Tag Archives: Sales

Realtor confidence up while sales are down | Cross River Real Estate

Interest rates and low inventory caused home sales to fall in September, but Realtors expect housing conditions to improve over the next six months.

The Buyer Traffic Index decreased to 51 in September, down from 61 in September 2017, according to the National Association of Realtors Confidence Index.

The index gathers monthly information from Realtors about local real estate market conditions, characteristics of buyers and sellers and issues affecting homeownership and real estate transactions. An index of more than 50 indicates an expectation of improvement.

The Seller Traffic Index also decreased, falling to 41 in September, down from 45 in September 2017, according to NAR.

However, despite these decreases, Realtors expect that, over the next six months, conditions will improve for the single-family housing market. The Confidence Index – Six-Month Outlook Current Conditions came in at 53 in September.

The same can’t be said for other housing markets. For example, the index for townhomes came in at 44, and 43 for condominium properties.

When asked about major issues affecting housing transactions in September, Realtors answered that low inventory and interest rates were the most common issues.

But while Realtors may be optimistic about the future, some economists disagree.

“Our expectations for housing have become more pessimistic: Rising interest rates and declining housing sentiment from both consumers and lenders led us to lower our home sales forecast over the duration of 2018 and through 2019,” Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan said.

Most experts expect one final rate hike in December 2018 and another two or three rate hikes in 2019. These rising rates will only continue to push potential homebuyers out of the market.

In fact, recent data from NAR showed that existing home sales hit their lowest level in three years, and Freddie Mac data shows interest rates are currently at a 10-year high. Now, these factors could be pushing more families to rent instead of buying a home.

Despite the difficult conditions, some home buyers managed to increase their share. First-time buyers accounted for 32% of sales in September, up from 29% in September last year.

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[CHART] Realtors: Housing market will improve over next 6 months

Manhattan sales down 15.3% YOY | Bedford Real Estate

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Manhattan

The Manhattan apartment market saw its lowest total sales figures since 2011 during the third quarter, which is usually the busiest part of the year. And many brokers said that uncertainty over the presidential election doesn’t bode well for a turnaround.

The number of co-op and condominium sales in the borough fell 15.3 percent from the same quarter in 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing New York City Department of Finance data.

Sales of co-ops fell notably 17.5 percent, and those of lower-priced apartments below the $1 million price point dropped off 22.2 percent. Market experts said a lack of supply was to blame for the slowdown on the lower end of the market.

This was the slowest three months since the third quarter of 2011 when the market was still recovering from the financial crisis.

Brown Harris Stevens  president Hall Willkie said the market takes a hit every four years during a national election, but this year is particularly notable.

“It is a much more polarizing event,” he said. “Both sides have dire predictions of what will happen if the other side wins.”

Wilkie said he doesn’t expect the market to recover at least until the holiday season at the end of the year.

Median prices for Manhattan apartments were up 10.5 percent from the third quarter of 2015, but down from peak prices earlier this year.

On Friday, The Real Deal reported that the target offering price of new condos approved for sale in New York City is down 34.4 percent year-over-year, despite only a small decline in the number of offered apartments

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