Data

For families wanting affordable housing and great school districts, an analysis by the New York Times shows it’s going to require a longer commute. There are suburban “sweet spots,” the article posits, but they’re further out from cities like Boston, Chicago, and New York. Lexington, Massachusetts, was just one of these sweet spots mentioned.

We sat down with industry veteran Joseph Melendez to learn how changing buyer demographics, technology, and the new administration are shaking things up. Melendez is the CEO of ValueInsured, a down payment protection provider based in Dallas. He has more than three decades in the insurance and financial services industry.

The National Association of Realtor's Pending Home Sales Index showed an increase in pending home sales, the highest inn a year, and second highest in a decade. However, limited inventory continues to dampen the market, especially among homes in the low- and mid-market price range.

Wells Fargo received its Community Reinvestment Act Rating (CRA), in which it received high scores, despite an overall score of "needs improvement." On the same day, the ban announced an agreement in principal to settle a class action lawsuit regarding claims that Wells Fargo opened accounts without the consent of its customers.

Although mortgage-related complaints was listed as the third most-complained about consumer financial products and services, the rate of mortgage complaints are currently sitting around the national average, according to the CFPB’s recent monthly report. Also, find out which financial institutions made the list of the top ten companies that received the most complaints.

Recent study shows that decrease in homeownership is most severe among 25 to 29-year-old age groups, African Americans, and one-person households. Reasons cited include tightening credit requirements, rising student debt, and lack of ability to save for down payment. Experts say that dip in homeownership has contributed to dip in national GDP.

With real house prices on the rise and inventory low, spring is poised to be a seller’s market, according to First American. Real home prices rose more than 8 percent over the year, with Jacksonville, Florida, seeing the most growth annually. According to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming, “on a year-over-year basis, real house prices increase in all the metropolitan areas tracked . . .”

There is definitely a shortage of homes to buy this spring as the housing market heats up. The number of days on the market in most areas has been steadily decreasing and the national median DOM is approximately 43 days for most listings, as reported by Clear Capital. Buyers will need to remain vigilant this spring and constantly keep their eyes peeled for a new supply entering the market, according to Dr. Alex Villacorta, VP.

On Wednesday, March 29th, the National Association of Realtor (NAR) will be releasing its latest Pending Home Sales Index. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR, stated that a decline in contract signings during December 2016 indicated that activity will likely be “choppy in coming months,” as buyers struggle to find the perfect home in their price range. Also, read the full lineup of industry reports that will be releasing this week.

While other cities experience shifts from rental to homeownership in the face of high rent costs, Detroit has reached a higher percentage of renters compared to homeowners. This could cause city official to re-evaluate how to ensure stability.