Real Estate

Realtors get into this business because they love helping people buy and sell homes. “The skills that make you really great at helping your clients through this transaction don’t really bring any clients in the door — which is step number one for any real estate agent,” said YourWayHome founder Andrew Batson. “Our in-house marketing department will provide some incredible marketing they can run to strengthen their sphere business. And of course, we spend a ton of money generating leads for the agents, guaranteeing at least 30 per month.” Realtor Kate Rome knew she could take on more work and wanted to partner with a brokerage that could help her grow. “My previous brokerage was not lead generating,” she explained. The business is designed to take pipeline-building activities off the agent’s plate, letting them focus on what really matters: delivering excellent service to clients. Just focus on being trusted real estate advisors and we’ll handle the rest.” Those leads that Kate Rome was looking for aren’t being sold to multiple agents. “I got a great lead from out of state right away.” Morris also embraced the brokerage’s focus on the new home market. “YourWayHome has helped me to partner with the builders and become an authority on the new homes that are out there.” For Batson, he loves seeing phenomenal agents that truly love helping people. Learn more about how the team provides agents with exclusive new home sales territories and over 30 company-generated leads each month.

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If you are available please join us on Monday, February 11th at 1:30 pm CST to announce our new affordable housing partnership. The Promise Zone has formed a partnership with TruVest...

Student loan debt, currently estimated at 1.56 trillion is still impacting Millennial homebuyers according to a recent report from Bankrate.com. According to the report “31 percent of Americans say they currently have or have had student loan debt stemming from their own education.” It goes on to reveal, "an additional 13 percent of American adults financed another family member’s school expenses through student loans.” People responding to Banknote’s survey, 31% report they have delayed homeownership. No matter how many possible solutions are tossed around Washington and beyond on reducing the crushing burden of student loan debt, it remains one of the top reasons Millennials (23-38) are putting off buying a home. Consider that 39% of the respondents earn an annual income of $80,000 and over. Bankrate.com’s Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick based in Washington sees it this way. Michael Pulver, senior vice president residential mortgage manager at Genesee Regional Bank in Rochester, New York sees some light emerging from this very dark tunnel. “What we have been seeing is an increase in the number of Millennials who do want to move from renting to buying. There are now some better programs out there with minimized down payment requirements –less than 3% down. This increases the affordability to be able to get into a home for that Millennial buyer. Here in upstate New York affordability is good.” Consider a current listing price of $127,900 for a 1,454 square foot colonial with hardwood floors and “updated kitchen.” Rick Ross, longtime college educational financing consultant has some insightful thoughts on the subject.

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While this amount of debt has risen, the homeownership rate has fallen, and fallen more steeply among younger generations. To evaluate those trends, SALT® and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) teamed up to conduct a survey of student loan borrowers who are currently in repayment in a new report entitled “Student Loan Debt and Housing Report: When Debt Holds You Back.” Notably, the median student loan debt amount is $41,200. Among non-homeowners, 83 percent cite student loan debt as the factor delaying them from buying a home. The delay in buying a home among homeowners is three years. Forty-two percent were delayed moving out of their family member’s home after college, regardless of whether they were buying a home. This delay has a financial impact on both parents and the student loan borrower. Twenty percent were delayed by at least two years in moving out of a family member’s home after college due to their student loans. While 20 percent are currently homeowners, 30 percent live with friends or family, and half (15 percent) do not pay rent. According to NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, among recent homebuyers, 27 percent have student loan debt and the typical amount is $25,000. The share of those with student loan debt rises to 40 percent among first-time homebuyers.

In the meantime, what are local governments and municipalities doing to prepare for an acceleration of Opportunity Zone investments? Under its guidance, 30 cities to date have drafted Investment Prospectuses, clearly outlining their preparations for OZ impact. “We are helping cities highlight assets, partnerships and investible projects and businesses that will directly help the communities and families to whom the legislation was targeted,” says Aaron Thomas, Accelerator for America’s Director of Economic Development and Opportunity Zones. Getty By having cities draw up Investment Prospectuses, Thomas explains, “We’re saying, ‘If you’re going to put capital into these communities, here are the communities that are ready, and these are the things the community actually wants to do.' During the first quarter of 2019, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and his administration created an OZ Task Force that just held its first of many-planned regional summits to “align Opportunity Zone goals with state and local economic and cultural priorities,” According to a statement by Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford. Workforce development grants and technology investments are being put into place, and millions of dollars have been allocated by the State of Maryland to support various aspects of OZ revitalization, from affordable housing construction to demolition funding of dilapidated structures. All of these examples should give communities and residents reason to be hopeful that good change is coming: that jobs will be created and that necessary investments will materialize. And yet, some cities still aren’t on board with Opportunity Zones. Says Aaron Thomas of Accelerator for America, “The potential downsides are precisely why it’s important that the people and organizations already living and working within Opportunity Zones lead the way in improving these communities.” When private capital and communities work closely together, the best outcomes are the likely result.

In fact, nearly 1.2 million people 55 or older relocated out of state last year, the highest number on record. Then we looked at the number of folks ages 55 and up who moved into new metros between 2016 and 2017. Median list price: $275,100 Percentage of residents age 60 and up***: 47% Population: 182,033 Hurricane Charley and its 145-mile-per-hour winds hit Punta Gorda head on in 2004, devastating the community. The city was rebuilt, but with much stricter building codes, to make sure these new homes could withstand high winds. And it's become even more appealing in recent years, with home prices falling in Cape Coral, down 3.5% year over year. Seniors with cash reserves can find places in upscale 55-plus retirement communities like Touchmark at The Ranch, a 44-acre community known for its lodge-style homes. Median list price: $580,100 Percentage of residents age 60 and up: 30.4% Population: 148,750 The historic downtown district of Santa Fe Plaza is packed with unique art galleries, shops, restaurants—and lots of boomers. "We’ve always been seen as a retirement community, but in the last two years, things have really picked up," says Brett Hultberg, a real estate agent in Santa Fe. Median list price: $525,100 Percentage of residents age 60 and up: 38.9% Population: 213,444 The white sandy beaches of Cape Cod (part of the Barnstable Town metro) have long been prized vacation refuges for New Yorkers and Bostonians looking for a getaway. *** We included the percentage of residents 60 and up, instead of 55 and older, because that is how the U.S. Census Bureau groups the ages of residents in metros.

“The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.” The famous quote attributed to Mark Twain can apply to homeownership in the United States today. After the crash, that percentage continued to fall for the next ten years. That led to speculation that homeownership was no longer seen as a major component of the American Dream. That belief became so widespread that the term “renters’ society” began to be used by some to define American consumers. However, the latest report by the Census Bureau on homeownership shows that over the last two years, the percentage of homeowners has increased in each of the last eight quarters. Going forward… It appears the homeownership rate will continue to increase. The 2019 Aspiring Home Buyers Profile recently released by the National Association of Realtors revealed that 84% of non-owners want to own a home in the future. That percentage increased from 73% earlier last year. Bottom Line In the United States, the concept of homeownership as part of the American Dream is very much alive and well. Members: Sign in now to set up your Personalized Posts & start sharing today!

Realtor.com® analyzed markets where at least 20 flipped homes sold for more than $1 million from January to October 2018. They defined flip as a home that sold twice for a profit within a year. The markets seeing some of the largest number of luxury housing flips are in California, particularly the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim areas, with the percentage of luxury home flips increasing from 3.4 percent in 2017 to 4 percent in 2018. "It was one of the fastest-growing luxury markets last year overall, so it’s a function of sales being higher and growing at a healthy pace, which can result in flips growing at a healthy pace," Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com®, told Mansion Global. "The share of inventory above $1 million in Los Angeles is large, too, and above most other markets." International buyers are targeting the area for flips as well, says Santiago Arana, a broker with The Agency in Los Angeles. "Tech companies are moving in, there’s been a gigantic investment in the new football stadium, George Lucas is opening a new museum, and there is incredible growth and development downtown." Luxury home flipping in many markets could taper off though this year, too. Housing analysts point to changes in the U.S. tax code from last year that could make investors more reluctant to take on bigger purchases this year. “We’re already seeing a lot of that with price reductions and increases in the amount and types of price cuts happening above the $1 million mark.”