National real estate news and stats

NeighborWorks America surveyed people in 2017 and asked them what is the minimum required down payment to buy a home? On average, these people said 17%. In a second survey done by an Ellie Mae Borrower Insights Survey found that 29% of renters think at least a 700 Fico Score is required to qualify for…

MetroStudy released their 4th quarter Residential Remodeling Index Report on Friday. This report details activity in the home remodeling business. The RRI reached a new all-time high in the 4th quarter at 111.3, a 4.9% increase from a year ago. This is the 23rd consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains since 2011. Second, MetroStudy’s forecast for…

This is from Elliot Eisenberg one of my favorite national economists– “In 2017, 1.2 million houses were started. While that’s double the number of starts in 2009, the worst year on record, it’s still 400,000 starts below what’s needed based on population, job growth, and teardowns. This means we’re currently underbuilt by 4,500,000 units, with…

I love reading about the Bay Area real estate market as it provides both perspective and lessons in what NOT to do. The San Jose Mercury News ran a great story on the 19th that I will cite here. It takes household income of $216k to buy a median priced home, both attached and detached,…