Tag Archives: First-Time Homebuyers

While nearly seven in 10 Americans agree that now is a good time to become a homeowner, a large number remain reluctant due to their own misconceptions of the financing process, according to survey results. For example, Wells Fargo reported, 30 percent of respondents expressed belief that only people with high incomes can obtain a mortgage at this point, and 64 percent said they believe only those with a "very good"” credit score can buy a home right now.

Nearly 43 percent of homeowners between 35 and 49 are underwater on their mortgages. In contrast, only 15 percent of millennial homeowners (those between 20 and 34 years old) and 31 percent of baby boomers (50 to 64 years old) are underwater.

Total existing-home sales in March came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million, according to estimates from the National Association of Realtors. March sales fell .2 percent from February’s downwardly revised pace of 4.60 million and hit a nearly two-year low. Compared to March 2013, the sales rate was down 7.5 percent.

According to the National Association of Realtor's Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study for 2014, Millennials—aka “Generation Y” or “Generation Next”—comprised 31 percent of recent purchases, leading all other age groups. Following that were Generation X (defined as those born between 1965 and 1979), which made up 30 percent.

Mortgage rates may be rising, but the housing market doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, several indicators have improved alongside rising rates, according to the HousingPulse Tracking Survey released this week. The lending atmosphere is becoming friendlier, especially to first-time buyers. Simultaneously, the average time on market for non-distressed properties and the average sales-to-list price ratio both improved year-over-year in December.

Although the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes recorded a 10.1 percent year-over-year increase in national home prices in the second quarter, double-digit appreciation is not expected to continue. While the market will continue to see home prices appreciate, those gains are projected to slip to just 5.4 percent by the beginning of next year, CoreLogic reports.

July property data from Homes.com shows that property values in nearly one-quarter of the top 100 U.S. markets have fully recovered. According to the site’s latest report, 22 of the top 100 markets in the United States reported price increases of more than 100 percent from their respective troughs, up from 19 the month prior.

While many in the industry laud the recent changes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) made to the proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rule, one economist says the new proposed rule sets the stage for another housing crisis.

Current homeowners are playing a bigger role as housing market participants amid a sharp slowdown in investor activity, according to data from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Last month, current homeowners represented 44.6 percent of the purchase market, up from 43.8 percent in May based on a three-month moving average. As rising home prices discourage investors, HousePulse found home purchases from investors slipped to 19.7 percent.

Existing-home sales fell 1.2 percent in June to an annual sales rate of 5.08 million as the price of a single-family home rose 13.5 percent from a year earlier--the strongest year-over-year gain since November 2005, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected existing-home sales to jump to 5.27 million from May's originally reported sales pace of 5.18 million. The median price of an existing home rose $11,100 or 5.5 percent for the month to $214,200, the highest price since June 2008.