Metro home prices maintain steady growth

Metro home prices maintain steady growth in the first quarter, however homeowners are hesitant to move-up and sell because they aren’t confident they’ll find another home to buy. This trend—in addition to subpar homebuilding activity—is leading to the ongoing inventory shortages and subsequent run-up in prices seen in many markets. Learn more http://ow.ly/NbHnk

Pending Home Sales in February Up

Pending home sales in February increased to their highest level since June 2013 as sizeable gains in the Midwest and West offset smaller declines in the Northeast and South, according to the National Association of Realtors^®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,  a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 3.1 percent to 106.9 in February from a slight downward revision of 103.7 in January and is now 12.0 percent above February 2014 (95.4). The index is at its highest level since June 2013 (109.4), has increased year-over-year for six consecutive months and is above 100 – considered an average level of activity – for the 10^th consecutive month.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says demand appears to be strengthening as we head into the spring buying season. “Pending sales showed solid gains last month, driven by a steadily-improving labor market, mortgage rates hovering around 4 percent and the likelihood of more renters looking to hedge against increasing rents,” he said. “These factors bode well for the prospect of an uptick in sales in coming months. However, the underlying obstacle – especially for first-time buyers – continues to be the depressed level of homes available for sale.”

According to NAR’s monthly Realtors^® Confidence Index, the percent share of first-time buyers increased slightly for the first time in February since November 2014, up to 29 percent from 28 percent in January.

“Several markets remain highly-competitive due to supply pressures, and Realtors^® are reporting severe shortages of move-in ready and available properties in lower price ranges,” adds Yun. “The return of first-time buyers this year will depend on how quickly inventory shows up in the market.”

The PHSI in the Northeast fell 2.3 percent to 81.7 in February, but is 4.1 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index leaped 11.6 percent to 110.4 in February, and is now 13.8 percent above February 2014.

Pending home sales in the South decreased 1.4 percent to an index of 120.2 in February, but is still 10.8 percent above last February. The index in the West climbed 6.6 percent in February to 102.1 (highest since June 2013 at 111.4) and is now 18.3 percent above a year ago.

Total existing-homes sales in 2015 are forecast to be around 5.25 million, an increase of 6.4 percent from 2014. The national median existing-home price for all of this year is expected to increase around 5.6 percent. In 2014, existing-home sales declined 2.9 percent and prices rose 5.7 percent.

The National Association of Realtors^®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

21 Hot Housing Trends for 2015

Everyone wants to be hip, and the latest trends in design can help distinguish one home from another. And it’s not all flash; many new home fads are geared to pare maintenance and energy use and deliver information faster.

This time of the year, we hear from just about every sector of the economy what’s expected to be popular in the coming year. Foodies with their fingers on the pulse of the restaurant industry and hot TV chefs will tell us to say goodbye to beet-and-goat cheese salad and hello roasted cauliflower, and there’s no end to the gadgets touted as the next big thing.

In real estate, however, trends typically come slowly, often well after they appear in commercial spaces and fashion. And though they may entice buyers and sellers, remind them that trends are just that—a change in direction that may captivate, go mainstream, then disappear (though some will gain momentum and remain as classics). Which way they’ll go is hard to predict, but here are 21 trends that experts expect to draw great appeal this year: http://ow.ly/KdFlu

America’s 9 Coolest Driveways

There’s no steering around it — driveways play a big role in your home’s appearance. Small wonder: They’re sizeable features. A typical 20-by-40-ft. suburban driveway occupies about 800 sq. ft. of front yard — almost half a tennis court. Yet we often regard these hardworking necessities simply as slabs of concrete. With a little imagination, however, you can cook up a great-looking driveway that’ll boost curb appeal and help preserve the value of your property.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/photos/landscaping-gardening/cool-driveways-are-smart-approach/slide/home-grown/#ixzz3EHhLuu7W

Happy Earth Day!

Here are some quick facts that are good for the home, and often for the pocketbook:

Energy Use & ENERGY STAR

• Upgrading single-pane windows to ENERGY STAR windows can save a home owner between $126 and $465 in energy costs per year.
• If just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb were replaced with an ENERGY STAR CFL bulb in every American home, it would save 6 billion kWh per year. That’s enough energy to light almost 3 million homes (and save $600 million in annual energy costs for home owners).
• An ENERGY STAR washing machine can help save 6,700 gallons of water per year.
• Remember to turn off power strips and unplug electronics (TVs, computers, printers, and charging devices) because stand-by power can account for as much as 5 to 10 percent of a home’s energy use.
• Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2009 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 30 million cars — all while saving nearly $17 billion on their utility bills.

— U.S. Department of Energy

Building with Brick

• The materials in brick – clay and shale – are among the most abundant minerals on Earth. And virtually all brick used for construction in the U.S. is manufactured in the U.S.
• Homes with brick veneer use 2 to 7 percent less energy than those with fiber cement siding.
• Brick has a 100-year lifespan, or longer.
• Clay bricks are recyclable. They can be reused in other structures or broken down to make new brick.

—Boral Bricks

Consumer Waste

• Every year, nearly 900 million trees are cut down to provide raw materials for American paper and pulp mills.
• In the U.S., about 28 billion bottles and jars are thrown away every year.
• It takes a 15-year-old tree to produce 700 grocery bags.
• Each year, Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups — 500 years from now, they’ll still be sitting in a landfill.
• The Container Recycling Institute estimates that the 36 billion aluminum cans thrown in the trash and added to landfills last year have a scrap value of more than $600 million. Over the past 20 years, a total of more than $12 billion in aluminum cans have been added to landfills (in today’s market).

— U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Generational Housing Trends Report Out

Some interesting facts came from a recent NAR study. Here are the highlights:

• Gen Y comprises the largest share of home buyers at 31 percent, followed by Gen X at 30 percent, and both Younger (16 percent) and Older Boomers (14 percent) at 30 percent. The Silent Generation has the smallest share of home buyers at nine percent.
• Gen Y has the largest share of first-time buyers at 76 percent. The share of first-time buyers declines as age increases. Among the Silent Generation only two percent of buyers are first-time buyers.
• Among all generations of home buyers the first step in the home buying process is looking online for properties for sale. Gen Y is most likely among generations to also look online for information about the home buying process, while the Silent Generation is most likely to contact a real estate agent.
• More than half of Gen Y and Gen X buyers used a mobile device during their home search. Among those who did, 26 percent of Gen Y and 22 percent of Gen X found the home they ultimately purchased via a mobile device.
• Younger buyers were predominately referred to their agent through a friend, neighbor, or relative, while older buyers were more likely to use an agent again that they previously used to buy or sell a home.
• Overall 88 percent of recent buyers financed their home purchase. Nearly all (97 percent) of Gen Y buyers financed compared to just 55 percent of Silent Generation buyers.
• Among the generations, Gen X (29 percent) is the largest group who are recent home sellers followed by both Older Boomers (22 percent) and Younger Boomers (21 percent).
• Younger sellers are more likely to use the same real estate agent or broker for their home purchase than older sellers, as they are typically moving closer to their previous residence.

Read more at: http://www.realtor.org/reports/home-buyer-and-seller-generational-trends