by rtdosen | Aug 6, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
A Mid-Year Review for Chester County Real Estate By Ryan Dosen The first half of the year is in the books and the Chester County real estate market appears to be doing pretty well. The sales numbers for Keller Williams Brandywine Valley are up significantly from last year and my real estate team just had its biggest month on record. However, our business represents a relatively-small-but-growing subsection of the entire market. And you know what they say about appearances. They can be deceiving. So let’s not make any assumptions. Let’s take a step back and look at the mid-year numbers for Chester County’s real estate market. Home Settlements Up 12.3 Percent Suburban West Realtors Association reports that Chester County year-to-date home settlements are up 12.3 percent so far in 2015. June home settlements in Chester County were actually up 13.4 percent from last June’s numbers. June was Chester County’s biggest month for home settlements in 2014, with 677 total units changing hands. This June easily topped last year’s high and the market is well ahead of last year’s overall pace. Pending Home Sales Up 17.9 Percent According to Suburban West, Chester County pending home sales (homes that are under contract, but not yet settled) for the month of June were 12.7 percent higher in 2015 than in 2014. The year-to-date pending home sales numbers are even better. Pending home sales in Chester County for 2015 are almost 18 percent higher than they were at the same time last year. With the number of homes under contract for settlement being significantly higher this year, we will continue to...
by rtdosen | Aug 6, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
5 Things to Know about the Second Half Housing Market By Ryan Dosen Half of the year is in the books and we are seeing many promising signs for continued improvement in the real estate market. With the back nine still left to play, National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun recently released NAR’s second half forecast and discussed a few interesting things we all should know about the current and expected conditions of the economy and housing market. Here are the highlights…. 1. Home Sales Hitting Pre-Recession Highs As discussed in last week’s column, pending contracts to buy existing homes have hit a 9-year high, new home sales have hit a 7-year high, and housing permits to build new homes have hit an 8-year high. Existing-home sales also recently hit their highest mark since 2009, when the homebuyer ($8,000) tax credit had been in place. Though the credit is no longer in place, the economy has improved and the market is rebounding nicely. This return to pre-recession levels of activity is definitely a positive sign for the housing market. 2. GDP and Jobs Growth Expected, Despite Sluggish Wage Growth Yun forecasts that GDP will grow by 2.5 to 3 percent in the second half, allowing for more job creation. He also says that a total of 2.5 million net new jobs are likely to be created this year. While expecting solid job growth in the second half, Yun warns that part-time jobs are too high and that incomes are rising at a “sluggish” 2 percent rate. However, he also forecasts that wages should rise...
by rtdosen | Jul 8, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
New Home and Resale Markets Continue Surge By Ryan Dosen Pending home sales have reached their highest level since April 2006 and the housing market finds itself gaining more and more ground as it leaves the dark recesses of the Great Recession in its rear view. New home construction is also showing many promising signs with housing permits hitting a post-crisis high. Overall, it is looking like the housing market will have its best year in almost a decade, and there are lots of reasons to be optimistic about the trend continuing. Resale Contracts Hit 9-Year High The National Association of Realtors’ (“NAR”) Pending Home Sales Index rose 0.9 percent in May and now sits at its highest level since April 2006. Interestingly, the Northeast was America’s strongest performing region. Pending home sales in the Northeast were up 6.3 percent in May and are now up 10.6 percent year-over-year. In discussing the impressive resale numbers, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted a “broad based recovery with four major regions showing solid gains from a year ago and new home sales also coming alive.” Yun attributes much of the market’s improvement to the “steady pace of solid job creation seen now for over a year …” However, Yun cautions that home price growth is “unhealthy and unsustainable” at the current pace. “Housing affordability remains a pressing issue with home-price growth increasing around four times the pace of wages.” Basically, the price of homes is rising much faster than the amount of money people are bringing home. At some point, something’s got to give. We are also expecting the...
by rtdosen | Jun 29, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
3 Percent Home Loans Available for a Limited Time By Ryan Dosen Federal government funds still remain available to help Pennsylvanians get 30-year loans to buy homes with rates as low as 3 percent. However, these shockingly low rates and ultra-friendly terms won’t be around forever. Once the federal funds have been used up, they’ll be gone for good. Keystone Home Loan Program Local mortgage expert Karen Jackson of Waterstone Mortgage in West Chester, PA says that one of the most attractive opportunities out there right now is the federally-funded Keystone Home Loan Program, available through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (“PHFA”). The PHFA says that it “works to provide affordable homeownership and rental apartment options for senior adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs.” Those that qualify for the PHFA’s Keystone Home Loan Program can enjoy rates as low as 3 percent. Since this program doesn’t accommodate conventional loans with PMI, it can be used only with government loans – such as FHA, VA and USDA – along with conventional loans that have at least 20% down. With many experts saying that rates will be going up as soon as September, this program could allow buyers the opportunity to afford housing now rather than being forced to the sidelines as rates rise. The Catch The catch for the Keystone Home Loan Program is that there are income and purchase price limits. The income limits had been $95,000 for 1-2 person households and $110,000 for 3-4 person households. Unfortunately for some buyers, the limits just dropped in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties....
by rtdosen | Jun 26, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
“Know Before You Own” Changes Delayed By Ryan Dosen The powers that be in the real estate industry have managed to kick the can and delay the significant changes that are coming for real estate settlements and settlement paperwork. Changes were slated to begin on August 1, 2015. We learned on Thursday that the effective date of the mandated changes will be bumped back at least two months to October 1, 2015. Representatives from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and other real estate-related organizations laud the decision to delay the inevitable, generally citing the need for additional time for professionals to adjust to and prepare for the soon-to-be-mandated changes. MBA President and CEO David H. Stevens says that “the complexity of this rule, which impacts not just mortgage disclosures but also the business processes behind the entire real estate transaction, warrants the additional time to get it right and ensure that consumers are not adversely effected by the transition.” The New Rule and the Changes Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFRB) was tasked with the creation of newer, more easily understandable loan and settlement forms. The CFRB states that the old forms, including the Truth-in-Lending disclosure (TIL), Good Faith Estimate (GFE), and HUD-1 settlement statement, were considered “confusing” and that “lenders and settlement agents find the forms burdensome to provide and explain.” As part of the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID), a new Loan Estimate (LE) will replace the GFE and initial TIL. The new Loan Estimate “is designed to...
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