Cheryl Karr - Your Solid Source Realty Agent

  Home buyers are facing relentless competition in the housing market, driven by low mortgage rates and inventory. According to the latest REALTORS® Confidence Index, based on real estate transactions nationwide in March, practitioners report an average of five offers on their most recent listing. In a separate report by Redfin published in April, 72% of the brokerage’s agents faced competition when submitting an offer for their clients—up from 66.7% in March. “Bidding wars are intensifying,” says Kristin Lopez, a Redfin real estate pro in Boise, Idaho. “In March, we were seeing three or four offers on a home. Now, we’re sometimes seeing more than 20.” Earlier this spring, a home in Dallas drew 97 offers . “The list price is the starting point,” Mark Wolfe, broker-owner of RE/MAX DFW Associates, told the Dallas Business Journal about the competition. Bidding wars have grown so common that nearly half of homes on the market are being sold for more ...

  Pending home sales climbed in March, following two months of declines that were mostly blamed on a lack of homes for sale, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday. Home buyer demand remains high, but inventory constraints continue to push on sales potential. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator of homes sales based on contract signings—increased 1.9% in March and posted a 23.3% year-over-year gain. Part of that double-digit annual increase is due to a comparison to March 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began. Still, “the increase in pending sales transactions for the month of March is indicative of high housing demand,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “With mortgage rates still very close to record lows and a solid job recovery underway, demand will likely remain high.” Housing inventories may soon see a boost , too—which would be welcome news to house hunters. “More inventory will show up as ...

  Homes that are listed on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday tend to sell for $1,700 more than homes listed on the weekend—in some markets that could be even thousands of dollars more. These middle-of-the-week listed homes also sell nearly two days faster, according to new research from the real estate brokerage Redfin, which tracked home sales data from July 2020 to February 2021 nationwide. “Because the market is so competitive right now, most homes will receive plenty of attention regardless of when they’re listed,” says Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “But sellers can still maximize their potential profit simply by listing in the middle of the week, which gives potential buyers a few days to see the home, talk to their agent, and set up a showing for Saturday or Sunday." A separate study from realtor.com®  also shows the best time of year to list a home is the week of April 18-24. Sellers who list their homes next week could h...

  Financing and appraisals are the culprits causing the most delays in home sales or terminated contracts, according to the latest REALTORS® Confidence Index survey. With little supply on the market, homes are continuing to sell quickly—typically within 21 days—and are garnering an average of nearly four competing offers, according to the report. Home prices have been rising by double-digit percentages over the past year, which could help explain some of the appraisal issues that are emerging. The REALTORS® Confidence Index survey, conducted by the National Association of REALTORS®, is based on responses from more than 4,000 real estate professionals nationwide about their recent real estate transactions. The latest report reflects responses about January transactions. Sixty-five percent of sale contracts were settled on time, but 29% faced a delay, the survey shows. Only 6% were terminated prior to settlement. The top issues that prompted a delay...

  Sales of newly built, single-family homes in January moved 19% higher than a year ago, as home buyers sought more options under a lean number of existing homes for sale. Newly built single-family home sales increased 4.3% last month over December 2020, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. “Historically low mortgage rates and solid demand spurred an increase in new home sales in January,” says Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “However, rising affordability issues are looming this year, particularly increasing building material costs, including lumber, which is adding $24,000 to the price of a typical newly built home. Builders also cite rising regulatory issues as a potential concern.” As existing-home inventory remains at all-time lows, more buyers are considering new home construction, says Robert ...

  Since everything just seems as if it's so "up in the air" right now in regards to real estate, I thought this was a neat read. Found this online at https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/01/29/contract-signings-surge-to-highest-rate-ever-in-december. Pending home sales reached a record high for December last month as the unseasonable housing surge continued in markets across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pending sales were up 21.4% year over year in December, reaching the highest reading for a December on the National Association of REALTORS®’ Pending Home Sales Index. All major regions of the U.S. recorded double-digit increases annually. However, the index—a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings—did drop slightly, by three-tenths of a percentage point, in December compared to November. December’s index reading was 125.5. (An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.) The s...

  New-home sales decreased from October to November as high buyer demand and several building headwinds continued to press on builders’ ability to catch up. Sales of newly built single-family homes dropped 11% in November compared to the previous month, according to the latest new-home sales data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the monthly dip, new-home sales are still 20.8% higher than a year ago. “Though the market remains strong, the pace of sales pulled back in November as inventory remains low and affordability concerns persist as builders grapple with a shortage of lots, labor, and building materials,” says Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “The home building industry saw a historic gap between the pace of new-home sales and construction of for-sale single-family housing this fall,” adds Robert Dietz, the NAHB’s chief economist. “As a result...