping from 2.79%. A year ago, the average ARM averaged 3.25%.

Freddie Mac reports average points along with commitment rates to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.

High-Tech Corridors Are Driving Economic Growth

Technology is driving new economies. A strengthening tech corridor helped Provo-Orem, Utah, top a new index on best economic performance among large cities in the U.S., according to the newly released 2021 Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities Index. A high-tech industry presence also helped drive job growth and economic performance for Idaho Falls, Idaho, which topped the list as the best-performing economy for a small city.

The annual index measures economic vitality in 200 large metro areas and 201 small metro areas, factoring in job creation, wage growth, and innovation industry metrics. This year’s index also reflects how the pandemic has impacted economies nationwide. This year Milken added housing affordability and broadband access among its variables.

“The pandemic has had an outsized impact on cities where the economic effects of the current recession are exacerbated by high housing costs,” says Kevin Klowden, executive director of the Milken Institute Center for Regional Economics and California Center. “By measuring for factors such as jobs, wages, and high-tech growth, the Best-Performing Cities Index offers analysis of how metro areas have fared based on the resilience of their local economy. And by incorporating data designed to gauge inclusivity, it provides important insights into how cities will be prepared to meet challenges and opportunities for future growth post-pandemic.”

Provo-Orem has benefited from the tech sector’s out-migration from more expensive coastal areas of California, the study notes. It has attracted tech giants like Qualtrics, Vivint, and Smart Citizen. Meanwhile, coastal California markets such as San Jose and San Francisco, which usually top Milken’s list, placed at number 24 and 22, respectively, on the 2021 rankings. High housing costs and a decline in short-term job growth led to their lower rankings this year, the survey notes.

Overall, the researchers note that large cities in the intermountain West and South are outperforming several areas along the coasts due to higher levels of short-term job growth and more affordable housing.

“As we discovered through our rankings, cities perform best when they pursue innovative strategies that allow high-tech industries to grow while still providing affordable costs of living,” says Misael Galdamez, senior policy analyst in the Milken Institute Center for Regional Economics. “This alignment provides a foundation for metro areas to become more resilient to economic shocks.”

The following large U.S. cities topped the 2021 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index:

1. Provo-Orem, Utah
2. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
3. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.
6. Boise, Idaho
7. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Ariz.
8. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
9. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
10. Huntsville, Ala.
11. Denver, Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.
12. Fort Collins, Colo.
13. Seattle, Bellevue-Kent, Wash.

The following small U.S. cities topped the 2021 rankings:

1. Idaho Falls, Idaho
2. Logan, Utah-Idaho
3. The Villages, Fla.
4. St. George, Utah
5. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Ala.
6. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
7. Sioux Falls, S.D.
8. Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
9. Gainesville, Ga.
10. Charlottesville, Va.
11. Punta Gorda, Fla.
12. Bellingham, Wash.
13. Bend, Ore.

Renters are being drawn to smaller markets due to their lower costs and the opportunity for more space amid the pandemic—but they may now be facing rising rental rates.

“Although rents across the U.S. have been growing at a slower pace since the onset of COVID-19 and the major tech hubs continue to see declines, some markets are seeing rents grow by double digits,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Many of the same factors that attract home buyers to an area—highly rated schools, job opportunities, affordability, and quality of life—attract renters. Like homeowners, the pandemic has given many renters the freedom to work remotely, and the rental trends reflect that reality.”

The U.S. median rent in January eked out a 0.8% increase to $1,442, which is still below the pre-COVID growth rate of 3.2%, according to realtor.com®’s January Rental Report, released Thursday. January, however, marked the first month since July 2020 that rental growth did not slow further, the report notes.

The report also notes that seven of the top 10 metros with the largest rent increases last month were also among the metros where home prices increased more than 5% year-over-year. Those metros included New Orleans; Sacramento, Calif.; Rochester, N.Y.; Cleveland; Riverside, Calif.; Cincinnati; and St. Louis, Mo. Also, four of the top 10 markets with the largest annual rent increases are located in the Midwest, an area of the country that tends to offer more affordability than coastal regions.

Many brokers and agents will soon have a new showing-service option. SentriLock LLC, a leading real estate tech provider, has announced that it will launch its SentriKey Showing Service product for all of its current lockbox customers on March 31. It will be widely available to all REALTOR® associations and multiple listing services later in the year. The service will be available to all agents and brokers, regardless of which lockbox provider your MLS uses.

SentriLock, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS®, has been assessing the need for a new product over the past year in light of growing industry consolidation in the showing service space.

“Our board directed us to develop a solution to address the growing lack of choice in this technology sector, given the natural fit with our current lockbox business,” says Scott Fisher, founder and CEO of SentriLock. “With recent industry acquisitions, this validates the decision that a trusted partner is needed more than ever to ensure REALTORS^® have a choice in showing service solutions. We did this with great success in the lockbox space 18 years ago and look forward to extending this approach into showing services.”

Zillow’s announcement Wednesday that it is acquiring the ShowingTime platform raised concerns for some real estate professionals about the security of their data.

SentriKey says its commitment to safeguarding data entered into the system will be just as vigorous as the measures that SentriLock uses to protect clients’ homes.

For those who use SentriLock, the showing system will be accessible using the same secure, easy-to-use mobile app and website that customers already use to open and manage their lockboxes. SentriLock is used by over 350 MLSs and REALTOR® associations and by over 350,000 users. The lockbox system will be integrated into the showing scheduling platform, a first for the industry, to create a seamless access experience. The system will improve client and agent experiences and enhance business productivity. The new platform leverages artificial intelligence to create a virtual assistant that frees agents from administrative tasks associated with setting up showing appointments.

“Consumers rely on the assistance of a trusted real estate professional to guide them through one of the most complex and consequential transactions of their life,” says NAR CEO Bob Goldberg, “and the development of SentriKey is part of our ongoing effort to ensure our members have the tools they need — best-in-class solutions — when working with buyers and sellers.” For decades, the embrace of disruption has been a central tenet at NAR. That principle guided not just the creation of Sentrilock but also the founding of realtor.com, the country’s first listing portal, 25 years ago, Goldberg says. “Now, of course, free online listings are a foregone conclusion for anyone selling or buying a home,” he says. “Ultimately, we took a potential disruption and turned it into an opportunity. I’m confident SentriKey will have the same effect.”

As part of this ongoing and multi-faceted push, NAR’s Strategic Business, Innovation and Technology (SBIT) group was created to accelerate business performance for both members and consumers by delivering innovative products, services, and cost savings benefits through its partnerships. Through its strategic investment subsidiary, Second Century Ventures (SCV), and the REACH technology accelerator, NAR works with over 100 technology companies that are transforming the real estate industry across the entire real estate ecosystem.

Notable examples include digital platforms like DocuSign, the leader in e-signature services, and Notarize, which is paving the way in remote notarization. Innovative entities like these make it possible to transact online with secure, contact-free platforms. Other companies helping digitize the transaction include Glide, which offers a quick and effective way to manage disclosure forms, and Modus, which is bringing ease of mind to the closing process.

Learn more by visiting http://www.sentrilock.com and navigating to the SentriKey Showing Service page.

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Forty-one percent of Americans have moved for love, with men more willing to relocate than women for their significant other, a new survey of 1,550 Americans from LendingTree finds.

The top five states for a romance relocation, the survey finds, are: Florida (11%), California (10%), New York (7%), Texas (6%), and North Carolina (5%).

But not all of these moves for love have happy endings, the survey notes. Women were more likely than men to express regrets about moving for love—22% versus 9%. Forty-six percent of women who said they originally relocated to an area for love say they’re no longer with that person, while 31% of men said the same. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top reason for regret for moving for love was that the respondent was no longer with the person they originally moved for.

The main reasons for moving for love, according to survey respondents:

• Being in a long-distance relationship and moving to be closer to their significant other.
• Selecting their college based on a romantic relationship that started in high school.
• Choosing to move with a significant other who got a new job and needed to relocate.
• Getting engaged or married and moving in with their partner.
• Moving during the coronavirus pandemic to quarantine with their significant other. (This response was most common among Generation Z and the younger age groups.)

Some couples may be moving in together to save on costs. “Splitting household expenses can increase your prospects of becoming a homeowner,” says Tendayi Kapfidze, LendingTree’s chief economist. “While renting, it enables you to save more and can increase your budget when buying.”