Younger Buyers Move Closer to Middle America

Younger Buyers Move Closer to Middle America

Millennials in search of affordable housing are moving inland to find it, with Minneapolis drawing the nation’s highest home buying activity for this age group in the fall, according to Ellie Mae’s latest Millennial Tracker. Other cities in the top five for millennial home buyers are Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit.

“As housing prices continue to rebound, millennials are increasingly representing a higher percentage of homeowners in the middle of the country,” says Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of Corporate Strategy at Ellie Mae. Meanwhile, cities in California and Florida saw the least millennial home buying activity this fall, including Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa-St. Petersburg.

Here’s a profile of the millennial home buyer based on the latest readings from the index:

• About half of millennial borrowers are nearly 29 years old.
• About half were single and half were married (which reflects a growth in single home ownership).
• Their FICO credit scores averaged 722.
• They are able to afford a pricier home than they were six months ago. The average appraised value of a home bought by millennial buyers has jumped from $212,939 in June to $223,153.
• More than three quarters of closed loans for millennials were purchases, and 22 percent were refinances. The average loan amount was $184,733.
• Average days to close for millennials held steady at 47, with 46 days for conventional loans and 47 for FHA loans.

Source: Ellie Mae

Facebook Says It Got More Ad Metrics Wrong

Facebook Says It Got More Ad Metrics Wrong

Facebook’s metrics woes are getting worse. This fall, the social media giant revealed that it had overstated the average video advertisement view time for several years. Now, the company says it has miscalculated several other metrics too that also focus on how marketers’ ads are performing.

In a new blog post, Facebook says a fix will be coming in mid-December to correct tallies from video posts and shares of live video posts. The company is also working on a fix between discrepancies of “like” and “share” button counts that are calculated by its Graph API. Further, Facebook says totals generated by entering a URL into the search bar of Facebook’s mobile app also may be miscounting. Facebook says it will overhaul its methodology for estimating reach for advertising campaigns too. The company said its update should increase or decrease ad-reach estimates by less than 10 percent.

“We are working to resolve this issue so that the like and share button metrics and our mobile search query metrics match up, and we will notify partners as soon as we have an update,” Facebook wrote in its blog post.

Facebook faced scrutiny earlier this year when it had been revealed an inflated number of average video ad view time metrics for the last two years. Facebook apologized for the errors, and it also assured users that the metric did not affect billing. In November, Facebook revealed four more metrics were being miscalculated (the number of full video views, time spent on Instant Articles and monthly and weekly reach of marketers’ posts).

To find the latest on Facebook’s metric updates, the social media network has created a page devoted to informing users about updates as they come available.

Source: “Metrics FYI: Estimated Reach, Streaming Reactions and Graph API,” Facebook Newsroom (Dec. 9, 2016) and “Facebook Says It Has Miscalculated Several More Engagement Metrics,” Forbes.com (Dec. 9, 2016)

Broomall Fire Company Santa Claus Tour 2016

Broomall Fire Company Santa Claus Tour 2016

Dates, Times & Locations for Broomall Fire Company Santa Claus Tour 2016

Wednesday, December 14th, starting at 5:15 PM.
All streets in the borders of Media Line Rd, West Chester Pike, Springfield Rd.,Sproul Rd & Paxon Hollow Rd. & Rt.#252

Thursday, December 15th, starting at 5:15 PM
All streets in the borders of Paxon Hollow Rd., Rt. #252 & Sproul Rd. Lawrence Park, including all Lawrence Rd. cul-de-sacs

Saturday, December 17th starting at Noon
All streets North of West Chester Pike All streets in the borders of West Chester Pike, Lawrence Rd, Sproul Rd & Springfield Rd.

Note: Dates & Times subject to change based on weather & emergency calls.

Rain date Sunday , December 18th starting at Noon.

Click on link for Google Map layout for your neighborhood.
Google Map

Holiday Décor Tips and Tricks for Sellers

Holiday Décor Tips and Tricks for Sellers

Some home sellers use the holidays to showcase the warmth and character of their home to potential buyers. But they need to be careful not to cover up their home’s finest attributes with their festivity.

A recent article at Houzz provides some of the following tips for holiday decorating when your home is for sale:

Watch the size of the decorations. Displaying large multipiece holiday decorations on your fireplace, for example, may cover up this important selling feature. Ask yourself: Does this piece positive showcase the space, light, and charm of the room? Or does its large size distract from it? This includes the Christmas tree. Owners may want to choose a smaller size when they’re selling because larger trees and decorations can make a room appear smaller, notes Houzz columnist Neila Deen.

Don’t block the light. Make sure the holiday décor doesn’t cover up any natural light from windows and doors. Sure, owners love to display their Christmas trees in front of windows so you can see it from the outside. But they need to realize that they could be covering up a picturesque window as well as making a room appear darker. Instead, place the tree far away from the window so that it isn’t blocking any natural light from flowing in.

Coordinate colors. Keep the holiday décor in line with the room’s overall color-coordinated design. If the holiday decorations clash with a current color scheme, don’t use them. Metallics – gold, silver, or copper — are a good way to add holiday décor accents without fears of clashing. White also can be a good choice. Consider swapping out multicolored tree lights with sparkling white lights for a more elegant choice, Deen notes.

Source: “The 7 Do’s of Holiday Decorating When Your Home Is for Sale,” Houzz (Nov. 26, 2016)

Follow-Up Info Homeowners Want From You

Follow-Up Info Homeowners Want From You

Are you trying hard enough to keep in touch with past clients? You may want to reassess your efforts, as nearly half of homeowners say they don’t have a “go-to” real estate agent, according to the 2016 Homeowners Survey conducted by Happy Grasshopper, an email marketing software company. The survey, based on responses from 300 homeowners, suggests many real estate pros are leaving future business on the table by failing to follow up with clients. Furthermore, 70 percent of survey respondents say they did “very little” or “some” research before selecting a real estate agent.

“The study shows a large percentage of the market is up for grabs, not only because many homeowners do not have a preferred agent, but also the fact that most homeowners aren’t doing heavy research before hiring one,” says Dan Stewart, CEO and co-founder of Happy Grasshopper. “This suggests communication initiated by an agent might be enough to turn a lead into a sale, even if it takes years before the client is ready to buy or sell. Agents are missing opportunities to cultivate relationships with past and potential clients so when it is time to move, they know who to call.”

Thirty-six percent of homeowners say they find it beneficial to receive communication from a real estate professional, even if they aren’t in the market to buy or sell, according to the survey. They say they are particularly interested in receiving information such as listings and open houses in their neighborhoods. Forty percent say they would like to receive home maintenance tips and information on neighborhood events.

But only 19 percent of homeowners say they actually receive such communication from their real estate professional. The study found that homeowners overwhelmingly prefer to receive information via email instead of text message, phone call, or social media communication.

“Staying in touch is possibly the most underrated and underused tactic that I see from my colleagues in the industry, despite the fact that it’s as easy as sending an email,” says Matt Bohanon, ABR, SRS, a team leader at Keller Williams Realty Select in Sarasota, Fla. “Keeping frequent communication, even with the people who seem like they’ll never buy or sell, will eventually pay off — maybe not through a transaction, but they’ll most likely refer you to their friends.”

Source: Happy Grasshopper

The Suburbs Are Having a Moment

The Suburbs Are Having a Moment

America largely remains a suburban nation. Younger generations threatened to change that, with many expressing a greater desire to live in urban locations, but their numbers lately are showing a shift to the suburbs.

The suburbs are outstripping down towns in overall population growth, diversity, and younger residents, according to a new study of population trends and housing by the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing.

Seventy-nine percent of the population in the 50 largest metros live in suburban areas. From 2000 to 2015, suburban areas accounted for 91 percent of the population growth and 84 percent of the household growth, the study shows. What’s more, three-quarters of people age 25 to 34 in those metro areas are opting to live in the suburbs.

The main motivators that have traditionally sent people packing to the suburbs are still high priorities today: Lower-cost of housing and proximity to jobs. In 2014, about two-thirds of jobs in the 50 largest metros were located in the suburbs.

The study’s findings, however, also note several challenges ahead for suburbs as they face swelling populations. For example, researchers note that city officials will need to evaluate how they provide services such as public transportation in less-affluent suburban areas, particularly as more people become spread out and the fact that there are less established nonprofit bases in the suburbs than urban areas.

Source: “Evolving U.S. Suburbs Continue to Shape Residential Demand and Development,” Urban Land Institute (Dec. 5, 2016) and “Suburbs Outstrip Cities in Population Growth, Study Finds,” The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 5, 2016) [Log-in required]