The Best Places to be a Landlord

The Best Places to be a Landlord

Higher home prices and a tight supply of homes for sale may be the mantra nationwide. But certain markets are still offering lucrative options for investors.

Real estate sales and auction company TenX released its top picks for investors and Texas had the most markets on its list, scoring three out of the top five. Texas continues to post strong growth in employment and home construction. San Antonio topped TenX’s list for best places for investors, posting strong population growth for six years and having incomes hit all-time highs. San Antonio is followed on the list by two other Texas hot spots: Fort Worth and Dallas.

Home prices are rising quickly in Texas, but they remain low compared to some other hot markets, like in California, TenX notes.

“If you look at our report, probably eight or nine of the top 20 markets in terms of housing performance are in either Texas or Florida,” says Rick Sharga, executive vice president at TenX. “The Florida markets will be more directly impacted because Irma hit everything, but even in Texas, a lot of the construction and labor and materials and so forth that’s been going to build new properties in Dallas and Fort Worth and San Antonio might get diverted to rebuild Houston, and that could have a noticeable impact on home sales and home starts over the next six to nine months.”

Investors have had to shift course in many cities as the number of low-priced or foreclosed homes dries up.

“What they’re really looking to do now is make money on the month-to-month rent, so in a lot of cases they’re buying properties at full value,” Sharga told CNBC. “In some cases, they may even be slightly overpaying for properties, but they’re making it up in the rental income over the period of time.”

The following are the top 10 markets for investors, according to TenX:

1. San Antonio
2. Fort Worth, Texas
3. Dallas
4. Columbus, Ohio
5. Tampa, Fla.
6. Orlando, Fla.
7. Indianapolis
8. Austin, Texas
9. Nashville, Tenn.
10. Raleigh, N.C.

Source: “Want to be a Landlord? These Are the Top Markets This Fall for Investing in Rental Homes,” CNBC (Oct. 13, 2017)

These Lenders Dominate the Mortgage Market

These Lenders Dominate the Mortgage Market

Quicken Loans is commanding the largest share of the mortgage market, according to 2016 data recently released by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. But Wells Fargo boasts the highest origination dollar volume at $126 billion in 2016, compared to Quicken Loans’ $90.6 billion.

iEmergent, which compiled the data, calculated the top mortgage lenders by looking at the number of purchase and refinance loans originated. The following are the top seven lenders that dominated mortgage originations in 2016, ranked by the total number of mortgages each originated.

1. Quicken Loans: 436,289

• Share of total loans: 5.7%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 2
• Total origination volume: $90.6 billion

2. Wells Fargo Bank: 393,568

• Share of total loans: 5.2%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 1
• Total origination volume: $126 billion

3. JPMorgan Chase Bank: 173,702

• Share of total loans: 2.3%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 3
• Total origination volume: $74 billion

4. Bank of America: 152,811

• Share of total loans: 2%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 4
• Total origination volume: $58.1 billion

5. Freedom Mortgage Corp.: 152,017

• Share of total loans: 2%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 6
• Total origination volume: $31.8 billion

6. loanDepot: 132,440

• Share of total loans: 1.7%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 5
• Total origination volume: $35.7 billion

7. U.S. Bank: 108,171

• Share of total loans: 1.4%
• Rank in total dollar volume: 7
• Total origination volume: $28.6 billion

View the full top 10 list at HousingWire.

Source: “Here Are the Top 10 Lenders Dominating the Mortgage Market,” HousingWire (Oct. 11, 2017)

Childless Buyers Buoy Condo Market

Childless Buyers Buoy Condo Market

Home shoppers without children are a growing segment in the housing market, and they tend to desire smaller houses than previous generations.

The fertility rate among women 15 to 44 years old is at its lowest level since the CDC began recording such rates 108 years ago. As more couples delay having kids or opt to have fewer children, their needs in the housing market are very different than previous generations who tended to have bigger families.

Fewer than eight in 10 childless buyers purchased a detached single-family home between July 2015 and June 2016, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Condos and townhomes are becoming a popular option among those who do not have children.

“Buyers may value smaller/attached homes in the future,” The Mortgage Reports notes in a recent article. “Increased demand for these types of homes could amp up your resale value.”

In general, detached homes have been known to appreciate faster and hold their value longer than attached homes, according to Tamara Dorris, adjunct real estate professor at American River College in Sacramento, Calif. But that could change.

“We’re seeing more and more people not having children by choice or purchasing homes as singles,” Dorris says. “These people tend to live in urban areas and have homes with less maintenance—such as attached homes.”

Could the rise of childless couples lead to less demand for detached single-family homes?

“If others fit the mold of not having children, there could be a decline in buyers who might have an interest in your detached home,” Mark Lee Levine, professor at the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver, told The Mortgage Reports. “But there is no right or wrong answer as to whether it’s better to buy attached or not attached. Buyers need to consider many issues that will impact the potential interest in their home and when they become sellers.”

Source: “Studies Show Mistakes Childless Couples Make When Buying Property,” The Mortgage Reports (Oct. 15, 2017)

Top Amenities for Relocating Baby Boomers

Top Amenities for Relocating Baby Boomers

Baby boomers say they want to move to a home that has a multicar garage and that’s near their grandchildren, according to the latest Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey, sponsored by national home builder PulteGroup Inc. The age at which baby boomers expect to retire is getting younger, down from 65 in 2013 to 63.7 in 2017, according to the survey of more than 1,000 adults between the ages of 50 and 65. Thirty-eight percent say they plan to purchase a home within the next three years, and 11 percent say they’re looking to buy within a year. Their top motivations for moving are retirement, the desire to downsize, and wanting a home in a better location.

“Retirement marks a new phase in a baby boomer’s life, and it only seems natural to relocate or move to a new home when transitioning away from their primary career, or from the day-to-day rearing of school-aged children,” says Jay Mason, vice president of market intelligence at PulteGroup. “Whether they are selling the homes where they raised their children and heading to sunnier pastures or staying near their hometown, it’s not surprising that the 55-and-older buyer wants a variety of options in their homes.”

Baby boomers have differing expectations for retirement, so their home preferences are diverse. But overall, they indicate that their top must-have features for their next home are a multicar garage with storage, open deck or patio, open floor plan, eat-in kitchen, and small, private yard. Further, 30 percent rank proximity to grandchildren as their number one consideration when choosing a community. The other two most popular community amenities are access to water (such as a beach, river, or lake) and parks or other open green spaces.

“Having grandchildren nearby was a surprise, as previous Del Webb surveys have shown that having grandchildren nearby in retirement wasn’t a priority,” Mason says. “The desire to nurture the grandchildren-to-grandparent connection appears to be strengthening between baby boomers and the millennial generation, who also have a strong desire to be near aging parents.”

Source: PulteGroup Inc.

Sell Your Listing With the Right Music

Sell Your Listing With the Right Music

A little music may be just what your listing needs. Some real estate professionals believe that soft music playing in the background can be just the subtle, emotional pull that welcomes buyers inside your open house or house tour.

Tom Hignite, owner of Miracle Home Builders in Milwaukee, plays music during his open houses and tours, but he’s careful that his song choices fit the home’s vibe.

“It’s trying to create a sense that goes with the home,” Hignite told realtor.com®. “With a contemporary home, a lot of times it’s New Age … [it] sounds almost Zen-like. If it’s an older home, mansion-like, we’ll want to have classical music, maybe piano and violin music.” A property in an urban neighborhood may benefit from some jazz, he adds.

Researchers from Australia investigated whether music can truly turn a shopper into a buyer in studies conducted in 2015. Researchers found that study participants made meal choices that corresponded with the background music they heard. In a second part of the study, music also was found to make people want to spend more money than if no music was being played. Therefore, researchers concluded that music can add more perceived value to a product.

“Having some soft, soothing music playing at an open house does help with the sale,” Michelle Galli, a listing agent with Century 21 M&M in Los Banos, Calif., told realtor.com®. “It gives the prospect a calm, relaxing feeling … so they can picture themselves in the home in serenity.”

But the music choice is key, real estate pros say. You don’t want anything too loud and distracting, but you also don’t want anything too soft like “elevator” music, Hignite says. Instrumental jazz tends to be a good choice, agents say. For more insights on music choices, visit realtor.com®.

Source: “Tune Up Your Open House: How to Use Music to Sell Your Home,” realtor.com® (Oct. 12, 2017)

Buyers Aren’t Spooked by Haunted Houses

Buyers Aren’t Spooked by Haunted Houses

With inventories so tight, many consumers say they’re even willing to live in a haunted house.

Thirty-three percent of more than 1,000 consumers recently surveyed say they’re willing to live in a haunted house, and another 25 percent said they’d consider it, according to a newly released survey by realtor.com®.

“Haunted houses are a popular attraction this time of year, but we wanted to see how many people would actually live in one,” says Sarah Staley, a housing expert who commented on the study’s findings. “What we found may be a sign of today’s tight housing market, or for many living in a haunted house doesn’t have to be a deal breaker.”

Further, 47 percent of respondents said they’d live in a home where someone has died, and 27 percent additional respondents said they’d at least consider it, according to the survey.

Still, 40 percent of consumers said they’d need a price reduction in order to choose a haunted home over a non-haunted home. Also, a good neighborhood, extra square footage, and more bedrooms would convince them too, according to the survey. On the other hand, 42 percent of respondents insist they aren’t open to the idea of buying a haunted home, even for those extra perks.

For some consumers, living in a haunted house may not be considered a stretch because they claim they’ve already lived in one. For example, 28 percent of respondents said they have lived in a haunted house, and another 14 percent think they may have. They say their house was haunted because of strange noises, odd feelings in certain rooms, and even some reports of objects moving or disappearing.

Source: realtor.com®