PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PA ID PERMIT 745 COLO SPGS CO
Vol. 9 No. 6
February 27, 2017
www.csrej.com
Survey: Despite TRID, closing hiccups persist
Housing crunch to hold in most price ranges able price are seeing heavy competition for the fewer listings they can afford. At a time of higher borrowing costs, this situation could affect affordability “buyers with a even more lower maximum as buyers affordable price battle for a are seeing heavy smaller pool competition” of homes and bid prices upward." NAR and realtor.com®'s Affordability Score also accentuates the disjointed rate of accessible supply on the market across the country. Increasing price growth and higher mortgage rates caused January's Affordability Score to shrink from a year ago, nationally as well as in many states. "Home prices have ascended far past wage growth in much of the country in recent years because not enough homeowners are selling, and home builders have not boosted production enough to meet rising demand,” says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "NAR and realtor. com®'s new affordability measure confirms that buyers aren't exaggerating
about the imbalance. Amidst higher home prices and now mortgage rates, households with lower incomes have been able to afford less of all homes on the market last year and so far in 2017." The following states last month had the highest Affordability Scores (a metric which ranges from zero to 2): Indiana (1.23), Ohio (1.22), Iowa (1.18), Kansas (1.17), and Michigan and Missouri (both at 1.14). The states with the lowest Affordability Score were Hawaii (0.52), California (0.60), District of Columbia (0.65), and Montana and Oregon (both at 0.67). "This shortfall of inventory at a time of healthy job gains in most states is one of the biggest reasons for the depressed share of first-time buyers and the inability for the homeownership rate to rise above its near-record low," says Yun. "The only prescription to reversing this adverse situation is to build more entry-level and mid-market housing that aligns with current household incomes." © Copyright National Association of Realtors. Reprinted with permission.
North American Title Open House
Breakfast with the Builders
Banning Lewis Ranch Realtor Rally
Jay Gupta's January Housing Stats
PAGE 5
PAGE 8
PAGE 16
PAGE 14
1730 Chapel Hills Drive Suite 100, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
HELPFUL TIP: Check the license status of your mortgage broker at the Colorado Division of Real Estate’s website. Corp NMLS #3113
See TRID | 4
National News............ Page 2 Local News................ Page 9 On the Move.............. Page 17 Local Expert.............. Page 18 Around the Corner....... Page 19
Debbie Havens
Marianne Elep Turner
Amanda Smith
(719) 264-1967
(719) 651-6757
(719) 264-1952
Branch Manager
Honest & Ethical Service from People You Know.
Mobile Issue (Beta)
Home buyers at many income levels likely will see an inadequate amount of homes for sale in their price range in the coming months, according to a new housing affordability model created by the National Association of REALTORS® and realtor.com®. The new Affordability Distribution Curve—which culls data from mortgages, state-level income, and listings on realtor.com®—examines how many listings are affordable to those in a particular income percentile. In January, it was below the equality line, and the gap was generally wider at lower incomes, which indicates tight supply conditions. For example, a household in the 35th percentile could afford 28 percent of all listings, while a household in the 50th percentile could afford 46 percent. A household in the 75th percentile could afford 74 percent of active listings. "Consistently strong job gains and a growing share of millennials entering their prime buying years is laying the foundation for robust buyer demand in 2017," says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at realtor.com®. "However, buyers with a lower maximum afford-
More than half of lenders last year gave loan estimates to home buyers that later had to be revised before closing, according to a new survey released by ClosingCorp, a provider of data on closing costs and technology related to residential real estate. Fifty-eight percent of recent home buyers say their initial loan estimates changed, citing closing costs, insurance costs, and taxes as the most common fees that needed to be 58% of recent adjusted. home buyer said The survey, loan estimates which ques- changed tioned 1,000 first-time and repeat buyers who purchased a home between Jan. 1, 2016, and Jan. 1, 2017, comes at a time when the year-old TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule aims to help consumers better understand closing costs. The main reasons for adjustments in closing costs, according to the survey, were changes in the loan amount buyers could qualify for as well as inaccurate lender estimates. Twenty-three percent of survey respondents say closing costs changed because of a request on their part. "As more and more millennials become first-time home buyers, TRID or 'Know Before You Owe' has made it easier for them to understand the costs and fees they’ll face at closing," says ClosingCorp
NMLS #653845 State Lic #100018256
debbie.havens@academymortgage.com
Loan Officer
NMLS #231308 State Lic #100029888
marianne.elepturner@academymortgage.com
Loan Officer Assistant NMLS #1561851 State Lic #100506142
amandas@academymortgage.com