New Construction Buyers Spend Less Time Searching For a Home in 2020

 The Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report for 2020 had big changes from the data reported in 2019. New construction (NC) buyers that were surveyed for the 2020 report revealed that they spent less time looking for a home because they focused only on a new construction home. The report showed that 23% more NC buyers found their home in less than four weeks. In fact, the average new construction buyer spends only two months searching for a newly built home.

More and more home buyers are desiring a new construction home now more than ever. Builders are marketing off this change by adding incentives such as free builder upgrades. In 2019 9% of NC buyers said free builder upgrades was one of the top three of their reasons for buying new construction while in 2020 14% cited this as one of their motivators.

The top reasons for purchasing a certain home are still location and home features but following close behind now is the desire to purchase a new home that has never been lived in or used. Buyers want to be able to customize their home features and choose their own floor plan. Thirty-percent of NC buyers cited one of their top reasons for purchasing a newly built house was because it was the best value for their money.

New construction buyers are now focusing on less square footage. More NC buyers (9%) in 2020 purchased small homes which were 6 percentage points higher than in 2019. Small homes are homes that are less than 1,000 square feet. The data also informed that 19% of NC buyers paid less than $100,000 for their home in 2020 while only 9% were reported in 2019. Zillow feels that the shift might be because more new construction is being built in urban areas or that home builders are offering more options in smaller homes.

There was also a shift in home feature preferences in NC buyers in 2020. These include rental income, smart technology and space for cars. It became important to 32% of new construction buyers that they could generate rental income by renting out the whole home compared to 23% who said this was important in 2019. Smart home technologies are also becoming the norm. More and more people are becoming comfortable with devices that control things such as security or temperature control. Forty-three percent of NC buyers say that smart home capabilities are very important. Cars are also important to Americans, in fact so important, that 74% of NC buyers have to have off-street parking or a garage and 67% have to have an assigned parking space. Zillow says this probably stems from the higher rate of new construction in urban areas.

The new construction housing market is starved for inventory so if you are in the market, choosing a Realtor is a must. A Realtor can help you find the best home for you and your needs.

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Ways To Purchase a Home With No Down Payment

 Mortgage Rates are low and now is a great time to purchase a home. A big stumbling block for many is a downpayment. There are ways to borrow money through government-backed loans that give a borrower a chance to purchase a home with a smaller downpayment or no money down at all.

Lenders are protected when they lend borrowers the money for a home from the three government agencies which are the Federal Housing Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. These agencies ensure loans allowing lenders to reduce the risk of lending a loan to those who offer a low or no down payment.

"The goal across all these programs is helping people get into a home, knowing that homeownership is a key driver for removing the wealth divide," said Ed Barry, chief executive of Capital Bank, a bank headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, which operates Capital Bank Home Loans. "These programs are out there, but many people don't even know that they qualify."

An FHA loan allows a buyer to obtain a mortgage with a lower credit score, higher debt-to-income ratio and smaller down payments. In fact, it is easier for a home buyer to qualify for an FHA loan vs a conventional mortgage.

There is however a limit to the amount you can borrow on an FHA loan. This year the caps range between $356,362 and $822,375 and also depend on the location of the property. In order to find out the cap for your area, you can visit the Department of Housing and Urban Development website.

If you are a veteran or a surviving spouse of a veteran, then you will be eligible for a VA loan. VA loans offer 100% financing and better terms than a conventional loan.

"The advantage of the VA loan is the option to make no down payment," said Jordan Nietzel, a certified financial planner and founder of Trek Wealth Planning in Kansas City. "The thing that people need to watch out for is the debt-to-income ratio, which can go higher on a VA loan than a conventional loan. It can qualify you for a higher loan than you may be prepared to handle."

One catch is the VA funding fee. For a home purchased at $200,000 with a 5% down payment of $10,000, the VA funding fee will cost $3,135 or 1.65% of the $190,000 loan amount. The lower interest rate on a VA loan will be worth the VA funding fee.

In a rural area, there is a loan program called the USDA loan which allows for 100% financing with no down payment. These are great for low and moderate-income households. The buyer's household income cannot exceed 115% of the median income of the area around the home.

There are also property requirements for a USDA loan. The loan eligibility is based on the population density of the community. A potential buyer can search for USDA-eligible areas on the USDA website.

"People tend to think a USDA loan is for farmers," said Barry. "That isn't the case. It is designed for rural purchases. But that is defined by population density, not agricultural use. So you have eligible areas even 30 miles out of Washington DC."

"The challenge is finding someone who is knowledgeable in this space," said Barry. Not only about the type of loan, but about the areas where you are looking. "Usually this is more than just a transaction. It can be a super complicated process. A little hand holding is helpful."

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Affordable Housing Funds Receive $1 Billion

 The current housing market is on fire and will have even more support with the $1.09 billion disbursements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has never authorized such a large amount. In fact, this is double what was given last year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was established in 2008. The goal for the agency is to make sure that regulated institutions make good on their commitment. It is also there for a safe place for liquidity and funding for the housing finance market throughout the economic cycle.

Along with the agency, as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008, congress created the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and Capital Magnet Fund (CMF). Their purpose is to support affordable housing. HERA directed the Enterprises to set aside 4.2 basis points of each dollar of unpaid principal balance of its total new business purchases and then allocate those reserved funds following each fiscal year for. The funding is divided with the HTF receiving 65% and the CMF receiving 35%.For 2021 more than $700 million will be given to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of the Treasury for the CMF will receive $383 million.

This is good news for the housing industry altogether. Now is a great time to purchase a home if you are in the market or thinking of buying a home.

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December 2020 Saw the Largest Gain in Home Prices in 7 Years

The end of 2020 was chaotic with the pandemic mixed with the holidays. This did not slow down the housing market, especially when it came to increases in home prices. It was reported that home prices rose at the fastest pace we have seen in seven years.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices reported that nationally home prices rose 10.4% over the data collected in December 2019. Not only were the home prices rising at a record pace, but we saw the largest annual gains in the more than 30-year history of the index in December 2020.

“2020′s 10.4% gain marks the best performance of housing prices in a calendar year since 2013,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “From the perspective of more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, December’s year-over-year change ranks within the top decile of all reports.”

The strongest gains were seen in Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego among the total cities surveyed. Phoenix showed a 14.4% increase year-over-year, Seattle had a 13.6% increase and San Diego was not far behind with a 13% increase.

COVID-19 has driven demand in homes because of the stay-at-home orders. People are more concerned with their homes now more than ever. A lack of inventory and the record low mortgage rates has made the current housing market very strong and desirable.

“These data are consistent with the view that Covid has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This may indicate a secular shift in housing demand, or may simply represent an acceleration of moves that would have taken place over the next several years anyway,” Lazzara said.

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