21% of Americans Believe Climate Change Hurting Home Values: Redfin Survey

Originally published on April 14, 2021, by Isabelle Novak for Redfin.

Redfin Survey: 1 in 5 Americans Believes Climate Change
Is Hurting Home Values In Their Area

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. homeowners have spent money to protect their homes against climate risks, with over one-third investing $5,000 or more. Extreme temperatures and flooding are among the top concerns.

SEATTLE, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — One in five Americans (21%) believes the increasing frequency or intensity of natural disasters, extreme temperatures and/or rising sea levels are hurting home values in their area, according to a new survey featured in a report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. A comparable share—23%—expect one or more of these factors to hurt local housing values in the next five years, and 12% think values will be negatively impacted in the next five to 10 years. Just over a third (35%) of Americans believe these factors will never diminish home values where they live.

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Hospitality Sector Improving and Forecast to Continue Getting Even Better: CBRE

Originally published on April 13, 2021, by Michael Tucker for Mortgage Bankers Association.

The hotel sector is coming back–slowly–from its pandemic-related downturn, analysts said.

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Lack of Supply Drives Up Home Prices; Commercial Sector Still Stalled: Fed Beige Book

Originally published on April 14, 2021, by the Federal Reserve.

This report was prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas based on information collected on or before April 5, 2021. This document summarizes comments received from contacts outside the Federal Reserve System and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials.

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House Approves Real Estate Valuation Fairness Legislation

Oriignally published on April 21, 2021, for the Appraisal Institute.

The House Financial Services Committee on April 20 approved HR 2553, the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act, legislation that would establish an interagency task force to analyze federal collateral underwriting standards and guidance, and provide resources for promoting diversity within the valuation profession. The bill now moves to a full House vote, but no date has been set.

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Mortgage Rates Drop Slightly After Nearly 2 Months of Increases, Freddie Mac Reports

Originally published on April 8, 2021, by Freddie Mac.

MCLEAN, Va., April 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.13 percent.

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Homebuyer, Seller Sentiment Up, Mortgage Outlook Down, Fannie Mae Index Shows

Originally published on April 7, 2021, by Fannie Mae.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased in March by 5.2 points to 81.7. Four of the HPSI’s six components increased month over month, including the components related to homebuying and home-selling conditions, household income, and home prices. The mortgage rate outlook component experienced only a decline, and the latest results indicate that only 6% of consumers believe that mortgage rates will decrease over the next 12 months. Year over year, the HPSI is up 0.9 points.

“The significant increase in the HPSI in March reflects consumer optimism toward the housing market and larger economy as vaccinations continue to roll out, the third round of stimulus checks was distributed, and the spring homebuying season began – perhaps with even more intensity this year since 2020’s spring homebuying season was limited by virus-related lockdowns,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Home-selling sentiment experienced positive momentum across most consumer segments – nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels and generally indicative of a strong seller’s market. Consumers once again cited high home prices and tight inventory as primary reasons why it’s a good time to sell.  Alternatively, while the net ‘good time to buy’ component increased month over month, it has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, as the home buying experience continues to prove difficult for many of the same reasons, namely high prices and a lack of supply.”

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Biden Seeks More Affordable Housing with $5B in Incentives

Originally published on April 8, 2021, by Andy Sullivan for Reuters.com.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is seeking to ease a national affordable housing shortage by pushing local governments to allow apartment buildings in neighborhoods that are currently restricted to single-family homes.

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CFPB Looks to Ban Foreclosure Starts Until 2022

Originally published on April 5, 2021, by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today proposed a set of rule changes intended to help prevent avoidable foreclosures as the emergency federal foreclosure protections expire. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, millions of families nationwide have suffered the loss of income and nearly 3 million homeowners are behind on their mortgages. The CFPB’s proposal seeks to ensure that both services and borrowers have the tools and time they need to work together to prevent avoidable foreclosures, recognizing that the expected surge of borrowers exiting forbearance in the fall will put mortgage servicers under strain.

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Consumer Confidence Surged in March, Survey Reveals

Originally published on March 30, 2021, by The Conference Board.

Consumer Confidence Survey®

The Consumer Confidence Survey® reflects prevailing business conditions and likely developments for the months ahead. This monthly report details consumer attitude, buying intentions, vacation plans and consumer expectation for inflation, stock prices and interest rates. Data are data available by age, income, region and top 8 states.

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$2.3 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Includes Billions for Real Estate

Originally published on April 2, 2021 for The Real Estate Roundtable.

President Joe Biden on March 31 announced the first part of his sweeping economic growth proposal focused on infrastructure and clean energy – a $2.3 trillion, eight-year plan that White House officials said would be funded, over 15 years, by corporate and international tax increases. (Wall Street Journal and White House Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Plan, March 31)

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Housing Insights: COVID-19 Led First-Time Homebuyers to Move Away from Highly Dense City Centers

Originally published on March 30, 2021, by Rebecca Meeker and Nuno Mota for Fannie Mae.

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country in 2020, it touched nearly every aspect of the U.S. economy. In the housing market, new listings, home sales, and residential construction all plummeted in the spring of 2020. In the following months, however, the housing market proved resilient, with home sales and new construction reaching decade highs amid historically low mortgage rates.

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CFPB Rescinds Temporary Appraisal Flexibilities

Originally published on March 31, 2021, by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it is rescinding seven policy statements issued last year that provided temporary flexibilities to financial institutions in consumer financial markets including mortgages, credit reporting, credit cards, and prepaid cards. The seven rescissions, effective April 1, provide guidance to financial institutions on complying with their legal and regulatory obligations. With the rescissions, the CFPB is providing notice that it intends to exercise the full scope of the supervisory and enforcement authority provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is also rescinding its 2018 bulletin on supervisory communications and replacing it with a revised bulletin describing its use of matters requiring attention (MRAs) to effectively convey supervisory expectations.

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AI’s Lifetime Achievement Award Renamed In Honor Of The Late Scott Robinson MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, MRICS

The Appraisal Institute renamed their Lifetime Achievement Award to the J. Scott Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of the late Scott Robinson MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, MRICS, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year.

The J. Scott Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an AI Professional who best demonstrates high ethical standards; contributed to the Appraisal Institute at the chapter, regional, national, and/or international level(s); provided service to his or her community, and contributed to the appraisal profession. A minimum of 20 years of service is recommended to be eligible for this award.

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Outlying Suburbs Appeal to More Home Buyers

Originally published by Rose Quint on March 25, 2021, for the National Association of Home Builders.

A recent NAHB study* found that COVID-19 has impacted the housing preferences of 25% of home buyers. More specifically, the survey asked about location preferences both prior to COVID-19 and now: did buyers’ preferred location change as a result of the pandemic? Results show that a segment of home buyers have in fact shifted their preference towards the outlying suburbs due to the health crisis.

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It’s a Seller’s Market in the Industrial Sector, But Investors Are Undeterred

Originally published by Patricia Kirk on March 22, 2021, for WelathManagement.com.

Soaring demand and constrained supply have caused industrial property values to rise for the past decade. But with the pandemic accelerating an increase in online sales, the industrial commercial property price index (CPPI) rose 8.8 percent over the previous year, with warehouse values surging 10 percent and flex industrial values rising 6.5 percent, according to a recent report from real estate date firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA). 

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Mortgage Rates Jump Up

Originally published on March 25, 2021, by Angela Waugaman for Freddie Mac

MCLEAN, Va., March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.17 percent.

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Rent is cheap, vacant space is everywhere: Retailers seize the moment to open stores

Originally published on March 18, 2021, by Lauren Thomas for CNBC.com.

For the first time in years, retailers across the country are planning to open more stores than they are closing.

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Housing Market Gets More Competitive as Homes Sell Above Asking Price: Redfin

Originally published on March 18, 2021, by Erin Osgood for Redfin Press Center. 

36% of Homes Sold Above List Price in February, the Highest Share on Record

Historic competition for homes pushed sale prices up 14% as new listings fell 16%

SEATTLE, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — The national median home-sale price rose 14.4% year over year to $336,200 in February, the largest increase seen since July 2013, according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Closed home sales were up 5% from a year earlier and pending sales were up 21%. New listings fell 16%—the second-largest decline on record since Redfin's data began in 2012, only passed by the drop in April 2020.

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Companies Say They Have no Plans to Leave Cities or Relocate to Other States: Survey

Despite talk that businesses may move their offices from an urban location to a suburban one, or relocate to a state with more financial benefits, a new survey shows the shift may never happen as 67% of respondents to the Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey said they have no plans to pack up, the law firm Seyfarth reported March 15.

View Survey Results

Fed Says Financial Conditions Remain ‘Accommodative,’ No Rate Hikes Expected

Originally published on March 17, 2021, by Mike Sorohan for MBA Newslink. 

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