Despite the COVID-19 breakout, Real Estate sales have seen a noticeable increase throughout 2020, compared to 2019. A continuously growing number of people are in the hunt for properties, especially […]
The drop in mortgage rates during 2019 marked a dramatic turnaround from the previous year expectations, when mortgage rates briefly reached 5 percent and the Federal Reserve indicated two interest […]
Despite the COVID-19 breakout, Real Estate sales have seen a noticeable increase throughout 2020, compared to 2019. A continuously growing number of people are in the hunt for properties, especially among the younger generations. This is remarkably true in the state of Florida, which has seen record-breaking numbers in the final quarter of the year. However, while Florida sales are staying strong, real estate sales nationwide appear to be slipping.
The National Association of Realtors stated that pending home sales fell in October 2020, in their recent Pending Home Sales Index. This index forecasts home sales using the number of contract signings as a basis. The report showcased that contract signings fell 1.1% (to 128.9) in October, which would be the second continuous month that reported a decline in the index.
Sharing his insight, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for The National Association of Realtors said, “Pending home transactions saw a small drop off from the prior month but still easily outperformed last year’s numbers for October. The housing market is still hot, but we may be starting to see rising home prices hurting affordability.”
Yun also mentioned that the inventory of homes for sale, along with mortgage rates are at all-time lows.
“The combination of these factors – scarce housing and low rates – plus very strong demand has pushed home prices to levels that are making it difficult to save for a down payment, particularly among first-time buyers, who don’t have the luxury of using housing equity from a sale to use as a down payment,” said Yun. “Work-from-home flexibility has also increased the demand for both primary and secondary homes.”
However, while nationwide real estate sales are beginning to slip, Florida reports a non-stopping growth in residential real estate sales. Ever since August, Florida-based realtors have observed an outstanding increase of signed contracts, especially in South Florida.
The increase in sales is most remarkable in Broward County, where the number of newly signed contracts for condos rose 85.9% in October 2020 compared to October 2019. This report was based on the number of contracts on condos and houses listed on the Multiple Listing Service.
People from different states within the US represent a great number of recent Florida homebuyers, mainly coming from Boston, California, and New York. International buyers are also in search of properties, most coming from Canada and Mexico.
A few factors contributing to this recent surge in home sales in Florida are:
Real Estate sales seem to be reaching a peak nationwide. In great part due to the increase in housing prices, as a consequence of low housing inventory. However, Florida sales continue to skyrocket and show no sign of slowing down.
We, at Title Partners of Florida, write and support the real estate transaction closing, including the issuance of title insurance policies through Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund. We also coordinate searches, title products, and a variety of other services for our clients. Contact us with any questions about our real estate closing services by phone at (844) 321-6168 or by email at titleinfo@titlepartnersfl.com.
The drop in mortgage rates during 2019 marked a dramatic turnaround from the previous year expectations, when mortgage rates briefly reached 5 percent and the Federal Reserve indicated two interest rate increases. Instead, surging trade wars shivered confidence in the markets, the Fed cut rates and investors —hungry for the relative security of mortgage debt that they were willing to accept lower yields— drove mortgage rates down.
A new decade started and 2020 greets home shoppers with lower mortgage rates compared with 2019. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.72% this week, compared to 4.51% at the beginning of 2019. In the past two months, the thirty-year rates have floated around 3.7% average, showing some stability in mortgage rates over the last few weeks.
Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist said: “The stability is welcome news after the interest rate turbulence of the last year, which caused a slowdown in the housing market and other interest rate-sensitive sectors. The low mortgage rate environment combined with the red-hot labor market is setting the stage for a continued rise in home sales and home prices.”
Pending Home Sales Jump
The national averages with mortgage rates reported by Freddie Mac for the week ending Jan. 2 are as follows:
The drop in mortgage rates was a save on the budgets of potential homeowners, who could take out larger loans for the same monthly payments; however, economists say housing affordability will become a more pressing issue in 2020, determining where people live and how they spend.
After mortgage rates dropped, home price appreciation accelerated, ending 13 months of slowing home price growth, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, a measure of home prices.
The National Association of Realtors: The trade association for real estate agents predicts moderate growth in the housing market and continued low mortgage rates. The experts predicts that the low rates will last. It is expected that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will remain below 4% in the coming year, moving to 3.8% by the end of 2020.
We, at Title Partners of Florida, write and support the real estate transaction closing, including the issuance of title insurance policies through Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund. We also coordinate searches, title products, and a variety of other services for our clients. Contact us with any questions about our real estate closing services by phone (844) 321-6168 or by email titleinfo@titlepartnersfl.com.
While Real Estate Sales are slipping nationwide, South Florida stays strong
UncategorizedDespite the COVID-19 breakout, Real Estate sales have seen a noticeable increase throughout 2020, compared to 2019. A continuously growing number of people are in the hunt for properties, especially […]
A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates
UncategorizedThe drop in mortgage rates during 2019 marked a dramatic turnaround from the previous year expectations, when mortgage rates briefly reached 5 percent and the Federal Reserve indicated two interest […]