National Home Values Expected to Increase by 3.3% in 2014

Zillow's first quarter Real Estate Market Reports show home values increased 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to $169,800. The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVF) climbed 5.7% from March 2013 levels. On a monthly basis, home values are up 0.2% nationally. Zillow writes, "According to the Zillow Home Value Forecast (ZHVF), we expect national home values to increase 3.3 percent over the next year (March 2014 to March 2015). Of the 301 markets covered by the Zillow Home Value Forecast, 282 markets are expected to see increases in home values over the next year, with the largest increases expected in the Riverside metro (12.0 percent) and the Orlando metro (8.2 percent)." Nationally, the number of homes listed for sale on Zillow was down 0.5% annually in March (seasonally adjusted), after having increased on a monthly basis late last year for several months in a row. Inventory rose on an annual basis in 337 out of 648 metros Zillow covers with inventory data.

Top 10 Areas in U.S. Experiencing Highest Price Increases

This is a very interesting article illustrating how California home values have increased compared to other states in the U.S. Feel free to call me if you have any questions with regard to loan program qualification.

Tom

Home Prices Continue Higher, Some States Above Pre-Crisis Peaks

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Apr 28 2014, 12:06PM

Home prices nationwide have now recovered to within 13.5 percent of the peak they reached in June 2006.  The national Home Price Index (HPI) provided by Black Knight Financial Services' Data and Analytics Division is $233,000, inching closer to the $270,000 HPI that was the pre-crisis peak. This presents an increase of 7.6 percent from an HPI of $217,000 in March 2014 and a 0.7 percent increase from February. 

Ten states had increases in their HPI's greater than that 0.7 national monthly average.  Oregon and Washington posted monthly gains of 1.4 percent followed by California Nevada, and Hawaii at 1.3, 1.2, and 1.1 percent respectively.  Other states with larger averages were Colorado, Missouri, the District of Columbia, Texas, and Illinois.  The smallest improvements were in Ohio and Vermont which were unchanged from February, Arkansas, up 0.1 percent, and Connecticut, Maryland, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Massachusetts each of which had a 0.2 percent increase in their respective HPIs.

Mortgage Lenders Ease Rules for Home Buyers in Hunt for Business

I am often asked if and when will lending guidelines will ease up, particularly for first time home buyers. Well, we're starting to see lenders try to shore up lost volume due to interest rates rising in the last year. This article publised this week in the Wall Street Journal lays out opportunities available today for home buyers. HomeQuest Mortgage offers these new programs along with a choice of lenders to ensure borrowers select the right mortgage for them.

 http://blogs.wsj.com/five-things/2014/04/18/5-questions-on-the-state-of-mortgage-lending/

Next Gen Home Buyers Speak a Different Lanquage

The median age of Realtors is 57, whereas the median age of first-time buyers is 34. If you want to effectively serve “next-gen” buyers and sellers, it’s imperative that you learn to speak “digital.” I recently heard realtor.com Vice President Max Pigman outline how the real estate conversation of today has shifted dramatically from that of the past. While real estate is still discussed at all types of get-together s, the digital conversation is taking place in an entirely different way.

While it’s obvious that “Gen Next” buyers and sellers are wedded to their mobile devices, most Realtors have yet to tap into communicating with them the way that they prefer to communicate. If you want to be more effective at speaking the digital language of today’s Gen Next consumer, here’s how to do it:

1. Texting is a different language
According to Pigman, 24 percent of today’s buyers and sellers would like to conduct their transaction entirely by text messaging. Texting is really a mix of short verbal messages coupled with links to pictures and/or videos. It requires an entirely different way of thinking about how you communicate, especially if you’re older.

As a rule of thumb, videos have the highest open rates, higher than open rates for links. If you have the choice between sending an embedded video that requires only the user to click to play vs. a link, always opt for the click-to-play video.

In terms of open rates on other types of media, pictures are next, followed by words. The least effective method is leaving a phone message. Pigman cited recent research showing that many millennials not only view phone messages unfavorably, they consider phone calls to be an invasion of their privacy.

- See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/07/wanna-effectively-serve-generation-next-homebuyers-learn-to-speak-digital/#sthash.rv9qy5mm.CAOJ7Wx3.dpuf- See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/07/wanna-effectively-serve-generation-next-homebuyers-learn-to-speak-digital/#sthash.rv9qy5mm.CAOJ7Wx3.dpuf