More new homes are being built with patios, as homeowners show a greater craving for more outdoor space. About 58.6 percent of new single-family homes started in 2017 included a patio, according to an analysis by the National Association of Home Builders. That makes patios more common than decks (23.8 percent), but still shy of the popularity of porches (64.7 percent).
The West South Central and Mountain regions of the U.S. tend to show the highest preference for homes with patios. On the other hand, the Middle Atlantic region has the lowest share of homes with patios.
The Annual Builder Practices Survey, conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs, shows that the average size of a patio on a new home is about 260 square feet. Poured concrete is the most often material used for the surface, followed by concrete pavers, natural stone, and brick pavers.
Issues related to drone usage, imagery copyright, and mold are putting homeowner associations at increased risk of litigation, according to national insurer USI Insurance Services.
Some residents have sued their condo boards for using drones to snap photos of buildings that also capture interior views of their units through the windows. Community associations may use drones to collect information on the conditions of roofs and common grounds, but they need to be careful, Marvin Nodiff, an attorney in St. Louis, told The Washington Post. “Associations should protect against potential impacts as drones become more popular for commercial and other uses,” Nodiff says. Benny L. Kass, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., advises that boards adopt rules to regulate, control, and monitor who can use a drone and when.
HOAs also reportedly are facing copyright issues more frequently. HOAs offering free movie nights to foster a sense of community—such as with big blowup screens on lawns—may infringe on copyright law by showing a licensed movie. This can also occur when playing music at events. The fines can be steep, rising up to $150,000, Kass notes. The national Community Association Institute offers guidance to HOAs on curtailing copyright issues.
The USI report also cautions that mold is a growing issue among HOAs. “Damage from mold is specifically excluded in most standard property insurance policies,” according to USI. HOAs must address water problems and clean up mold promptly at properties, USI says.
Housing affordability is worsening due to higher mortgage rates, which is prompting a slowdown for what home sellers are able to get for their home. The U.S. median home price rose 4.8 percent in the third quarter, the slowest rate of annual appreciation since the second quarter of 2016, according to a new report released by ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.
“The continued slowdown in the rate of home price appreciation nationwide and in many local markets is a rational response to worsening home affordability—which has deteriorated at an accelerated pace this year due to rising mortgage rates,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “Markets not experiencing this price appreciation cool down may have more of an affordability cushion to work with, but some are in danger of overheating if home price gains continue to run hot.”
Rates of home appreciation slowed in 74 of the 150 metro areas that ATTOM tracks, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Miami—which all posted single-digit percentage gains in median home prices compared to a year ago.
“I think the key factor underpinning the decelerating price appreciation is the impact of rising rates on the monthly payment,” says Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at mortgage marketplace LendingTree. “Absent financing structures that allow a borrower to increase leverage while mitigating an increase in the monthly debt service, buying power is decreasing across the board. This especially affects the marginal buyer who doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room.”
Kapfidze says buyer demand may still be high, but some potential buyers are falling out of the market and others are moving down in price due to the worsening in affordability conditions.
Counter to the national trend, home price appreciation is still accelerating in 76 of the 150 metro areas that ATTOM tracked. For example, the following markets all posted double-digit percentage gains in median home prices compared to a year ago: San Jose, Calif.; Boise, Idaho; Las Vegas; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Lakeland, Fla.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Dayton, Ohio; San Francisco; and Atlanta.
Lower affordability and continued inventory crunches aren’t sidelining single women home buyers, who, for the second consecutive year, account for 18 percent of all buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Single women are the second most common buyer type behind married couples (63 percent), according to NAR’s report. Single men are the third most common buyer type, accounting for half the number of their female counterparts at 9 percent. However, single men tend to purchase pricier homes than single women—a median of $215,000 compared to $189,000, respectively.
Single women buyers, many of whom are first-timers, are proving a powerful force in the housing market. However, first-time buyers, who once dominated the buying pool, are a shrinking segment. The share of first-time buyers fell to a three-year low this year, according to NAR’s report. First-time buyers comprised 33 percent of the housing market this year, down from 34 percent last year. The number of first-time buyers has not gone above 40 percent since the first-time home buyer tax credit ended in 2010, NAR notes.
“With the lower end of the housing market—smaller, moderately priced homes—seeing the worst of the inventory shortage, first-time home buyers who want to enter the market are having difficulty finding a home they can afford,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Low inventory, rising interest rates, and student loan debt are all factors contributing to the suppression of first-time home buyers.”
However, Yun notes that existing-home sales data has shown in recent months that inventory is rising slowly on a year-over-year basis. That may “encourage more would-be buyers who were previously convinced they could not find a home to enter the market,” Yun says.
As the temperatures cool, homeowners have a lot of chores to do with their lawn to make sure it weathers well into the spring.
jppi – Morguefile
Perfect timing is essential for fall yard care, says Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Landscape Professionals. “For example, for many parts of the country, this fall has been warmer and wetter than usual, which has required that lawns are mowed later into the season, and may postpone pruning of ornamentals and fertilizing for some,” Henriksen says.
To keep lawns healthy, the NALP recommends homeowners take these steps in the fall:
Seed: Seeding and overseeding will help inject new life into thinning grass, help fill in bare areas, and introduce grass varieties.
Fertilize: Fall fertilizing helps lawns maintain future health and appearance. Be sure to factor in the types of grass in the lawn and the climate before fertilizing. Cool-season grasses should generally be fertilized from September through November; warm-season grasses should be fertilized slightly earlier.
Cut perennials: As temperatures begin to cool, it’s important to cut most perennials after the first frost. Depending on the plant, fall is often the best time to prune because plants do not actively grow as the dormant season approaches.
Rake leaves: Removing leaves helps prevent turfgrass damage and protects water quality by lessening the amount of organic material, such as leaves and dead grass, that can release phosphate and nitrates into waterways.
Give plants deep watering: Fall is the ideal time to give trees and shrubs a final deep watering. By doing so, root systems will have time to absorb moisture from the soil before freezing temperatures set in.
Keep mowing: Through the fall, grass should be cut at 2 to 2 ½ inches tall. This helps prevent matting, which could lead to winter lawn diseases.
Shut off and store yard equipment: To prevent future home damage, shutting off water lines to the outside and clearing automatic irrigation systems of water become critical elements of fall maintenance. After a season’s final mow, homeowners should review the owner’s manual to properly clean and store yard equipment for the winter.
Check out this infographic from the National Association of Landscape Professionals that breaks down all these chores and when they should done by region.
Borrowers were faced with rising mortgage rates again this week, after a slight pause from increases the week before.
“Despite volatility in the stock market, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage inched forward just 1 basis point to 4.86 percent this week,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “We expect rates to continue to rise, which will put downward pressure on homebuying activity. While higher borrowing costs will keep some people out of the market, buyers with more flexibility could take advantage of the decreased competition.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Oct. 25, 2018:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.86 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising slightly from last week’s 4.85 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.94 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.29 percent, with an average 0.4 point, rising from last week’s 4.26 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.25 percent.
5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 4.14 percent, with an average 0.3 point, climbing from last week’s 4.10 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.21 percent.
“Every piece of furniture you own might not have a perfect spot in your house, but it does have a best spot,” Myquillyn Smith, author of The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful, told realtor.com®. Smith sees several common furniture placement mistakes that homeowners make when arranging their living rooms. Here are a few don’ts to share with clients who are getting ready to sell:
1. Neglecting your focal wall.
The focal wall is the first thing a person sees when they enter the room, often featuring a fireplace, a picture window, or even a mounted TV. “The goal is to set up your room so that the majority of the seating is facing or angled toward the focal wall,” Smith says.
2. Cramming in too much furniture.
Most agents recognize how easy it is to make a space feel smaller by trying to squeeze in too much furniture or items that are too big for the space, but homeowners might need a reminder. Smith suggests focusing the room around a couch. “The sofa is usually the biggest, most important piece in the room,” Smith says. “So it gets priority.” Place the sofa in the space first and then reintroduce smaller pieces one by one to see if they work with the sofa. If not, move them out.
3. Pushing the couch up against a wall.
Smith says one of the most common mistakes she sees is homeowners who push their sofa or other seating up against the wall. “About the only time a sofa looks right when it’s placed against the wall is when it’s a corner section and it’s in a corner,” Smith says. She suggests pulling the sofa out from the wall at least 12 inches to create white space and to help make the room feel larger.
While there have been signs recently that the market may be shifting toward the favor of home buyers, prices are still on the rise in many areas around the country. The median sales price in July was $230,411, up 5.8 percent year over year.
But if your buyer clients are hoping to wait it out, you might want to remind them that mortgage rates are also increasing. The typical mortgage payment jumped 13.1 percent over that same one-year period, due to a nearly 0.6 percentage point increase in mortgage rates, according to new data from CoreLogic, a real estate research firm.
Mortgage rates are expected to keep rising, too. CoreLogic researchers predict a nearly 10 percent increase in buyers’ mortgage payments by next July, twice the rate expected for home prices. Rates are expected to increase by about 0.43 percentage points between July 2018 and July 2019. Housing forecasters predict median home sale prices to continue to rise by 1.8 percent in real terms over that same period.
Based on these projections, CoreLogic researchers predict the inflation-adjusted typical monthly mortgage payment to rise from $937 in July 2018 to $1,003 by July 2019. Furthermore, real disposable income is expected to increase by only around 2.5 percent over the next year. That means “home buyers would see a larger chunk of their incomes devoted to mortgage payments,” CoreLogic researchers note.
To calculate the typical mortgage payment, CoreLogic researchers use Freddie Mac’s average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment (not factoring in taxes or insurance). The typical mortgage payment standard is used to help judge affordability since it shows the monthly amount a borrower would have to qualify for to get a mortgage to purchase a median-priced U.S. home.
Nevertheless, while mortgage payments are on the rise, they’re still low by historical standards, CoreLogic researchers note. In July 2018, the typical inflation-adjusted mortgage payment still remained 26.8 percent below the all-time peak of $1,280 in July 2006. The average mortgage rate in June 2006 was 6.7 percent compared to 4.5 percent in July 2018.
Once your clients have put in the elbow grease to make their home spotless, what can they do to keep it that way for a longer period of time? HouseLogic, a home improvement resource, recently highlighted some unusual ways to keep a home clean and gleaming.
Apply a car product to keep shower doors free from scum. Soap buildup could be eliminated by covering a glass shower door in the rain-repellant product that is used for car windshields (only advised for glass doors). The product creates an invisible barrier, causing water and soap to roll off.
Use protectants on furniture and carpets. Protective furniture sprays and carpet sealants, such as Scotchguard and Ultra-Guard, can help protect flooring against stains from spills. Use them once a year. They can cause liquids to remain on the surface instead of being absorbed into the flooring; they may also prevent some fabrics from fading and keep them resistant to mold and mildew.
Use a wet pumice stone to clean the oven. You might want to bypass traditional oven cleaners, which tend to give off strong fumes. Instead, use a wet pumice stone to scrape off any dirt and grease. It’s toxin-free. To wipe up an oven range, heat up a clean, damp sponge or cloth in a microwave for 30 seconds, and then wipe with—or without—a cleaning product.
When you’re scouring your MLS for properties that match your clients’ criteria, don’t automatically click past listings with no photos. Billy Domineau, a former real estate professional in Brooklyn, N.Y., who writes for real estate blog Apartment Therapy, says such listings are often legitimate but are disregarded as trash or scams.
The absence of listing photos could indicate the home is in disrepair, but it also could be a great catch for buyers who are struggling to break into homeownership, Domineau writes. “Occasionally, such ads lead you to the Holy Grail: A landlord who is great at business,” Domineau notes. “Someone who isn’t savvy enough to know that they need pictures in their ad is probably also clueless about how much money they can get for their unit. And, when you do find these diamonds in the rough, you’re likely to have less competition since so many other apartment hunters dismissed the ad almost immediately.”
Domineau once found an apartment in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Boerum Hill that was listed with no photos and a $3,250-per-month price tag. It ended up being a steal: She writes that the unit was easily worth $4,500 a month, but the owner was not well-versed in the market. Pictureless listings, she writes, tend to come from owners who accept below-market-rate prices because they either don’t know any better or want to get the unit sold or rented quickly with little hassle.
