Jul 18, 2022 | Financial Reports
Inflation dominated last week’s economic readings and predictions as it hit a year-over-year growth rate of 9.10 percent in July. Inflation reached its highest year-over-year growth rate since 1981. Gasoline prices eased somewhat, but not enough to provide relief against a backdrop of high housing and food prices. Low and moderate-income consumers were disproportionately impacted as rents rose beyond near-record inflation and home prices remained out of reach for many would-be home buyers.
Inflation Causing Hardship for Moderate-Income Consumers
Consumers faced with rapidly growing expenses turned to credit cards for purchasing food and household items; this trend suggests that as interest rates rise, more households could experience increasing financial stress as paying off consumer debt becomes more difficult.
The Consumer Price Index rose by 1.3 percent in June on a month-to-month basis; analysts expected a month-to-month reading of 1.1 percent inflationary growth based on May’s reading of 1.0 percent growth. The core Consumer Price Index, which excludes volatile food and fuel sectors, rose by 0.70 percent in June and exceeded analysts’ expected reading of 0.50 percent growth and May’s month-to-month reading of 0.60 percent growth.
Year-over-year inflation reached 9.10 percent in June and surpassed analysts’ expectations of 8.80 percent- year-over-year-inflationary growth and May’s year-over-year reading of 8.60 percent growth. Core inflation rose by 5.90 percent year-over-year in June and fell short of analysts’ forecasts of 5.7 percent year-over-year growth. May’s year-over-year reading for inflationary growth was 6.0 percent and could suggest that inflation has peaked.
Mortgage Rates Rise After Fed Raises Key Interest Rate Range
Although the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate range in an attempt to slow inflation, mortgage rates also rose last week. Freddie Mac reported that rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by 21 basis points to 5.51 percent on average. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 22 basis points higher at 4.67 percent. The average rate for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages was 16 basis points higher at 4.35 percent; discount points averaged 0.80 percent for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.20 percent for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages.
New jobless claims rose last week with 244,000 first-time claims filed as compared to the previous week’s reading of 235,000 initial jobless claims filed. Fewer ongoing jobless claims were filed last week with 1.33 million continuing claims filed as compared to the prior week’s reading of 1.37 million ongoing jobless claims filed.
Consumer concerns over inflation eased in July with a preliminary reading of 51.1 reported in the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer confidence index. Any reading over 50 indicates that most consumers surveyed were confident about current economic conditions.
What’s Ahead
This week’s scheduled economic reporting includes readings on home prices, building permits issued, and housing starts. Data on sales of previously-owned homes will be released along with weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims.
Jul 15, 2022 | Home Buyer Tips
When you’re just moving into a neighborhood, it can be hard to know exactly what you’re getting into. Certainly, you can see the sights for yourself and read about your new community online, but there are still things that may not be readily available. If you’re looking for the cold, hard facts on the safety of your neighborhood, look no further than the following websites for the things you’ll want to know.
Situation Alerts on SpotCrime
By simply typing your street address in at SpotCrime, you will get an instant report of all the criminal goings-on in your community from arson to assault. While SpotCrime is free and enables you to register so you can be alerted to situations in your community, you also have the ability to anonymously offer up information that will help others.
Crime Rates On Neighborhood Scout
A website that will give you information regarding the crime rate in a certain community, Neighborhood Scout offers much of its information free of charge to users to scope out future communities for their own interest. In addition to the per capita crime rate, you can also get a host of information about other communities around the country with similar crime profiles to your own.
Registered Offenders on Family Watchdog
The tranquility of a neighborhood is something that can be easily taken for granted, but Family Watchdog enables you to be aware of what might be going on under the surface. Committed to determining the location of registered sex offenders, this website will easily inform you if there are any offenders in or near your community so you can evaluate the safety of you and your family accordingly.
Situation Updates on CrimeReports
Along with SpotCrime, CrimeReports is another website that enables you to type in your address to instantly pull up a host of information regarding recent crime that’s occurred in your next neighborhood. Much like SpotCrime, it provides you with an easy to read map of crimes that have occurred and you have the option of signing up for alerts that will inform you of recent situations in your community.
There may be a lot of information about your neighborhood online, but the websites listed above can help you with the details on things that may not be commonly reported. If you’re in the market for a home and are wondering about ideal communities, contact your trusted real estate professional for more information.
Jul 14, 2022 | Real Estate
Right now, it is difficult for people to purchase a house. Prices are very high, inventory remains at record low levels, and this is contributing to bidding wars. Even though everyone is having a hard time finding a house, Millennials and Gen Z buyers are struggling more than other people. What are some of the biggest hurdles that these buyers need to overcome?
A Lack Of Familiarity
One of the first problems that Millennials and Gen Z buyers have to overcome is a tremendous lack of familiarity with the housing market. Many people that fall into this category are buying a house for the first time. They are not familiar with the process of buying a home, and they are far more likely to be overwhelmed by the process. Furthermore, they are often working with a smaller budget, which can make it even harder for them to compete in the current market.
Cash Offers
Because Millennials and Gen Z buyers are purchasing a house for the first time, they do not have the same budget. They often end up purchasing a smaller house. Unfortunately, these are the same houses that people who are downsizing are trying to buy as well. People who are trying to downsize can often make a cash offer for a smaller house, driving Millennials and Gen Z buyers right out of the market. Millennials and Gen Z buyers have a difficult time competing with cash offers.
Student Loan Debt
In addition, Millennials and Gen Z buyers are often carrying a tremendous amount of student loan debt. In some cases, the student loan debt they carry could be more than a mortgage. Banks and credit unions will hesitate to give young prospective buyers a mortgage if they already have a mortgage in the form of student loan debt.
Rising Interest Rates
Unfortunately, rising interest rates are also having an adverse impact on Millennials and Gen Z buyers. Because they are already working with a smaller budget, they will feel the sting of rising interest rates more than other people. This could make it even harder for them to purchase a home.
Looking To The Future
It is possible that more homes could come on the market in the near future. This could create more opportunities for all buyers, making it easier for Millennials and Gen Z buyers to avoid a bidding war and find a home.
Jul 12, 2022 | Real Estate
If you take a drive around your neighborhood, there is a high chance that you will see a bunch of houses for sale. All of a sudden, you feel a bit of curiosity strike you. You might not be looking to move, but you might want to go look at that house anyway. There is nothing wrong with doing so! There are several reasons why you should still go and take a look at houses that are for sale even if you are not looking to move.
You Can Estimate The Value Of Your House
One of the first reasons why you should check out an open house is that you get an estimate of the value of your home. Your house is an investment, and it is important to treat it as such. You can’t look up a stock ticker symbol for your house, but you can take a look at what other houses in your neighborhood are selling for. You can use this information to estimate the value of your home.
You Get Decorating Ideas
If you are looking for a way to remodel your house, you may want to figure out what is trendy right now. If you take a look at an open house, the style should be current because it is for sale. You can get some great ideas that you might want to use to update your own house.
You Learn What To Avoid
Even though it is important to figure out what you want to do with your house, it is also important to figure out what you don’t want to do. There may be an awkward living room configuration, there might be something blocking a major window, or you might notice a converted room that did not work out. Make a mental note of this.
Check Out A Few Open Houses
The next time you see an open house in your neighborhood, consider showing up. Sure, you might get a free snack out of it, but this is also an opportunity to take a look at what is “in,” what the prices look like right now, and what you might want to avoid in your own house.
Jul 8, 2022 | Real Estate
Even though many people are focused on some of the most common mistakes that first-time home buyers make, there are also a lot of mistakes that first-time sellers make. Your house is an investment, and the time to capitalize on that investment is when you sell your house. What are some of the mistakes you need to avoid if you want to find the best deal possible?
Setting The Price Too High
One of the most common mistakes that sellers make is setting the price too high. Yes, you want to get as much money for your house as possible, but you do not want to be unrealistic about the money you think you can get for your home. Remember that the list price is used to drive interest in your property. If you set the price too high, people may cross it off of their list before they even take a look at it. The more people you have interested in your property, the better. Make sure you set a realistic list price.
Automatically Taking The Highest Offer
Even though you want to get as much money as possible for your home, always take a look at the details of the offer before you accept it. For example, financing could fall through. Maybe the appraisal comes in too low, and the bank refuses to finance the property. Furthermore, if you accept slightly less money for a cash offer, you might be able to save money on closing expenses, which means more money in your pocket. Always take a look at the details of each offer before you decide which one to take.
Not Working With A Real Estate Agent
Finally, a lot of homeowners believe that they can simply sell the house on their own. Unfortunately, if you do not use a real estate agent, you significantly limit the exposure of your property because you cannot list your house on the MLS. This means that some people may not even know your house is on the market. This could limit the number of offers you get.
Therefore, you should always work with a real estate professional who can help you market your house, review your offers, and walk away with as much money for your house as possible.
