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Romney Bests Obama With Homeowners, Realtors
Tweet Share on Facebook June 13, 2012 CommentIf the nation's realtors and homeowners have their way, President Obama will be a one term president.
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Bidding Wars Are Back for Summer
Tweet Share on Facebook June 13, 2012 CommentBidding wars in this kind of housing market?
It might sound strange given muted reports on home prices and sales, but more and more would-be buyers are finding that house hunting is becoming an increasingly competitive sport these days.
Realtors from San Francisco and Seattle to Boston and Washington, D.C., are reporting multiple offers on properties and quick sales. According to data from real-esate website Redfin, there's been a 73 percent increase in the proportion of properties under contract within two weeks of being put on the market, a far cry from the months homes sat for sale in previous years.
"About one third of the homes now listed in the United States are selling within two weeks of being on the market," says Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin. "In places like the San Francisco Bay area, more than half the homes listed are under contract two weeks later."
[See a slideshow of the cities with the fastest shrinking inventories.]
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Will Foreign Real Estate Buyers Push Out Domestic Ones?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 12, 2012 CommentA Russian billionaire buys an $88 billion New York City condo for his daughter. Realtors report working with more Brazilian clients in Miami. A Vietnamese investor scoops up an entire town in Wyoming.
As property values have fallen precipitously over the past several years thanks to a catastrophic housing bust, foreign buyers are increasingly eyeing U.S. real estate and snapping up properties in the nation's hottest markets.
While that might seem like financial suicide to most Americans who have lived through one of the nation's worst housing crises, the picture looks a whole lot different to international buyers, many of whom hail from rising economic powerhouses abroad. As their home countries have flourished, so too has the affluence among some residents.
"The world is getting a lot richer," says Jed Smith, managing director of quantitative research at the National Association of Realtors. "The market has picked up in the last couple of years and that's being driven by the relative affluence of a number of countries who are doing pretty well."
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Here's Why the Rich Are Still Renting
Tweet Share on Facebook June 11, 2012 CommentAlthough it's just a sliver of the broader housing market in ultra-competitive New York City, experts are seeing a growing number of high net worth individuals opting to sign a rental lease agreement instead of a mortgage.
"The high-end rental market's strength is a phenomenon that has been growing along with the purchase market," says Jonathan Miller, president of New York City-based Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers, alluding to the uptick in sales of luxury properties in hot real estate markets around the country. "In other words, the high-end housing market has expanded."
But if you have enough money to own a property, why would you choose to rent instead and give up benefits like building equity?
The answer is complicated and centers on the changing dynamics of the housing market and the uncertainty that still pervades global financial markets.
U.S. News talked to the experts to find out why some wealthy would-be buyers are hesitant to put roots down:
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Echo Boomers to Shape Housing Market for Next 2 Decades
Tweet Share on Facebook June 11, 2012 CommentWhen it comes to the swooning housing market, sometimes it seems only a knight in shining armor can save it, and according to some experts, that salvation could come in the form of the so-called echo boomer generation.
About 62 million strong, echo boomers—Americans roughly between the ages of 17 and 31—will shape the next two decades of the housing market, according to the National Association of Realtors, noting that young homebuyers already make up 31 percent of all recent home purchases.
"Clearly it's a significant demographic group," says Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. "With about 5 million turning 21 every year, they're going to be driving the first-time homebuyer market for years to come."
[Read: EBay for Real Estate?]
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EBay for Real Estate?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2012 CommentThe auction block is typically associated with prize-winning cattle, antiques, and maybe Uncle Henry's stamp collection.
But in a tough housing market, an increasing number of homeowners are turning to the centuries-old method for a quick sale.
"It speaks to the fact that there's pent up demand to be able to take control of your life and move on," says Pam McKissick, CEO of auction firm Williams, Williams & McKissick. After launching Williams & Williams' online seller portal several months ago, McKissick estimates the firm received more than 1000 calls from all over the United States and nearly 30 countries.
"People are starting to get hip to the idea that 'I can skip the middleman' and sell their property in 30 days," she adds. "Auction is nearing the tipping point."
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Return of the McMansion?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 5, 2012 CommentAfter trending down during the recession, new homes are getting bigger again, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The average single-family house completed in 2011—the most recent data the Census Bureau has—was about 2,480 square feet, up from 2,392 square feet in 2010 and 2,438 square feet in 2009. Almost 40 percent of new homes also have 4 or more bedrooms and 20 percent had garages that could hold 3 or more vehicles.
"We've been a little surprised that home size has been going back up again," says David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders.
Is America's love affair with the McMansion being rekindled?
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Trulia: Home Prices Falter While Rents Soar
Tweet Share on Facebook June 5, 2012 CommentIn virtual lockstep with the flagging jobs market, asking prices for homes flattened out in May after three consecutive months of increases, according to a new report.
Nationally, prices remained virtually the same in May month-over-month according to the latest Trulia Price Monitor, which tracks asking prices—a leading indicator of sales prices—based on listings in Trulia's database.
"The slowdown in asking prices mirrors the slowness in the jobs market," says Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia, adding that specific price data varies across different markets. "Prices are rising where job growth is faster—some of the markets with strong price increase have strong job growth."
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Interest in Doomsday Shelters Increases
Tweet Share on Facebook June 4, 2012 CommentFirst it was the naked man in Miami who was shot while gnawing on another man's face. Then a Maryland college student admitted to killing a man and eating parts of his heart and brain.
Now, after a slew of gory news reports detailing what some have characterized as "zombie-like" behavior, internet searches and postings—often laced with humor and sarcasm—are blooming across the Internet, advising Americans on how to stay safe in case of a zombie apocalypse.
That includes "doomsday shelters," says Matt Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, structures built to withstand various natural—and supernatural—disasters.
"These things are totally selling like hotcakes," he says. "Zombies are synonymous with the end of the world. That's why they're so popular right now, because we're all worried about them. We're seeing them in the news every day."
[Read: Miami 'Zombie Apocalypse' Puts Bath Salts Ban in Congressional Spotlight.]
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3 Reasons the Luxury Housing Market Is Sizzling
Tweet Share on Facebook June 1, 2012 CommentAn $88 million condo sale in Manhattan? A palatial California mansion on the market for $79 million?
Given the still-sluggish state of the global economy, it's hard to believe people would plunk down tens of millions of dollars for a roof over their heads in this day and age.
But that's just what's happening in some of the nation's most competitive and sought-after housing markets. Sales of super high-end properties are booming, experts say, with the tight supply of desirable properties spurring multiple offers and bidding up sale prices.
"What we've seen is a lot of trophy sales—unique, extremely high-end properties," says Jonathan Miller, president of New York City-based Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers. "And it's not just the price point that's unique—these aren't cookie cutter transactions."
