Glass is joining the list of building materials in short supply. A range of industries, including shower door manufacturers and window installers, are reporting glass shortages.

Nearly two-thirds of home builders said that windows are their biggest material shortage, according to a recent survey from John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Rounding out the top four in additional shortages are umber, engineered wood products, and concrete, according to the survey.

Window delays could range from four to 15 weeks, though some are stretching even up to 45 weeks, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

An international logistics backlog is leading to shortages of glass and other materials, experts say. Many glass manufacturers have moved operations overseas. China, Mexico, and India have traditionally exported the most glass and stone to the U.S. The glass shortage has especially affected the supply of glass jars and bottles, driving up the price of some grocery products lately.

Read more: Builders Reporting Material Shortages Hit Record High and Builders Seek Alternative Materials for Faster Construction

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Taking notice of the increased appetite for U.S. real estate, investors are building up their portfolios of properties looking to cash in on the higher housing and rental prices. Investors purchased a record $64 billion of homes in the third quarter.

Single-family homes comprised nearly three-quarters of investor purchases in the quarter, an all-time high, Redfin reports.

In October alone, investors made up 17% of buyers, up from 14% a year earlier, the National Association of REALTORS® reported in its latest existing-home sales report. All-cash buyers, the category that investors tend to land in, accounted for 24% of home sale purchases last month.

Overall, investors purchased a record high of 90,215 homes in the third quarter, up from 80.2% a year earlier. That is the second-largest year-over-year gain on record, Redfin reports.

“Increasing home prices fueled by an intense housing shortage have created opportunities for investors to reap big profits,” says Sheharyar Bokhari, Redfin’s senior economist. “Those same factors have pushed more Americans to rent, which also creates opportunities for investors because investors typically turn the homes they purchase into rentals and can now charge higher rents.”

Average monthly rents climbed 10.7% annually in September. Median home prices increased 13.1% in October year over year to $353,900, according to NAR.

Where Investors Are Targeting

Atlanta had the highest share of homes sold in the third quarter that were purchased by investors, the highest share of the 40 U.S. metro areas that Redfin tracked. Rounding out the top five are Phoenix (31.7%); Charlotte, N.C. (31.5%); Jacksonville, Fla. (28.3%); and Miami (28.1%).

With surging home prices, more home buyers are showing an interest in manufactured housing. Even buyers who aren’t specifically looking for manufactured homes may discover that some listings they are interested in feature them, since they more closely resemble site-built homes nowadays.

The manufactured housing segment has long contended with a reputation of being poorly made or cheap. Companies say the latest designs are modern and often energy-efficient and are built to withstand even the most severe weather.

Manufactured homes are built in a factory and then assembled onsite. This allows homes to be built faster and cheaper.

Some builders and developers hope that home buyers who may be locked out of homeownership may consider manufactured housing as an option. Also, lenders and developers are showing more interest in manufactured housing, believing it could help with housing inventory and affordability challenges.

“We have a lot of teachers, first-time home buyers, and folks downsizing after retirement,” Dustin Arp, managing partner of Spark Homes LLC, which has developed manufactured home communities, told The Wall Street Journal. “Maybe they used to qualify for site-built housing but no longer do.”

A new single-family built on site sold for about $392,000, on average, in 2020; subtracting the cost of the land, the house itself cost about $309,000, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing government data. For comparison, new manufactured homes cost $87,000, excluding the land.

More than 100,000 new manufactured homes are to be built this year, the highest amount since 2006, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

But the sector may still need to convince buyers about manufactured housing as a cost-effective alternative. The homes are often sold by dealerships. They may offer limited financing options. “In those cases, a person might buy a manufactured house as a piece of personal property, like a car, rather than getting a mortgage that tethers the house to underlying land,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Further, about 42% of manufactured homes are purchased with loans secured by the home. Those purchases do not include the plot of land, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The loans could come with higher interest rates, and owners may be at greater risk of losing their homes if they don’t own the land as well, The Journal says.

Recently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have adopted new programs to make it easier for lenders to extend conventional mortgages on certain manufactured homes, including those that have features like porches or garages built on site.

House hunters will likely wonder about the age and upkeep of certain big-ticket features in a home like the roof and HVAC system. But they will also likely be interested in just how move-in ready the home is. Sellers can take on some prep work to get their house move-in ready to appeal to the largest buyer pool.

HomeLight, a real estate referral company, recently interviewed real estate agents to list some of the top remodeling projects before selling a home. Some of the projects that topped their list:

1. Painting

• Average project cost: $954 to $2,893 (depending on location, paint type, and labor)

Stick with neutral colors throughout, like whites, beiges, or soft grays. “It’s fine when there’s an accent wall or whatever; that’s different,” MaryBeth Harrison, a real estate professional in Dallas, told HomeLight. “But when every room’s a different color …  that’s cheap to fix with paint.” More than half of real estate professionals surveyed by HomeLight said they advise sellers to paint their interiors before listing. Some of the most popular colors: Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray and Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter.

National Association of REALTORS®’ Remodeling Impact Report

NAR’s Remodeling Impact DIY Survey

Styled, Staged & Sold blog

2. Keep flooring consistent

• To install carpet: $789 to $2,794
• To install hardwood floors: $2,493 to $6,754
• To install vinyl floors: $800 to $2,900

Real estate pros may be more likely to recommend this house project if the home has several different kinds of flooring throughout. A more uniform flooring look—one or two types—can be more appealing to buyers. Real estate pros say that many buyers may expect hardwood floors or premium vinyl. But not all carpeting has to go. However, many real estate pros do suggest removing any dated carpet, like those in bright colors, as well as any stained or worn carpet.

3. Brighten the kitchen

• Average project cost: $382 to $1,064 (depending on equipment and labor); $2 to $20 per piece of hardware

White-colored kitchens remain the most popular. They can brighten the look of the space. “What the buyers are looking for today is white and clean—they just want clean,” Harrison told HomeLight. “It doesn’t have to be stark white. But they just want a clean palette.”

Dated kitchen cabinets can be painted by a pro for a quick fix. If the kitchen has other colors throughout, real estate pros recommend painting the walls white to try to brighten the space. Also, kitchen cabinets can get an upgrade with new hardware, such as hand pulls.

4. Replace dated countertops and appliances

• Average project cost: $40 to $100 per square foot for new countertops (depending on material); $1,360 to $19,050 for appliances

Dated appliances and countertops can turn off buyers. If replacing the countertop, Harrison suggests a bright, monochromatic look, such as a gray or white countertop made of granite, marble, or quartz. Butcher block countertops could be a more cost-effective option. Harrison advises against brown or multicolored granite, which she says can date a home. She also recommends not replacing a countertop if the rest of the kitchen has not been upgraded and is dated. New countertops will look out of place.

5. Hire a professional cleaner for your bathroom

• Average project cost: $70 to $85 per hour for a professional

A thorough cleaning of the bathroom can make a big difference, and often a professional cleaner can do the most thorough job. Pay attention to tile grout lines and any signs of mildew.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the average FICO credit score has increased by eight points to reach 716, according to Fair Isaac Corp. Pandemic-related relief programs and a decrease in consumer spending early in the pandemic may have helped Americans improve their credit histories by paying existing debts and curtailing new debt.

The increase has largely been driven by consumers who started with a credit score below 600. FICO usually considers a score between 670 to 739 to be good; anything below 580 is considered poor.

Consumers in that category averaged a 581 credit score in April 2020. One year later, those scores had climbed to an average of 601.

But economists warn that improvements could be wiped away with an increase in inflation, which is now at a 31-year high. Americans are paying more for groceries, gasoline, and products. That could lead more consumers to take on more debt, too.

Still, “inflation by itself … is not going to have a significant impact on the overall national credit score,” William Lansing, CEO of FICO, told MarketWatch. “But if prices outstrip income and people wind up taking on more debt—that obviously would have an impact on their FICO credit score. There’s also a seasonal component—typically in the fourth quarter around holiday time consumers take on more debt. So we could see a modest downtick from that.”

Earlier this fall, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that despite poor labor market conditions during the pandemic, renters’ financial conditions were improving. Renters’ credit scores increased by 16 points during the pandemic. However, those scores remain substantially below those of homeowners.

Renters could soon get a boost: Freddie Mac recently announced a new program to help renters build up their credit profiles by providing a means for owners or managers of multifamily properties to report on-time rental payments to the three major credit bureaus. Less than 10% of renters currently see their on-time rental payment history reflected in their credit scores. That could be preventing some from accessing credit or qualifying for some of the best rates. Read more: Freddie Initiative Adds Rent Payments to Credit Reports

As home buyers continue their searches in an active and competitive fall season, the nation’s top-performing markets in October are all affordable alternatives to their nearby big-city counterparts.

Topping realtor.com®’s October list was Manchester, N.H., about an hour northwest of Boston. Homes in Manchester are selling in under 24 days—about 21 days faster than the overall housing market. Properties there are receiving about 2.8 times as many views on realtor.com®.

“Affordability and strong local economies remain very much top-of-mind for today’s buyers,” says George Ratiu, manager of economic research at realtor.com®. “With home prices reaching record levels this year, many buyers are still finding themselves locked out of expensive cities. Many of the markets on our list are small to mid-sized within a reasonable commute distance of a major employment center but with much more affordable home prices.”

Realtor.com® identifies the top-performing housing markets each month by pinpointing which areas have seen the quickest sales and fetched the most views at its site. The average median list price in the 20 markets topping its list in October is nearly 16% lower than the median price nationally. Homes on the list were a median of $320,000 compared to the nationwide median home price of $380,000, realtor.com® says.

Here are the 15 markets that topped realtor.com®’s October list:

1. Manchester, N.H.: $419,000 (median listing price)
2. Burlington, N.C.: $295,000
3. Eureka, Calif.: $489,000
4. Rochester, N.Y.: $211,000
5. Elkhart, Ind.: $219,900
6. Lafayette, Ind.: $227,500
7. Fort Wayne, Ind.: $224,900
8. Johnson City, Tenn.: $300,000
9. Jefferson City, Mo.: $179,900
10. Rapid City, S.D.: $386,000
11. Raleigh, N.C.: $425,000
12. Topeka, Kan.: $175,000
13. Concord, N.H.: $389,900
14. Springfield, Mass.: $310,000
15. Worcester, Mass.: $399,000

The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden’s signature Build Back Better plan early Friday by a vote of 220-213. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The roughly $1.75 trillion bill spares real estate investment from the most-feared taxes and includes key NAR priorities like investments in affordable housing and down payment assistance.

The National Association of REALTORS® says key aspects of the bill will support and protect real estate markets.

“Our advocacy operation is bipartisan and focused on the issues. Our goal was to ensure this legislation includes robust funding for affordable and fair housing and protects real estate investment from misguided and harmful new taxes,” says Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer for NAR.

”We are pleased that House lawmakers expanded affordable housing provisions from what was in the original framework, but this bill is far from final. Expectations are the Senate could remove some provisions to lower the price tag. We will continue to work with Congress to ensure the final bill is good for the real estate economy and consumers.”

NAR played a key role in getting Congress’s attention on housing priorities. At an Oct. 20 press conference at the U.S. Capitol, NAR CEO Bob Goldberg joined other housing leaders and key members of Congress to call for the inclusion of affordable housing provisions in the final bill.

”As a nation, we have to find ways to close the supply shortfall,” Goldberg said at the press conference. “Doing so will be particularly meaningful for lower-income households, millennials, and households of color.”

Read details of the House bill at nar.realtor.

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Military families with Veterans Affairs loans are losing out in the competitive housing market. Sellers are showing preference to buyers with more conventional financing or all-cash offers that they believe will offer a faster and smoother closing.

Ninety-four percent of real estate professionals surveyed said sellers are most likely to accept an offer with conventional financing over a government-backed loan, according to an April 2021 survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS®.

But sellers may have some outdated concerns over VA loans, Caitlin Turkovich, branch manager specializing in VA loans at Union Home Mortgage in Las Vegas, told CNBC. VA loans are partly guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and offer zero percent down financing.

“VA loans are actually the easiest to qualify for if you have entitlements,” Turkovich told CNBC. Entitlements refer to the amount the VA will repay if the borrower defaults.

Turkovich says buyers using VA loans should work with a lender who specializes in VA loans to help clear up possible misunderstandings and outline specifics in buyer preapproval letters.

Also, Turkovich says VA loan buyers can take other steps to try to stand out, like by making a 5% down payment. That matches the minimum for some conventional mortgages, and it also drops the VA loan funding fee from 2.3% to 1.65%, she notes.

VA loan buyers also may make their offer stronger by offering earnest money—such as 5% versus the standard 1%, Cedric Stewart, a real estate professional with Keller Williams in Rockville, Md., told CNBC. “The largest earnest money deposit is another instrument to communicate an ease in the relationship,” Stewart said.