abby breau

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Why homeownership truly is the American dream

The three main reasons why owning a home is still a big component of the American dream.

1. There are proven psychological, physical and financial benefits to homeownership.

“You own your little corner of the world. You can customize your house, remodel, paint, and decorate without the need to get permission from a landlord.” That’s pride of ownership. 

But aside from the positive psychological effects of owning a home, homeowners in strong markets build equity. 

2. Homeownership positively impacts American families.

From having room for your kids to play to being able to entertain to having space to do the things you love, owning a home helps people realize their full potential.

It also provides a greater sense of stability and opportunity, while growing personal wealth. Homeownership by those who make down payments, and who stay in their houses over long periods of time can result in better academic and emotional outcomes for children.

3. People who invest in their home, invest in the community, and thus improve the local economy.

Nearly 60 percent of Americans own their homes, and for good reason. The National Association of Realtors points out the many social benefits, which include civic participation, financial education and poverty improvements.

Plus, a person who cares for their home is more likely to care for their community through donations and volunteer efforts that keep their neighborhood and schools safe, livable and thriving. In other words, you help yourself and others contribute to a fundamental sense of belonging and responsibility to the wider community.  

Homeownership also plays a critical role in the economy. 

According to the National Association of Home Builders, building 100 average single-family homes generates 305 jobs, $23.1 million in wage and business income, and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments. 

Rents are rising, but the US lacks sufficient middle-income housing

Rents are climbing and more higher-income Americans are choosing to lease rather than buy, but while those conditions are a boon to investors many middle-income earners are nevertheless facing a lack of housing supply.

New research from data firm CoStar paints a picture of an overall booming U.S. rental industry that has seen uneven growth across different parts of the market. For starters, much of the multifamily housing being built today tends to be high-end luxury units.  The number of renter households in the U.S. has grown the most among those earning more than $100,000 per year. And those renters are being attracted to the locations and benefits of living in well-connected urban hot spots. 

CoStar found that since 2015 rent has grown by about 4 percent each year, which is between 1 percent and 1.5 percent more than incomes. The current tendency of people to move out of pricey states as they face affordability woes and into more affordable ones is well-documented, and is typical of what happens as an economic cycle reaches its high point.

All of this represents something of a two-edged sword: On the one hand conditions are tough and getting tougher for renters, but on the other those people who can afford to step onto the investment ladder stand to make reliable returns as rents continue to rise.

Home price growth accelerates for first time in 14 months

For the first time in 14 months, home price growth is accelerating.

Nationwide, home prices grew by 3.6 percent in May year-over-year and 0.9 percent from April, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. At 10.7 percent, Idaho had the highest growth rate out of all the states. Utah and South Dakota followed at 7.8 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.

The growth can be attributed to a strong job market and decreased mortgage rates, according to CoreLogic. 

CoreLogic predicts that home prices will see even steeper growth in the coming year — 0.8 percent by next month but 5.6 percent by May 2020.

Due to years of consistent home price increases, many buyers are worried about their ability to afford a home. According to CoreLogic, 28 percent of homeowners are worried they won’t be able to afford buying a new home in the future. Only half are satisfied with the number of options available in their market while 40 percent believe they will have to relocate

Trump creates affordable housing council, taps Ben Carson as chair

Amid a growing sense of national crisis over the cost of housing, President Trump created a new government council Tuesday and tasked it with clearing “regulatory barriers,” such as zoning, that get in the way of building new homes.

Ben Carson — who leads the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — will now also serve as the chair of the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing. In an executive order, Trump said the role of the council would be to increase the supply of homes in the U.S. in an effort to meet demand.

Trump also singled out an array of specific regulations that he argued are getting in the way of housing construction. The regulations include zoning, limits on population density, “undu...

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Bombshell lawsuit takes a new turn

The class-action lawsuit that could upend the real estate industry by effectively forcing changes in how buyer’s agents are traditionally compensated has been amended, adding more plaintiffs and defendants and emphasizing the role commissions play in steering buyers and raising costs for sellers.

Nine law firms filed an amended complaint consolidating two previous complaints with nearly identical claims: the first filed by home seller Christopher Moehrl on March 6 and another filed by homeseller Sawbill Strategic Inc. on April 15.

The June 14 amended complaint alleges NAR and the named real estate brokers and franchisors have violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by “agreeing, combining and conspiring to impose, implement and enforce anticompetitive restraints that cause home sellers to pay inflated commissions on the sale of their homes.”

The main restraint the complaint refers to is a NAR rule requiring listing brokers — and their agents who represent homesellers — to make a “blanket unilateral offer of compensation” to buyer brokers when listing a property in a Realtor-affiliated multiple listing service.

That offer of compensation must be made regardless of the fact that buyer brokers represent the buyer, not the seller, and because it is a blanket offer, it cannot vary according to the buyer broker’s experience, the services the buyer broker is offering or the buyer broker’s financial arrangement with the buyer, according to the complaint.

Unlike the original complaints, the amended complaint does not argue that the blanket offer of compensation is non-negotiable. But the amended lawsuit cites NAR’s Standard of Practice 3-2 and Standard of Practice 16-16 as evidence that NAR impedes effective negotiation of the offer of compensation.

Ikea rebuilds rooms from Friends, Simpsons and Stranger Things

A new Ikea campaign recreates the living rooms of three iconic TV shows with furniture that can be bought in its stores.

Titled ‘Real Life Series,’ the Ikea United Arab Emirates campaign features living rooms from “Friends,” “The Simpsons” and “Stranger Things.” Each room is created with furniture and accessories from the Ikea catalog. While the campaign was designed by Publicis Spain, the rooms will only be set up in select Middle East stores and through an online catalog checklist.

The “Friends” room recreates Monica and Rachel’s apartment with the purple walls and a beige armchair while “The Simpsons” room has an orange couch and bright round carpet. The “Stranger Things” room has the flowered wallpaper, Christmas tree lights and striped couch. Because the campaign has no financial ties to the iconic television shows, Ikea describes the “Simpsons” room simply as for “families,” the “Friends” room for “mates” and the “Stranger Things” room for “everyone” without calling out their titles by name.

Red Flags When Looking For Your Next Home

1. While there may be other houses on the street for sale, especially during the "busy" seasons of spring and summer, an overwhelming number of houses on the market for an area can be a warning sign.

2. Class size in a school system says a lot, schools should be adding enrollment, not losing it.

3. If the neighborhood has lots of empty storefronts, be wary. Empty storefronts point to the area in decline.

4. If limited parking at the house you're looking at is something that you noticed while you were visiting the house for the first time, it has the potential for forever being an Achilles heel of the property.

5. If the solution to the parking situation at your house is off-street parking, what's the traffic like? Are there cars lined up and down the street? Will you potentially have to drive around a while in search of a spot to park? That inconvenience can quickly become a major hassle, especially with a car full of groceries or small children to bring into the house.

Yes, You Can Trust Your Real Estate Broker

A Manhattan Real luxury Real Estate broker wrote a great blog in Forbes Magazine entitled, Yes, You Can Trust Your Real Estate Broker.

According to a 2018 Gallup poll on the subject of most- and least-trusted professions, 19% of Americans consider the ethical standards of real estate agents as either low or very low, while 54% of the population consider our honesty to be just about average. You may conclude that we real estate brokers have nothing to complain about, especially compared to members of Congress, whom, according to the poll, 58% of Americans consider to be unethical.

But when almost one-fifth of the country's population thinks of the profession that I’ve been dedicated to for two decades as not worthy of their trust, it makes me upset. I find such public opinion unfair, especially because the very thing that gives true value to our work is the ethical foundation upon which it's built.

The job of a real estate broker is trust-based. There is serious capital involved in every transaction, especially for those of us who specialize in luxury transactions, and in order for us to succeed in helping our clients achieve their goals, we must be trusted. Brokers who don’t earn their clients’ trust can’t close deals and don’t stay in business.

President Trump’s Onetime Greenwich Estate Relists for 29% Less

A Greenwich, Connecticut estate where President Donald Trump and his ex-wife Ivana Trump lived is returning to the market for $38.5 million—almost 29% less than its onetime $54 million asking price.

The Trumps bought the property after they were married in the early 1980s for about $4 million. When they divorced in the early 1990s, Ms. Trump kept the house. She sold it to the current owners, financier Robert Steinberg and his wife Suzanne Steinberg, for $15 million in 1998.

&n...

Guest this week

Attorney Jose Palacio is quickly becoming a household name advocating on behalf of those who live in Connecticut. He is exceptionally experienced in Immigration, Real Estate, and Family Law.

He later earned his Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Attorney Palacio has since partnered with Hartford-based attorneys, learning and practicing various forms of law culminating in the establishment of his firm.

Jose Palacio is a member of the Connecticut River Valley Chamber of Commerce and serves on their board of Directors. Palacio is an active and dedicated member of his community volunteering at town, city, and statewide events. Attorney Palacio is fluent in both English and Spanish and can speak workable Portuguese.

STATE OF THE STATE IN REAL ESTATE

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/realtors-economist-cts-housing-scene-not-all-grim

Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, came to the Hartford Golf Club, with a reassuring assessment of the Greater Hartford, Connecticut and U.S. housing markets and economies. Yun told about 100 members of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors (GHAR) that Hartford’s housing market held its own in 2018, while much of the nation’s housing markets struggled and he said prospects for a recession later this year or next year are dim, especially with a presidential election just around the corner, meaning interest rates should remain low enough to spur home sales and  mortgage refinancing.                                                     Statewide, the median price of existing houses sold in 2018 rose for the third consecutive year, despite a 2 percent sales decline.  Connecticut’s housing performance ranked among the top 10 U.S. housing-sales markets in 2018, but the state’s continued loss of residents, or outmigration, remains a concern. Fewer residents reduce demand for housing, fewer homes on the market that take longer to sell and at lower prices.

Steady appreciation in real estate prices and values means more Hartford area and Connecticut residents can afford a home, or at least qualify for a mortgage to acquire one.

 Yun forecasted improvement in the inventory of new and used houses for sale, which GHAR recently noted has been problematic for Realtors and prospective buyers.

Outlook for US mortgage rates remains stable, housing crunch continues.

https://www.inman.com/2019/06/04/outlook-for-us-mortgage-rates-remains-stable-housing-crunch-continues/

Six months ago, when mortgage rates neared the 5 percent mark and were expected to continue climbing, the real estate business was concerned that home buying in 2019 would be a fraction of what it could be.

Now, though, rates have receded by 50 basis points (a basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point), and all is well. (If all is not well with housing more broadly, at least loan costs aren’t the reason buyers aren’t jumping in.)

Stability is critical, of course, not just for realty sales, but also for mortgage originations. Any jump in loan rates throws both markets into a tizzy. And once things settle down, another increase starts the process all over again.

The Chief Economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting the rate on 30-year conventional mortgages to average 4.4 percent this year and 4.6 percent in each of the next two. Rates averaged 4.3 percent in 2017 but jumped up to an average of 4.8 percent last year.

The supply of new homes necessary to meet demand fell short by 337,000 units — more than a third of a million.

Numerous economists have cited labor, land, and lenders as the reasons builders are not building houses at the rates they should be. But, the “most acute” problem is with the lack of building sites. The cost of a lot is becoming more expensive than the house itself.

Compass sued over a single decimal point

https://www.inman.com/2019/06/05/compass-sued-over-decimal-point/

When it comes to contracts, attention to detail is essential. Sometimes a misplaced decimal point can mean the difference between thousands of dollars and nearly $1 million.

That’s the situation with a new lawsuit filed by Residential Realty Advisors (RRA), a real estate advisory firm for multifamily projects, against fast-expanding NY-headquartered brokerage Compass, over what RRA claims is underpayment — the company wants $871,000 instead of the $8,710 it received — due to what it says was a simple error in a contract for work it completed for a company later swallowed up in a chain of acquisitions that ended, most recently, with Compass.

Specifically, RRA claims there was a “scrivener’s error” in its contract with The Mark Company, a real estate sales and marketing firm acquired by Pacific Union International in 2015, which was subsequently acquired by Compass last year. 

Amazon is selling entire houses for less than $20,000 — with free shipping.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-is-selling-entire-houses-for-less-than-20000-with-free-shipping-2019-05-22?fbclid=IwAR2nkOKaz1pNgPLP8KTJxu9ceX_HWBRaoY_H_p6rVmQWimhD061tYrjeO14

Residential builders have found a new home: Amazon.

Prefabricated and modular housing — with homes prebuilt in factories — is having another moment. From 2013 to 2018, industry revenue grew an annualized 8.6% to nearly $10.5 billion, including the growth of 4.1% in 2018 alone, according to research firm IBISWorld.

The homes can be built in 2-3 days with two adults.. There are a number of charming cabins and homes for sale on the internet giant — their prices may be shockingly low, but there are often additional costs and significant downsides. 

We are going to dive deeper into the tiny house movement in the next episode. This isn’t weird.. retailers have sold homes before. Sears House Kits of the 1920s.

Among the catalog giant’s astounding range of offerings were house kits, which the company began marking in 1908. The kits came in 447 different designs, from the grand “Magnolia” ($5,140 to $5,972) to the more humble, but popular “Winona” ($744 to $1,998). Sears advertised the kits with the promise that “We will furnish all the material to build this [house design]. All the parts arrived (usually by train) precut and rea...

Abby and Joe discuss ways agents can protect themselves and their sellers while hosting an open house. Ten things sellers will ask and how to answer their questions in preparation for the appraisal process. Digital notary, Notarize has made over $1B by making Real Estate transaction super easy for all parties. Learn about all that and more on this weeks episode of The Closing Time Podcast.
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