The month of April brought in a slew of new mortgage insurance applications, National Mortgage News reports.
During the month, 49,018 applications for coverage were filed, topping March’s 43,278 estimate.
The three members of the trade group—Genworth, MGIC and Radian—had NIW volume of $11.36 billion in April, compared with $10.04 billion in March, $11.46 billion in October 2012 and $7.1 billion in April 2012.
Mortgage insurance activity picks up in April | HousingWire.
Pending home sales climbed 0.3% month-over-month in April. This missed expectations for a 1.5% rise.
On a yearly basis they were up 13.9%, beating expectations for a 13.9% rise.
“The housing market continues to squeak out gains from already very positive conditions. Pending contracts so far this year easily correspond to higher closed home sales in 2013,” said Lawrence Yun NAR chief economist in a press release.
A regional breakdown showed that the pending home sales index (PHSI) increased the most in the Northeast, up 11.5% on the month, and 17.7% on the year. The PHSI fell the most in the West, down 7.6% on the month and 2.6% on the year.
March’s reading was revised up modestly to show a 5.9% year-over-year rise.
Here’s a look at how pending home sales have done since 2001:
While a must-have for some buyers, swimming pools can also be a huge turn-off for other home shoppers.
Unlike the homeowner of 25 years ago, today’s typical buyers plan to live in their homes for just five to seven years. So it’s more important than ever to consider resale when making home improvements.
Even if you’re a buyer, it’s important to think like a seller, too, from the time you sign the purchase contract through any home improvement or renovation projects. The goal: Think about how your improvements might affect the sale of your home down the road.
Below are five home renovation/improvement projects that could actually hurt your home’s resale.
A homeowner/seller may have a green thumb and be really proud of the time spent on the garden, the hedges or landscaping. But the next buyer might see it as too much maintenance, especially if you went overboard with your green thumb. Potential buyers may not be willing to pay for it (as part of the home’s overall price), hire a gardener or do the work themselves. This is especially true with Millennials and Gen X-ers. Of course, your property needs curb appeal, and nice landscaping does sell. But it could be just as easy to do a quick, inexpensive yard once-over before going on the market.
Converting a garage into a family room may make sense if you don’t have a nice car or you simply want a bigger family room. Some people think a driveway is enough. But this is a huge “no-no” in real estate. A garage is expected, especially in the suburbs. If you take it out, you lose a huge chunk of buyers who simply won’t consider a home without a garage.
It’s common today for people to transform a bedroom into a huge master closet or into a home office with a built-in desk and cabinet. If you do, make sure the room can be easily turned back when you put the home on the market. Buyers with kids may need that bedroom. They’ll see the room you converted into a home office or closet as more money they’ll need to spend to turn it back into a bedroom.
A home office is the easiest to undo, as long as you haven’t built in intricate desks, shelves and cabinets. A large closet generally goes within a master bedroom, which includes taking out a door or putting up a wall — all of which is harder to undo.
Similar to landscaping, a pool requires maintenance and is an even bigger liability. This is very particular for certain parts of the country. If you’re in the South, in a warm environment, you can get away with it much more easily. A pool would be a common “must-have” on many buyers’ wish list.
If you’re in an area where it’s only warm a few months a year and pools aren’t common, adding one could be a big mistake. Then again, it’s your home, and if you plan to be there a long time, add the pool. Just know that it may be a turn-off to future buyers. When in doubt, consult your agent.
Often, homeowners put in tile, sinks, vanities, countertops and floor coverings that are hard to replace, and yet are specific to their tastes.
For example, you may be obsessed with the Moroccan tile from your Marrakesh vacation last year and want it in your kitchen. But the next buyer may not be so enthusiastic. Similarly, installing ceramic or marble tile all over the floors may be a costly mistake that others won’t want to pay for. Some homeowners assume that because they spent $50,000 in such upgrades, their homes will be worth so much more. But what may be a highly personal touch could make your home look like a “fixer-upper” to others. The end result: You’ll turn off a lot of buyers who don’t like your taste and don’t want to do the work to undo it.
Developer Renzo Renzi’s attempt to stop foreclosure auctions on two Miami condominium projects through Chapter 7 filings has failed.
Renzi’s companies lost an $18.2 million foreclosure judgment in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court in December, and used the Chapter 7 filings in January to stall the auctions.
Bankruptcy judge rejects efforts to stop foreclosures on Miami condo projects | HousingWire.
Robert Shiller, Karl Case and David Blitzer — leading experts in the housing market — believe several headwinds will keep a lid on housing gains, such as a low level of new home starts, an unexpectedly slow migration of so-called shadow inventory onto the market, and difficulty for buyers to secure financing, writes NBC News.
Yale University economist Shiller said:
“You’ve got a lot of breathless commentary in the media. All this talk that we’re in this great recovery—we probably are in the short run, the longer run doesn’t look so terrific to me.”
The year’s solid economic start faded late in the first quarter, but the recent setback is a temporary one, analysts claim.
The slow in activity is partly due to ongoing fiscal drags, including the budget sequester. However, a modest reacceleration is expected in the second half of this year, as the housing market continues to gain traction, according toFannie Mae’s economic outlook.
Housing is expected to act as a tailwind for the economy throughout the year and into 2014, even though there may be a few hiccups in overall economic activity.
“Our May forecast predicts that the second half of 2013 will be a little stronger than the first half, despite the slowdown during the past couple of months,” Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae.
He added, “Employment numbers are getting better, albeit it at a relatively slow pace, and the April employment picture should help boost consumer sentiment toward the economy overall. However, we continue to keep an eye on potential headwinds to our forecast, including the long-term effects of sequestration, spending constraints, the sovereign debt crisis, and the impending debt ceiling.”
Residential investment contributed to economic growth for the eighth consecutive quarter, adding 0.3 percentage points during the first quarter of 2013.
Additionally, the annualized pace of total housing starts in March surpassed the one million market for the first time since the housing crisis, driven solely by a surge in multifamily housing.
Multifamily homebuilding has benefited from a shift in tenure choice over the past several years toward renting, according to Fannie Mae.
For instance, the homeownership rate continued to decline in the first quarter, dropping to 65% — the lowest rate since the third quarter of 1995, the report noted.
By contrast, new single-family home sales rose in March, jumping 51%, which is the biggest gain since the second quarter of 2003.
Despite the robust gain in new home sales in the first quarter, homebuilders’ confidence from the Nation Association of Home Builders’ survey continued to cool in April, declining for the third consecutive month.
Housing will reaccelerate economic growth: Fannie Mae | HousingWire.
When you’re building a website, it’s tempting to get distracted by all the bells and whistles of the design process and forget all about creating compelling content. But having awesome content on your website is crucial to making inbound marketing work for your business.
So how do you balance your remarkable content creation with your website design needs? Why, with your ‘About Us’ page, of course! For a remarkable ‘About Us’ page, all you need to do is figure out your company’s unique identity, and then share it with the world.
I know … easier said than done.
Still, there’s no excuse for you to neglect one of the most important pages on your website — which also happens to be one of the most commonly overlooked pages. Let’s read on to discover six companies with awesome ‘About Us’ pages and see how you can emulate them on your own website. By the end of this post, showing off how awesome your company is won’t seem like such a challenging feat.
Have a cool story about how your product or service was created? Put it on your ‘About Us’ page. Good stories humanize your brand and provide context and meaning for your product. What’s more, good stories are sticky — which means people are more likely to connect with them and pass them on.
Yellow Leaf Hammocks does an amazing job of telling you about its product by describing the founder’s journey to Thailand and the birth of his “big idea” for the brand. Like any good storyteller, Yellow Leaf Hammocks uses words to paint a picture, rather than simply describing the events that happened. Sentences like “the hammock wrapped around him, cocooning him in its cloudlike embrace” immediately give you a mental picture of what’s happening.
Every company has a story to tell, so break out your storytelling skills from that random English class you took years ago and put them to work on your ‘About Us’ page. Using descriptive and emotive copy, an ‘About Us’ page with a story works harder for your business than a generic one.
You’re not like everyone else — so why should you sound the same as everyone else? Stand out with an ‘About Us’ page that shows off who you really are with witty headlines and a real brand voice.
That’s exactly what video production company LessFilms accomplished on its site using witty copy and the image of a large wrestler (yes, a wrestler). Although the wrestler dude and the funny headlines have nothing to do with LessFilms’ business model or product, they show off the founders’ sense of humor and give the brand a personality.
People tend to think that ‘About Us’ pages have to sound formal to gain credibility and trust. Most people find it easier to trust real human beings rather than a description that sounds like it came from an automaton. Trying to sound formal on your ‘About Us’ page results in stiff, “safe” copy and design — the perfect way to make sure your company stays invisible.
Eight Hour Day does a great job of showcasing the people behind the company to make the brand seem human. Including the founders’ names in the header of the website and featuring the photos of them on the ‘About Us’ page drives home the point that Nathan and Katie are a “couple that loves to create.” Even the picture of their dog makes you think Eight Hour Day has real people behind the brand.
The chief US economist for Deutsche Bank, Joseph LaVorgna, tweeted some great news a little while ago.
He push-posted an economic review of the housing industry that shows the recovery is doing even better than originally thought:
“We believe investors still do not fully appreciate the direct positive effects a rejuvenated housing
sector will have on the economic outlook,” according to the report LaVorgna is tweeting about.
“When combing through the GDP accounts, we estimate that total housing-related spending — beyond just residential construction — accounts for a much larger share of the economy than some market participants currently may believe,” the analysts write.
So the outlook remains bright, as HousingWire yesterday reported, but it’s still not as good as it once was, Deutsche Bank notes.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. – While coyote incidents are on the decline overall, Westchester County experts say that coyotes are typically more active during the spring season and it could be the reason for an increase in coyote attacks on small pets in Westchester County.
Two recent incidents involving pets caused New Castle Police to send out an alert to residents about coyotes Monday, but the latest statistics on coyote reports to the Department of Enivronmental Conservation show that incidents in New York are on the decline. There were at total of 36 incidents reported to the DEC in 2012, down from 39 in 2011 and 80 in 2007, according to the latest reports released by the DEC.
Statistics may not be helpful for the Westchester families who have recently lost pets to recent coyote attacks. But Maggie Ciarcia, a licensed NYS wildlife rehabilitator who serves Westchester County, said there is a strong correlation in coyote attacks on small pets during the spring season.
“Right now is the time of year when coyotes have their babies,” Ciarcia said. “The coyote pups are typically born in late-March into early-May so they’re more likely to hunt for any food they can find in the spring. They’ve been here all along, not just to have their pups, but they’re typically more active in the spring.”
Coyotes view domestic dogs as a threat to their young during the “spring denning season,” according to the DEC. Ciarcia said the incidents in Chappaqua were most likely the result of one mother looking to feed and protect its young.
“My guess would be those all involve the same coyote family,” Ciarcia said. “Normally they eat mice or rodents and do a great job of keeping the rodent population down but coyotes can become very situated to humans and to easy food. So we always warn people not to feed coyotes or leave food for outdoor pets.”
Watch Out For Coyotes In Westchester This Spring | The Bedford Daily Voice.
Home prices are rising at double digit rates. Inventories are at historic lows. Two out of five applicants for a purchase mortgage are rejected. Yet nearly three quarters of Americans say it’s a good time to buy a home.
While some would argue its always a good time to buy, conditions have turned to favor sellers in most markets across the nation. Yet even though a slight majority of consumers participating in Fannie Mae’s latest monthly National Housing Survey expect prices to rise over the next three months, 71 percent said its still a good time for buyers.
By contrast, the share of respondents who say now is a good time to sell climbed 4 percentage points in April but still reached only 30 percent, compared to 15 percent at the same time last year. That’s not even half as many as those who said it’s a good time to buy. The percentage that said it’s a good time to buy stayed steady from March.
The share of respondents who say mortgage rates will go up fell 3 percentage points to 43 percent, while those who say they will go down increased slightly to 7 percent.
The average 12-month rental price change expectation held steady at 4.1 percent.
Forty-eight percent of those surveyed say home rental prices will go up in the next year, a 2 percentage point decrease from last month’s survey high.
The share of respondents who said they would buy if they were going to move increased slightly to 65 percent.
“For the first time in the survey’s three-year history, the majority of Americans surveyed now expect home prices to increase,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Crossing the 50 percent threshold marks a significant milestone as most Americans believe a housing recovery is truly occurring throughout the country. Reflecting that increased optimism toward housing, the share of Americans who think it is a good time to sell has doubled during the last year. Many homeowners who have been underwater are gradually returning to positive equity, and selling is now becoming an available and attractive option again.”