Small Business Owners are Giddy

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to its second highest level in the survey’s 45-year history to 107.9 in July, just a whisker away from its record-high of 108 set back in July 1983. Small businesses are one of the backbones of the U.S. economy and employ millions of Americans. “Small business owners are…

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Buying a Home is the Most Stressful Event

A survey by Homes.com of 2000 Americans who recently bought a home discovered that 40% of them said buying a home is the most stressful event in modern life, even more stressful than a job interview, applying for college, or hosting Thanksgiving dinner. “First-time homebuyers are often stressed and overwhelmed when making such a large…

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I Wish We Had 4 Months of Inventory

NAR reported 2nd quarter sales for the nation last week. Median prices increased 5.3% over the last 12 months to $269k. But, the number of home sales dropped by 1.7% from the first quarter and were down 2.4% from the second quarter of last year. Across the nation we had 1.95 million homes for sale,…

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Redfin Reports Disappointing Home Sales

Redfin’s CEO reported last week that home buyer demand is waning in Seattle, Portland, and San Jose as June sales in these markets were down by double digits and inventory levels increased by double digits too. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said this trend continued in July in these 3 cities and agents and managers in…

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What Do Home Buyers Want?

Zillow released their 2017 Consumer Housing Trends Report last week that looked at the preferences of home buyers by generation, except for Millennials for some reason. Here is a summary of what they found— Xers place high value on family friendly features like the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms, good schools, and private outdoor…

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8 Simple Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

This story comes from Curbed.com and is a great article to share with your clients, prospects, and SOI. Here are the 8 ideas— New cabinet coverings Simple island options Take an architectural approach to storage Look for special tiles for a backsplash Choose a statement stove Incorporate cozy and fun seating Create warmth to balance…

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Is This An Accurate Predictor of Recessions?

One of my favorite national economists Brian Wesbury last week wrote about the fears around a Yield Curve Inversion which many “experts” and economists believe accurately predicts when the next recession is about to happen. Here in the middle of July the yield spread between the 2 year and 10 year Treasury Note has narrowed…

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What I Learned from Dr. Yun

I got to hear Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist speak at SMDRA last week and here are some highlights that I heard— He is expecting that 2nd quarter GDP growth will be about 5%, the highest we have seen in a long time. Average hourly wage in Denver is approximately $30 an hour, so…

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Another Sign of our Strong Economy

This story is from one of my favorite national economists Elliot Eisenberg. “In yet another sign of labor market tightness, the percentage of persons who quit their jobs in May was 2.4%, the highest level since January 2001, and higher than the 2.2% attained during the peak of the Housing Boom. 2.4% translates into 3.56…

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Why FHA Lending Will Make a Comeback

In 2011 banks originated 89% of all FHA loans, but by last year banks only originated 25% of all FHA loans according to Ginnie Mae. Why did banks quit closing so many FHA loans? Bill Emerson, then-CEO of Quicken Loans said in 2015, “The FHA has been hijacked by the Department of Justice” with their…

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