Good morning…
It’s nice seeing more and more people turning out for open houses. I think with the
weather getting nicer, there should be more traffic coming through. Don’t you? In
other news, I turned a year older…still waiting for the wiser though. And since you’re
receiving this email today, I was not one of the lotto winners, unfortunately.
On today’s call: Markets, Rent vs. Buy, Housing, Buyer trends, Interest rates
- The economic data continues mixed. Personal income and personal spending were
up in February, both good things, but inflation was worrisome. Overall prices are up
2.3% the last 12 months, above the Fed's 2% target. Not surprisingly, the Consumer
Confidence Index was down. I mean, how high can gas and food prices go? I guess
they’re not high enough to prevent people from throwing money away on lotto
tickets! Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke voiced his concerns that job market conditions
remain far from normal. All of this had an impact on mortgage rates, as we saw them
dip back down towards record-level territory once again.
- This is a fantastic slide show for you to share with your past, current, and potential clients.
It shows, in good detail, why buying is cheaper than renting. Look at slides 13 and 14 for
more figures on Chicago. I’m sending this to my database…I hope you send it to yours!
http://www.slideshare.net/Trulia/trulia-spring-2012-rent-vs-buy-index?from=share_email
- Last week's housing reports supported the fact there are great opportunities in today's
real estate market, as long as you don't look at just part of the data and jump to conclusions.
For example, the February Pending Home Sales index was off just 0.5% for the month.
But the index is now UP 13.9% over a year ago. The National Association of Realtors (NAR)
said it expects home prices to rebound in 2012 with existing home sales up 7%-10%, to their
highest level in five years. I think that’s quite optimistic, but foreclosures are easing up
somewhat, inventory is moving, and rates are very low. So it’s not unforeseeable, that’s for
sure. According to CoreLogic, foreclosures are down over 7.5% from a year ago, with over
60% of the largest metro areas in the company seeing declines, including Chicago, which
at one point was near the top of the list. Foreclosures are the biggest detriment to the
housing market recovery so good news like this should improve everyone’s outlook.
- According to the NAR, the top 3 approaches first-time home buyers use for finding a home are:
1) online search for homes
2) online search for info on the home buying process
3) contacting a mortgage lender
I get a lot of first-time buyers with no realtor contacts. Keep that in mind! I do my best to make
sure these people know the value of utilizing your services. This is a good reminder that more
and more people are starting their search on the internet. Having a web presence (especially
with a website/blog, Facebook, and Twitter, are essential to reaching more customers. They
need to know how to find you and this is a great way to not only connect with potential clients,
but also keep in touch with your database.
- As I mentioned earlier, interest rates dipped slightly, with the 30 year fixed back in the 3.875%-
4.0% range. ARM’s are hovering in the 2.5%-3.75% range. The FOMC is meeting tomorrow and
talks about quantitative easing (QE3) will most likely continue. The last few times the Fed went
through with actual easing, rates got better. So we’ll find out more tomorrow what could be a
potentially positive effect on rates.
Thanks to Kelsey and John for inviting me to their open houses. Each customer’s pre-approval will be
complete by the end of today. Have a great week and please contact me if you or your clients need
anything at all.
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