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A new article from DS News highlights recent employment statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which fall right in line with analysts’ recent predictions that the housing market will make a comeback in 2015. According to the BLS November 2014 Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report, unemployment rates declined year-over-year in 341 out of 372 metro areas in the U.S., while 12 areas reported jobless rates of at least 10 percent and 147 metros posted jobless rates of less than 5 percent.
Reports from economists at CoreLogic and Wells Fargo released in December indicated they believe housing will rebound in 2015 after a disappointing 2014, and they cited improvements in the U.S. labor market as a main reason why.
A fun new article by The Huffington Post highlights a lineup of the most ultra-livable cities from which pretty much any millennial would find a great home. To determine the best U.S. cities for people 35 and under, the analysts at news site Vocativ started with the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. Then, they rated each one on their own personal measures of food, jobs, nightlife and more. The top 10 cities on the list include New York, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Austin and Arlington in Texas, and both Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota. [Read this article]
CoreLogic’s new 2015 Housing Outlook calls for significant increases in home sales and housing starts, and a modest rise in home prices this year, fueled by improvements in economic fundamentals, notably employment growth among millennials.
Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic, predicted an increase of 9 percent in home sales and a 14 percent spike in housing starts for the coming year in the report.
“In 2014, the post-crisis economic expansion celebrated its fifth birthday and the main economic drivers of demand, such as consumption and capital investments, experienced steady improvement,” Khater said in the report.
Employment grew at a rate higher than the national average (3 percent, as opposed to 2 percent) for the 25 to 29 age group, which is good news for housing, because this age group is the key first-time homebuyer segment.
The stronger economic fundamentals are expected to drive an increase in demand for housing in 2015; sales are expected to jump by 9 percent, up to 5.8 million from the 5.3 million reported for 2014. Housing starts are expected to increase by 14 percent next year, up to 1.1 million.
An informative new article from TIME highlights five ways consumers can improve their credit in 2015. Whether you’re trying to get a better credit score so you can qualify for a mortgage or a low rate on a car loan, are just starting to build your credit history or repairing it after a financial setback, experts say there are a handful of things you should be doing right now.
Applying for a credit card or loan dings your credit score just a bit, so if you’re planning a big purchase (say, a home or a car) where every point on your credit score counts, hold off on opening any other accounts for a while, says Odysseas Papadimitriou, founder and CEO of the sites CardHub.com and WalletHub.com. “Stop applying for other forms of credit at least six months in advance,” he advises.
Checking your credit reports is also especially important if you plan to buy a car or home this year, says Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at the site CreditCards.com. “Check for errors such as accounts that you don’t recognize and late payments that you didn’t actually pay late,” he says. “Cleaning up any mistakes on your report can make a big difference to your credit score.”
According to a new article from U.S. News & World Report, retirement is a good time to reassess your real estate requirements, highlighting seven issues to consider as you contemplate where you will live in retirement.
You may no longer need a large home with several bedrooms, and downsizing can add cash to your nest egg. But you also need to think carefully about the new needs that will arise as you age.
If you envision relocating to a warm sunny clime, you need to do a lot more than just dream about it. Do your research on towns and neighborhoods, including crime rates, access to public transportation and the taxes, insurance and other expenses of carrying your new home. Be especially aware of health care options. Find out if there is a medical facility nearby with doctors who are accepting new patients and covered by your insurance network. If you intend to relocate near your children, make sure it’s a place where you’d be happy even if your children weren’t there, because a new job offer may come along, and then they won’t be.
Born and raised in New York, Ray Choudhury is used to long commutes, power blackouts and the hectic financial world. In moving to the South, Choudhury initially was concerned about the miles between his immediate family and his relatives still in the New York area. Once he began researching homes and kid-friendly neighborhoods around Atlanta, however, he was thrilled by the possibilities. To create a smooth transition, he looked for a completed home and bought in Lennar Atlanta’s Westpark community in Kennesaw.
When the New York Stock Exchange announced that some of its operations would consolidate and form a hub in Atlanta, Choudhury, 33, knew he would be in charge of moving web operations South.
He had heard of Lennar Atlanta, and Choudhury appreciated the quality and craftsmanship in Westpark, priced from the mid $300,000s to high $400,000s. He put down a deposit and left that weekend with a contract on a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home with 3,300 square feet. It was a short trip for his first time in Atlanta.
“When you’re living in the suburbs in New York, it’s really not the suburbs. I’m an outdoors guy, and I had to drive three hours to hike on a trail,” he said. “But here, I have eight acres of reserve right in my backyard.”
Falling oil prices typically lead to lower heating bills and cheaper fill-ups at the gasoline pump. Less obvious to the average consumer is the role cheaper oil is playing in driving down mortgage rates. It is a complicated and indirect link that will likely keep rates low well into 2015, economists say. Average fixed mortgage rates dropped this month to their lowest levels of the year, according to Freddie Mac. In general, interest rates tend to be very sensitive to inflation. Because cheaper oil lowers costs throughout the American economy, inflation is pulled downward as well, said Keith Gumbinger, the vice president of HSH.com, a financial publisher. In turn, lower inflation can allow for interest rates in general to decline. [Read this article]
A mantra among real estate agents and home stagers is that sellers need to declutter and depersonalize their homes before putting them on the market. But overly enthusiastic sellers may take this advice too far, said Jarrod Guy Randolph, an associate real estate broker at Town Residential in Manhattan. “One thing that people shouldn’t do is remove too many personal items,” he said. “Keep a few things to show that this is a home that’s actually lived in, and a home that buyers could make their own.” For instance, he said, although leaving dozens of family photos on view could interfere with potential buyers’ envisioning themselves in the space, “You might leave one or two family photos,” to help bring the home to life. [Read this article]
When it comes to the housing market, 2015 may be the year first-time home buyers make a comeback. With rents rising faster than incomes, many Millennials are expected to start looking to buy homes of their own. What they will find are much more favorable conditions than they have seen in years, including lower down payment mortgages, looser lending standards and a bigger selection of homes to choose from. Here are four housing market trends economists and other industry experts expect to see in the year ahead. [Read this article]
