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The National Association of Home Builders released the results of its NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for July, indicating that builder confidence has reached its highest level in nearly ten years.
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes in July hit a level of 60 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), while the June reading was revised upward one point to 60 as well. The last time the HMI reached this level was in November 2005.
“The fact that builder confidence has returned to levels not seen since 2005 shows that housing continues to improve at a steady pace,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods. “As we head into the second half of 2015, we should expect a continued recovery of the housing market.”
The component of the July survey gauging current sales conditions rose one point to 66 and the index charting sales expectations in the next six months increased two points to 71.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data released its June 2015 Survey of Consumer Expectations this week. Highlighted in this article from DS News, the survey indicates that consumer expectations for the housing market and the U.S. economy are growing more positive.
The survey found that home price change expectations rose to 3.5%, their highest level this year, and median earnings growth as well as household spending growth expectations increased from the prior month. Median consumer inflation expectations at both the short and medium term horizon continue to be stable, while labor market expectations also continued to improve and credit availability expectations were largely unchanged.
According to the New York Fed, median home price change expectations rose from 3.3% in May to 3.5% in June, its highest reading this year, but still below the 2014 average of 3.8%. The survey credits southern respondents as the cause for the rise in median home price expectations. On the other hand, median home price uncertainty declined from 3.6% in May to 3.1% in June, the lowest reading since the survey began.
Last week, Fannie Mae’s June 2015 National Housing Survey found that consumer attitudes toward the current condition of the home selling market and future home rental prices may launch purchase activity forward for the rest of 2015. Optimism among consumers about the housing market has reached new survey highs and strong job and income growth are making consumers appear more favorable in the selling market, indicating a possible increase in the existing home supply.
The housing market has continued its steady recovery throughout the first half of the year. But how long will the recovery continue, and are there any factors that could change its course? This article from HousingWire takes a look forward at the market’s chances for further strengthening throughout the rest of 2015.
Housing activity has strengthened in recent months, as gains in both new and existing home sales in May pushed total sales up to their highest level in eight years.
Analysts say a combination of job creation growth and an overdue upturn in mortgage lending, along with high levels of consumer confidence should ensure that this strength continues.
“From 5.4 million in 2014, we expect total home sales to average at least 5.7 million this year, before rising to around 6 million by 2017. That would be the strongest performance of home sales in 10 years,” says Ed Stansfield, chief property economist for Capital Economics.
Stansfield says events both domestic and abroad are either good for housing, or won’t have any negative affect.
On the issue of the job market, June’s Employment Report looked fairly strong, with non-farm payrolls rising by 223,000 and the unemployment rate falling to 5.3%.
For the first time in at least five years, most consumers think that now would be a good time to sell a home, if recent surveys are right.
May home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 6.3% in May 2015 compared with May 2014, according to the home price report from CoreLogic.
This change represents 39 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 1.7% in May 2015 compared with April 2015.
“Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans remained below 4% through May, helping to fuel home-purchase activity,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Our homes-for-sale listing data shows that markets with high demand and limited supply, such as San Francisco, are recording double-digit appreciation rates over the past year.”
Whether you have limited credit, or no credit history at all, this article from Bankrate offers six strategies you can use to try to establish, re-establish or enhance your credit file.
One in 10 adults in 2015 is “credit invisible,” meaning they have no established credit with a nationwide reporting agency, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Another 8% have insufficient credit history or one that’s too old to track.
Many times, consumers with no credit history are new to the world of credit. They can find themselves in a Catch-22 scenario, says Jennifer Tescher, president and CEO of the Center for Financial Services Innovation in Chicago.
“You need to have a credit history to get credit,” she says. “And you need to have credit to build (a) credit history.”
A “thin file” means you don’t have much of a track record with credit. Either you have only a few accounts, or your credit is relatively new, or both, says Maxine Sweet, who retired in 2014 from the credit bureau Experian, where she was the vice president of public education.
Some of the groups at risk for no credit or a thin file include young adults, the elderly (if they haven’t used credit in a while), new immigrants and people who avoid credit.
Working to establish credit? Go slow, be very selective in your applications and nurture existing accounts. Never pay late, and – with credit cards – keep balances reasonable.
Particularly dangerous are multiple applications. Someone who is going from no credit to multiple applications in a short period is someone who could be getting in over their head.
If you have a history of credit but no longer have a score, make a small purchase on one of your existing accounts and pay it off right away, says Barry Paperno, consumer credit expert.
That will give you the recent activity the scoring formula needs to assign you a score, he says.
How much do you know about cleaning, polishing and maintaining the wood finishes around your home? This article from Networx offers seven handy tips to help you care for natural woodwork.
The perfect decorating touch, natural wood accents are very much in style. Kitchen or bathroom cabinetry, wainscoting, chair rails, beadboard paneling, crown molding, and built-in shelving, add character and interest to your home. However, cabinets and trim crafted out of natural wood does require a certain amount of TLC to keep them at their lustrous best.
Is water is the natural enemy of wood finishes? The answer to this is mixed, actually – while large quantities of water are indeed anathema to wood surfaces, a lightly moistened cloth is the tool of choice when you need to remove stubborn dirt and sticky spills. Just be sure to follow up by drying promptly.
Dust is also surprisingly problematic. Regularly get rid of airborne dust that lands on your woodwork using a soft, non-lint-shedding cloth such as an old undershirt, feather duster, or best, of all, a lamb’s wool duster. Otherwise, dust particles may scratch the finish.
Using stains and dyes will not cover up the natural wood grain. Stains are used to deepen the color of woodwork while showing off its lovely grain. Dyes add color and an appearance of depth without affecting the grain; they may also be used to disguise scratches in the wood. Sometimes dyes and stains are used in combination to create an attractive hue and accentuate the grain as well.
The Wall Street Journal reports on new data released this week by the American Bankers Association, showing that fewer Americans are falling behind on their home loans in today’s healing housing market.
New data on two types of home-equity loans shows delinquency rates have fallen to their lowest levels since 2008. The report defines a delinquency as a late payment that is 30 days or more overdue.
“Home-equity loan and line delinquencies are tracking the slow and steady improvements in the housing market,” said American Bankers Association chief economist James Chessen. “As property values improve, fewer people have negative equity in their homes. Greater household wealth and income gives consumers more breathing room to meet their financial obligations.”
The delinquency rate for fixed-term home-equity loans fell to 3.12% in the first quarter, the lowest rate since December 2008. Still, the rate remains above the 15-year average of 2.75%. The delinquency rate on home-equity lines of credit declined to 1.42% from 1.48% in the fourth quarter. That’s also the lowest level in nearly seven years, but still above the long-term average of 1.12%.
Choosing a home and place to spend your retirement years can be very exciting, but for some it can also be a challenging process – especially without proper financial planning. This article from MarketWatch collects advice from financial and retirement advisers to highlight some of the biggest mistakes people make when searching for and purchasing their retirement home.
Buying that dream retirement home after all those years of dreaming is one of the biggest – and potentially one of the most difficult – decisions you can make. There’s a lot to consider. And you have to do it correctly.
“So many people I meet haven’t talked about it,” said Jim Heafner, president of Heafner Financial Solutions in Charlotte, N.C. “There has been no conversation or planning. They have been married 30 or 40 years. He thinks they are going to the mountains, she thinks they are going to the beach.
“Preplanning is really important,” he said. “These are hard conversations that you think people will talk about, but with busy lives they just don’t.”
Rodney Harrell, director of livable communities at the AARP Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., says children and grandchildren can be big factors. “It may be of crucial importance [to me] to live near my grandchildren; or to you, it may be nice but not necessary. You have to take into account your own preferences. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all home solution. Every reason to pick a home is a valid. The trick is to pick the best things on the list that meet your needs.”
One of the biggest mistakes is not having a plan.
“I had a couple in today,” said Heafner. “They will sell their place in five years and move to Hilton Head, S.C. My concern is, have they really tested out the location? For some people it’s more of the same. They just play more golf. For others it’s a whole change in lifestyle. Maybe it’s Florida or Arizona. They haven’t tested it out, haven’t talked to neighbors. I find some who bought that dream home and they can’t stand it there.
“Do your research and due diligence,” he said. “Spend time and vacation there. I hear people all the time say they will sell their home and buy an RV. Have you even tried an RV? You should rent one. Maybe you don’t like campfires. I find it unusual that people will send on thousands on an RV and haven’t tried it.”
Once you’ve found your dream home, and signed the paperwork to purchase it, it’s only natural that you’d want to start buying things to put in it. But any big purchases made before you actually close on the home can still have an effect on your credit. This article from MarketWatch offers some helpful advice on steps you can take to ensure your credit remains where it needs to be in order to close on your home.
The loan is approved, the contract is signed, the title is clean, the closing date is set, and everything seems on track to get that home.
And then some people do the unthinkable that costs them their dream home.
“I’ve had clients call me and say they’ve quit their job, or bought a new car,” just before close, says Mark Livingstone, a mortgage broker with Cornerstone First Financial in Washington, D.C. “All I can do say “what were you thinking? I’ve seen a number of deals fall through that way.”
It’s tempting to splurge just before you buy a home. After all, you’ve probably got big-ticket items to buy like a washer and dryer, or a lawn mower, or new furniture, or bedding. And you’ve probably paid down your other credit cards and paid off car loans and otherwise cleaned up anything bad on your credit ahead of applying for a mortgage. Now there’s a store offering you a $10,000 line of credit for furniture with no payments for a year so you can fill your new house?
Don’t do it. At least, not before you close.
“Banks are going to question almost any meaningful transaction you make while you’re applying for a mortgage,” says Douglas Boneparth, a financial planner in New York City. “So, until you close and the keys are in your hands, you are under the magnifying glass,” he says.
If you need new furniture to fill your house, consider renting it for a few months. There’s often no hard credit check and given that your store-bought furniture will likely take several weeks or months to be delivered, and it can be a more cost-effective option.
When moving into a new home – especially if it’s your first home – one of the most enjoyable tasks you’ll take on is decorating your master bedroom. This article from BrightNest outlines seven important things you might want to consider including as you bring your new master bedroom to life.
You’re going to spend about 200,000 hours of your life in your bedroom. Just to put that in perspective, get this: if you spent all that time walking instead, you’d circumnavigate the earth 25 times.
But, since you’re not Forrest Gump, and will be snoozing all that time, you might as well have an awesome bedroom! Here are seven things you need:
A bedroom without artwork on the walls is like a blank canvas of boring. If your bedroom is lacking, it’s time to change that. Almost any type of artwork will do, except for family photographs – this is actually a feng shui no-no! When it comes to bedroom decor, family photographs are considered too “emotionally charged,” and can disrupt intimacy.
It’s also important to provide a place to sit – that’s not just the bed. Extra seating is good to have in your bedroom for a few reasons: it can be a place to read, a place to put on shoes, or check your email in the morning. If you’re tight on space, consider getting a storage ottoman (that doubles as a seat) or a small, upholstered bench at the foot of the bed.
And not only will a full-length mirror let you double-check your outfit every day, adding a large mirror to the space will help make your bedroom feel more spacious.
