Best Day for Listing Photo Shoots

Not sure when to plan your next listing photo shoot? The most popular day of the week for real estate photography: Wednesday, according to a new study of real estate photography data from HomeJab, a professional real estate photography and video service. Twenty percent of all listing photos are taken on Wednesday.

Tuesday and Thursday are tied as the second most popular day of the week, at 18% each.

“Most professional real estate photography shoots don’t happen on weekends, even though home sellers are typically more available,” says Joe Jesuele, founder and CEO of HomeJab. “Our research shows that only about one out of 10 listing photo shoots occur on a Saturday and Sunday.”

The study also found that video and 3D shoots of property listings are growing more popular ever since the pandemic began. The share of video and 3D virtual tours ordered by agents jumped to 53% of photo shoots in 2020 and 48% in 2021 (compared to 37% in 2019), according to HomeJab.

However, aerial photography seems to be losing some traction. HomeJab reported that about 15% of real estate listing photo shoots included aerial photography in 2018 and 2019, but that percentage dropped to 12% in 2020 and 14% in 2021.

“Agents typically have a fixed budget for photography so an increase in one service would cause a decrease in the other service,” Jesuele says. He expects video and 3-D tours to continue to remain popular and aerial photography to rebound this year. “Increasing visual content satisfies sellers and helps potential buyers, especially those who still don’t want to tour physically as many houses as they once did,” Jesuele says. Source: “2022 Real Estate Photography Study,” HomeJab (February 2022)

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Mortgage Rates Nearing 4%

Borrowing costs are climbing: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 3.92% average this week, Freddie Mac reports.

“Mortgage rates jumped again due to high inflation and stronger than expected consumer spending,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is nearing four percent, reaching highs we have not seen since May 2019. As rates and house prices rise, affordability has become a substantial hurdle for potential home buyers, especially as inflation threatens to place a strain on consumer budgets.”

As of now, however, the rising rates are sparking an urgency rather than a pause among house hunters, Nadia Evangelou, National Association of REALTORS®’ senior economist and director of forecasting, writes on the association’s blog. “Buyers are rushing to lock in lower rates as the outlook is for even higher mortgage rates in the following months,” she notes. Mortgage rates are still low by historical standards.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 17:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.92, with an average 0.8 point, rising from last week’s 3.69% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 2.81%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.15%, with an average 0.8 point, increasing from last week’s 2.93% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.21%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.98%, with an average 0.3 point, increasing from last week’s 2.80% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.77%.

Freddie Mac reports average commitment rates along with points to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining a mortgage. Source: Freddie Mac and “Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, February 17, 2022,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

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Markets With Highest Mortgage Fraud Risks

Mortgage application fraud rose in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to CoreLogic’s Mortgage Fraud Brief, released Feb. 11. Lenders tracked several areas of risk, including occupancy fraud, employment and income fraud, and property fraud. The report analyzes the metro areas with the highest mortgage fraud risk on a quarterly basis.

CoreLogic’s fraud risk showed that its mortgage application fraud risk index rose 10.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the third. The index was up nearly 27% over the fourth quarter of 2020.

These are the metros where fraud risk was highest in the fourth quarter of 2021:

1. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.
2. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y.
3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.
5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
6. New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.
7. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
8. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, Calif.
9. New Orleans-Metairie, La.
10. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif.
11. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
12. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
13. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.
14. Stockton, Calif.
15. New Haven-Milford, Conn.

Source: “Q4 2021 Mortgage Fraud,” CoreLogic (Feb. 11, 2021)

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

‘Real Estate Agent’ Most Googled Job Search Term

The pandemic-fueled trend of the “Great Resignation” has prompted a lot of people to leave their current jobs in search of new roles. For many people, that very well may be real estate, according to research findings from Google.

Google revealed the search trends of the jobs attracting the most attention on its search engine. The list identifies the top jobs people searched for in the U.S.

The industry has seen a rising number drawn to a real estate career since the pandemic began. The National Association of REALTORS® has seen its membership climb from about 1.4 million in 2019 to about 1.52 million in January 2022, according to the latest member data.

The top 10 jobs that are the most searched-for online in the U.S. (ranked in order), according to the Google study, are:

1. Real estate agent
2. Flight attendant
3. Notary
4. Therapist
5. Pilot
6. Firefighter
7. Personal trainer
8. Psychiatrist
9. Physical therapist
10. Electrician

The 15 states where searches for real estate careers dominated were California, Washington, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Vermont. Source: “The Jobs People Want, According to Search Trends,” Blog.Google (Feb. 9, 2022)

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

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Thirty-one percent of all Americans and 41% of 18-to-34-year-olds say they’ve purchased a primary residence with someone they aren’t married to, according to a survey by realtor.com®. Further, 55% of Americans and 68% of 18-to-34-year-olds say they would consider it.

“With home prices skyrocketing in recent years, it’s become even more challenging to break into the housing market for first-time buyers,” says Clare Trepasso, deputy news editor at realtor.com®. “Many buyers have needed more than one income to afford a home, especially as rising rents may be eating into their down payment savings. However, the pandemic delayed many weddings. And rising prices forced some couples to choose between saving to become homeowners versus having the big day. This has resulted in many unmarried couples, as well as extended families and friends, pooling their resources so they can afford to become homeowners.”

The most common co-buyers are romantic partners who are not engaged or married (15%). But Americans are also open to buying with extended family members or roommates.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Romantic partner, not engaged or married (15%)
• Parent, grandparent, or older relative (6%)
• Child, niece or nephew, or other younger relative (5%)
• Sibling, cousin, or relative of a similar age (4%)
• Roommate (4%)
• Friend (4%)

Also, here’s who they would consider buying a home with, according to the realtor.com® survey:

• Romantic partner, not engaged or married (27%)
• Child, niece or nephew, or other younger relative (20%)
• Parent, grandparent, or older relative (17%)
• Sibling, cousin, or relative of a similar age (16%)
• Friend (10%)
• Roommate (7%)

Source: realtor.com®

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Supply-Chain Woes Continue Slowing Home Construction

Building material prices, production bottlenecks, and labor shortages will continue to dampen the pace of construction and affect home prices this year, economists told a crowd at the 2022 International Builders’ Show in Orlando.

Building material costs have surged 21% compared to a year ago. Further, more than 300,000 job openings went unfilled in the construction industry in December 2021. The National Association of Home Builders estimates that the residential construction sector will need to add 740,000 workers a year to keep pace with the industry’s growth, retirements, and departures.

Compounding matters further, inflation and interest rates both are on the rise. Economists predict the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will edge closer to 4% by the end of the year.

“Higher mortgage rates combined with rising construction costs and a lack of construction workers will increase affordability headwinds in the year ahead,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders.

As such, NAHB is predicting modest single-family growth in 2022; single-family starts are expected to rise by 1% to 1.13 million units. Builders, however, predict starts to decrease by 1% in 2023 to a 1.12 million rate.

Still, “while single-family growth slows in 2022 and 2023 and returns to a long-term trend, production will still be 26% higher than in 2019,” Dietz said.

On the other hand, multifamily starts are expected to rise 6.3% compared to 2021. Construction activity on apartment and condo buildings is expected to accelerate due to low vacancies and rising rents. Source: “Housing Affordability Will Remain a Significant Challenge in 2022,” National Association of Home Builders (Feb. 8, 2022)

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Buyers Purchasing Older Homes

Homes in America are getting older. With new construction activity having declined for more than two decades, buyers are purchasing older homes. In 2021, the typical home purchased was built in 1993—28 years ago—according to new research from the National Association of REALTORS®. For comparison, in 2011, the typical home purchased was also built in 1993, suggesting that year was when home construction started to slow and the gap began to widen. 

The younger the buyer, the older the home purchased. “Young buyers are more likely to feel the financial pressure of rising home prices and the lack of affordable inventory are more willing to buy a fixer-upper,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s vice president of demographics and behavioral insights.

Twenty-three percent of first-time home buyers said they compromised on the condition of the home they purchased. They may have felt the need to compromise to find the best location, size, and price for a home.

Eleven percent of young millennials—between the ages 22 and 30—purchased a previously owned home as a fixer-upper, compared to just 3% of buyers over the age of 66, Lautz says. Repeat buyers are more likely to purchase newer homes that need less TLC, using the home equity from their previous home to stretch their budgets.

Source: “With an Aging Housing Stock, What Are Buyers Purchasing?” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog (Feb. 8, 2022)

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Fewer Homeowners Are Selling

House hunters feeling that inventory continues to tighten are right, a new report shows. The number of homes for sale is down 28.4% compared to a year ago, according to realtor.com® data. Two years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of active listings was 60% higher than today.

Winter months tend to be slower for the housing market as fewer sellers list homes. But this winter, inventories have fallen more than normal.

Economists downplay the effect of the pandemic, particularly the omicron variant, as the culprit. Instead, they say homeowners are hesitant to sell because they’re concerned about having to buy a new home themselves. That has prompted many to delay their selling plans, even as they watch the growing amount of equity in their properties.

More than one in four potential sellers recently surveyed said they were choosing not to sell in the near term because they couldn’t find a home they wanted in their price range, according to realtor.com®’s research.

“With housing costs rising, as home prices and mortgage rates both increase, affordability is more important than ever to households,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Data suggests that this may be as true for sellers, many of whom will also purchase a new home, as it is for home buyers.”

Meanwhile, home buyers are finding fewer and fewer homes for sale at a time when they may be feeling in a rush. They want to take advantage of still-low mortgage rates before expected increases hit this spring.

Read more: Buyers May See ‘Whirlwind Year’ Source: “Is the Housing Market Stuck? Why Buyers Are in a Rush—and Sellers Just Won’t Budge,” realtor.com® (Feb. 8, 2022)

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission