Millennials Embrace Unique, High-Tech Spaces.

Millennials Embrace Unique, High-Tech Spaces. Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Millennial generation is about 90 million strong—forming the largest demographic wave in the country’s history—and some reports suggest they’re readying for home ownership.

Millennials’ entrance into home ownership has been delayed due to the recession, high unemployment, and high student loan debt. They’ve been living in their parents’ homes, as well as delaying marriage and having children, surveys show. But the pent-up demand from this generation is starting to surface, says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup.

Homebuilders, like PulteGroup and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, recently revealed surveys of what Millennials want in their future homes. In general, the surveys reveal that this generation isn’t wowed by luxury and prefers technology and flexible space.

Pulte Homes found in its research that more than half of Millennials who decided to buy a home last year from the homebuilder said their main reason was to invest and build equity.

As for what they’re looking for in a home, they appreciate an efficient use of space, an open layout for entertaining, ample storage space, and outdoor space that extends their living areas, according to the Pulte survey of 531 adult renters between the ages of 18 and 34.

“What may be different about this buyer is that they may have more stuff,” says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup. “It’s different kind of stuff: technological gadgets, gaming. They also do work from home.”

The Better Homes and Gardens survey of 1,000 adults ages 18 to 35 found that Millennials don’t like traditional floor plans and prefer unique spaces. They like to do home improvements themselves and are “fix-it” types.

One in five said that “home office” is a better suited name for their dining room, according to the Better Homes and Gardens survey. What’s more, 43 percent said they want to transform their living room into a home theater.

The survey also showed they’d rather have extra space in their kitchen for a TV than a second oven. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed say they wouldn’t purchase a home without up-to-date tech capabilities.

Source: “GenY is finally in a mood to buy (houses),” USA Today (March 28, 2013)

Mortgage Counseling Pays Off, Study Shows.

Mortgage Counseling Pays Off, Study Shows. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Home buyer counseling leads to significantly lower mortgage default rates, according to a new study by NeighborWorks America.

The study found that borrowers who went through a prepurchase counseling program were nearly a third less likely than non-counseled borrowers to fall behind on their mortgage payments by 90 days or more in the first two years following closing. NeighborWorks evaluated 75,000 mortgages that originated from 2007 to 2009.

“Before you kind of tie somebody into a loan, you should be encouraging them to go to prepurchase education and counseling,” Eileen Fitzgerald, NeighborWorks chief executive, said about the study’s findings for lenders. “You will make more money off of that person.”

But counseling programs differ in how they’re delivered and there’s been no research on which model works best, says David Stevens, the chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, about the study’s findings. “My own subjective view is that face-to-face is probably the best,” Stevens told The New York Times.

Source: “Mortgages: The Benefits of Counseling,” The New York Times (March 28, 2013)

New Database Allows Americans to Post Mortgage Gripes.

New Database Allows Americans to Post Mortgage Gripes. Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Americans have a lot of gripes when it comes to mortgages. Of the 90,000 consumer complaints that have been filed so far to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new consumer complaint database, 50,000 have related to mortgage issues. Complaints over loan modifications, foreclosures, and other servicing issues dominate.

The CFPB launched a database on Thursday to field consumer complaints — the nation’s largest public database for consumer financial complaints. The database captures individual complaints on everything from mortgages to credit cards, student loans, bank accounts, and other financial services.

The public can view the complaints in the database by mortgage issue and product type and even organize the issues by name of the lender or servicer. The identity of the person who posted the complaint is not included in the database.

“By sharing these complaints with the public, we are creating greater transparency in consumer financial products and services,” says Richard Cordray, CFPB director.

The agency’s Web site notes, however, that it does not verify “all the facts alleged in these complaints but we do take steps to confirm a commercial relationship between the consumer and company.”

Source: “Loan mod, foreclosure complaints dominate CFPB consumer reports,” HousingWire (March 28, 2013) and “CFPB enhances transparency with consumer complaint database,” HousingWire (March 28, 2013)

FHA Premiums to Rise April 1.

FHA Premiums to Rise April 1. Image courtesy of sheelamohan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Starting Monday, borrowers will be charged higher mortgage insurance premiums on new Federal Housing Administration loans. The annual fee on the majority of FHA loans will rise by 0.1 percent on April 1.

This marks the third time the FHA has increased its mortgage insurance premiums in two years. And since 2008, the fee has nearly tripled.

Some borrowers are rushing to beat the April 1 deadline.

The FHA premium hikes are part of an effort by the agency to increase its insurance fund. In early June, the FHA will require borrowers who take out new FHA loans to pay for mortgage insurance for the entire life of the loan.

Source: “FHA Loans Get Pricer April 1,” Bankrate.com (March 26, 2013) and “Mortgage insurers prep for FHA premium increases,” HousingWire (March 28, 2013)

Are First-Time Buyers Being Shut Out?

Are First-Time Buyers Being Shut Out? Image courtesy of Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Across the country, first-time home buyers have been putting in offers on homes, but many of them keep losing out.

One working mother says she’s put in 30 offers on homes in the $100,000 range in the Atlanta area, bidding $2,500 to $3,000 above the asking price, but each time she’s been outbid. “We have to be on top of the game and be able to drop everything and check out a house or it will be gone,” says another couple in Alexandria, Va.

Tight housing inventories are playing a role. For example, in Boston home listings are down 57 percent and in Atlanta area home listings have dropped nearly 40 percent in the past year.

Also, “investors have been pushing home prices higher faster than expected,” Diana Olick reports for NBC. “But the higher prices get, the more investors may get out, because they won’t be able to find such great bargains any more. That in turn will let regular buyers back in, even if they do have to pay a little more to own.”

Source: “First-time Buyers Struggle as Home Prices Rise,” NBC (March 26, 2013)

Mortgage Delinquencies, Foreclosure Rates Fall.

Mortgage Delinquencies, Foreclosure Rates Fall. Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The foreclosure picture continues to show year-over-year improvement, with delinquencies down and foreclosure inventories falling, according to a report of February data from Lender Processing Services (LPS), which provides technology and data for the mortgage and real estate industries.

The total U.S. loan delinquency rate — loans 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure — dropped to 6.8 percent in February, according to LPS. The delinquency rate has fallen 6.51 percent in the past year.

The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate has fallen nearly 20 percent in the past year to 1.7 million homes, according to LPS.

About 5.1 million homes in the U.S. are either in foreclosure or delinquent, according to LPS.

The states with the highest percentage of delinquent loans are:

• Florida
• New Jersey
• Mississippi
• Nevada
• New York

Meanwhile, the states with the lowest percentage of delinquent loans are:

• Montana
• Arkansas
• Wyoming
• South Dakota
• North Dakota

Source: Lender Processing Services

Competition Heats Up for Home Buyers.

Competition Heats Up for Home Buyers. Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bidding wars are brewing again in more housing markets, and buyers are finding themselves up against increased competition in snagging a home.

California buyers reportedly are feeling some of the biggest competition in the housing market, as inventories of homes for sale have fallen at the same time that buyer demand has picked up, sparking a supply-demand conundrum.

For example, in Sacramento, Calif., inventory of for-sale homes is less than a month; generally a balanced real estate market has about a six-month supply of houses for sale. The lack of inventory has made multiple offers on homes and fast sales more common.

A Sacramento area couple says they received five offers in a week on their home. They say they even fielded personal letters from buyers who expressed how much they wanted to buy the couple’s house, hoping the letters would help give their offer the edge.

“This is our fourth house,” home seller Angie Deuel says. “I’ve never experienced the market the way it is right now for a seller.”

Another Sacramento-area seller said she’s seeing increased competition among home buyers too — with three offers on her home in three days.

Some real estate agents are trying to lure more sellers to the market by showing them how competitive home buyers have gotten and how bidding wars are leading to houses selling above the asking price in many cases.

Some home owners say they are deciding to sell now to take advantage of the buyer competitiveness. These sellers say they were concerned that the inventory of homes would increase, interest rates would rise, and buyers would be less competitive down the road.

Source: “Bidding Wars Erupt in California Housing Market,” SunHerald.com (March 26, 2013)

New-Home Sales Slow in February as Prices Rise.

New-Home Sales Slow in February as Prices Rise. Image courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New-home sales posted the largest drop in two years, falling 4.6 percent in February, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Housing experts say the bad weather may have had a big part in the dip, just as the new-home market had shown signs of picking up its pace during the last few months.

The Northeast saw sales drop nearly 14 percent — the largest amount in the U.S. — as it battered a major snowstorm in February, The Wall Street Journal reports. New-home sales also dropped in the South by 9.7 percent and by 2.1 percent in the West. The Midwest posted an increase of 13.7 percent.

Despite some of the regional drops in sales, the new-home market is still showing signs of a rebound. Sales are up 12.3 percent year-over-year. Also, the median price of new homes in February increased 3 percent to $246,800.

“Potential home buyers are entering the market now instead of later because they are afraid that prices will shoot up if they wait,” economists at IHS Global Insight wrote in a report.

Source: “Sales of new homes sink 4.6% in February,” The Wall Street Journal (March 26, 2013)

Will Farmland Values Reverse Course?

Will Farmland Values Reverse Course? Image courtesy of meepoohfoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Farmland values have risen rapidly over the past few years, renewing fears of a bursting bubble in that sector.

In Iowa alone, farmland values have surged 90 percent since 2009. Mike Duffy, an economist at Iowa State University, says that an acre of farmland in the state used to sell for an average of $2,275 about a decade ago. Today, it sells for $8,700. Last October, an 80-acre parcel of farmland near Boyden sold for a record $21,900 per acre.

But some analysts say the increase in land values are not sustainable.

“The concern clearly is not so much how much higher are they going to go, but when this bubble breaks, how low will they go and what will the aftermath of that be?” Michael Hein, vice president of the Liberty Trust and Savings Bank in Durant, Iowa, told USA Today. “If profits start to diminish, there will be an impact on land values as well.”

In the early 1980s, a  a surge in interest rates, and a drop in crop prices led to a rapid decline in farm prices. Many farmers — who had financed their purchases with debt — were forced to unload their properties. It caused a sharp decline in farmland values, which dropped 63 percent in Iowa, going from $2,147 an acre in 1981 to $787 five years later.

But some analysts say that won’t happen again. Farmers are more financially conservative, with many of the recent land purchases being made with farmers using 50 percent to 75 percent of their own cash, USA Today reports. The debt-to-asset ratio on farms is expected to be the lowest level on record this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Still, some banks like Liberty Trust and Savings are reportedly becoming more cautious in issuing new loans for farmland, as values start to show some decline.

Source: “Farmland prices: Is the bubble about to burst?” USA Today (March 24, 2013)