Posts

Pending Home Sales in Steep Decline

/in /by

Pending home sales are often considered as a leading indicator of existing-home purchases. For the sixth month, U.S. pending home sales fell in November to the second-lowest on record. Higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainties continue to exclude many potential buyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes took a hit. The index decreased to 73.9, exceeding estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The doubling of borrowing costs, from the start of 2022 to present, has caused home sales and prices to decline. A University of Michigan survey indicates that current home-buying conditions are worse than the early 1980s.

 

Buyers Can Afford To Be Choosy As Housing Market Slows

/in , /by

With rising interest rates, the fast and furious pandemic-era housing market has slowed. Metro Detroit home buyers have time to make thoughtful choices. Homes are sitting longer, and buyers are able to take time with inspections and decisions. Buyers’ questions have shifted from “How many offers?” to “Can we get a better deal on this house?” As home prices continue to increase, sales are dropping and homes are sitting on the market longer. The average number of days on the market in September was 29. The median sales price is 2.3% higher than last year. Sales are down nearly 20%.

 

Rising Mortgage Rates Continue to Cool Housing Market

/in /by

According to a report by RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan, metro Detroit’s home sales were down 20% in September when compared to the previous year. This year’s rising mortgage rates have slowed the home-buying craze that started in the summer of 2020. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.66% last week. It was just under 3% a year ago. The average home sale price over the four-county region (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston) was 2% higher than a year ago. The slowing market appears to be normalizing things, with buyers making fewer concessions than in the previous year.

Detroit Relies On Virtual Property Appraisals

/in /by

The city of Detroit is using desktop appraisals to determine property values. Desktop appraisals involve looking at aerial photos of properties and information gathered from parcel maps, deeds and permits, in stead of going to look at it in person. They are a quicker way of keeping up with about 71,000 residential parcels that need to be valued each year. Up until 2017, 60 years had passed without Detroit finishing a comprehensive reappraisal of city property values. After playing catch up, the assessor’s office must keep current with a state requirement that 20 percent of properties be reassessed each year. Aerial technology aids the city in keeping up with the huge number of homes over about 140 square miles. The strategy has critics who say that aerial imagery can cause low-value property owners to be in over their heads when their properties are already over-assessed. A shortage of appraisers has contributed to the reliance on desktop appraisals.