According to a Federal Housing Finance Agency report, home prices posted the largest ever year-over-year gains since the beginning of the FHFA House Price Index. Home prices across the country rose 18.5% this past year. Specifically, the “mountain division”, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, went up 25% in the third quarter of this year. Annual gains can be seen in housing prices in every area of the country in 2021. As has been the case throughout the entirety of 2021, low inventory and high demand continue to play a part in the rising home prices in the United States. While home price increases month to month have started to slow, there is no doubt the demand for housing will remain high going into the new year.

According to a recent report by Redfin, real estate investors spent a record $63.6 billion on home purchases in the 3rd quarter of 2021. This number represents a 78% increase from this time last year. Investors acquired a total of 90,215 homes in Q3 which represents a 80.2% increase from 2020. As increasing home prices are forcing more Americans to consider renting, real estate investors have more opportunities for tenants in their properties. One negative impact that the market is seeing as a result of investors being more active in real estate is the competition this is bringing to individual homebuyers looking to purchase homes. These cash rich investors purchased homes with full cash offers 75% of the time in Q3. Of all real estate transactions in the third quarter of 2021, real estate investors made up 18.2%. This number is considerably higher than last year. In large markets such as Atlanta, Phoenix, and Charlotte investors made up over 30% of all transactions in Q3. As home prices continue to rise and more investors enter the housing market, it may become more difficult for homebuyers to compete for homes throughout the country.

This quarter marked the first time since the pandemic that applications for new purchase mortgages outpaced the application volume for refinances. New home purchase mortgages accounted for 53% of the total application volume in the 3rd quarter. The demand for rate and term refinances decreased 23% year-over-year marking the end of what many would consider a year plus long refinance boom.

According to a report by Corelogic, homeowners gained $2.9 trillion in equity during the second quarter. This $2.9 trillion gain equates to a 29.3% year-over-year increase from 2020. The growth in homeowner equity allows for tens of millions of Americans to feel a higher sense of financial cushion and fend off the fears of foreclosure brought about by the uncertainty of the pandemic. As the housing market continues to stay hot, equity in homes should continue to rise also.

The Sunshine State has seen a vast population increase in recent years, especially in Miami. According to a Redfin monthly migration report, the net inflow of Redfin users moving to Miami was 7,610. Last year during the same month 2,216 people moved to Miami. Of more local relevancy, Cape Coral saw 4,315 Redfin users move to the area, an increase from the 2,778 that moved to Cape Coral in July 2020. The warm weather, beaches, and low taxes are huge factors in the influx of new Florida residents. As we get later into 2021, we can expect to see a high volume of buyers continue to seek Florida housing. 

With today’s housing environment, you’re going to see a lot of competition when putting in an offer for a purchase. Having all of your metaphorical ducks in a row before you put in your offer should make you ready to make decisions involving purchasing a home.

1. Get your credit score and down payment together. Having a strong credit score will help ensure you qualify for a mortgage for your home purchase and help you receive a more favorable rate. Having your down payment saved will allow you to put more money down on your home and possibly avoid paying PMI.
2. Get preapproved for a mortgage. Knowing what homes are in your price range will eliminate wasting time looking at homes you can’t afford.
3. Choose a great Realtor. Pick an agent who has experience with the market you’re looking in.
4. Understand the mortgage process. While you may not need to know the minor details of the entire process, knowing your timeline and what documents you will need to provide will help save you time and stress worrying you may be forgetting something.

For the fourth month in a row, sales of existing homes have dropped according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. The main factor behind the volume of existing home sales dropping is that the inventory of homes for sale continues to dwindle. This low inventory is causing median existing-home prices to rise (23.6% from May 2020 to May 2021) pricing some buyers out of the market. Region by region. the Midwest saw an increase in existing home sales month-over-month, but the Northeast, South, and West fell by 1.4%, .4%, and 4.1% respectively. Year-over-year each of these regions saw a double digit rise in existing home sales. As home builders rush to build on already purchased lots and materials to build remain tough to find, existing home sales may see a bounce back in the next few months.

New legislation would offer a benefit similar to VA loans to first responders and teachers looking to buy homes. This new bill called the Homes for Every Local Protector Educator and Responder Act was introduced on May 13th. This bill would allow first responders and teachers to finance up to 100% of the price of their home purchase subject to FHA loan limits. Similar to an FHA loan, borrowers would pay an up-front mortgage insurance premium which could also be financed. This would replace the monthly insurance premium. The new program, if passed, would be administered by the Federal Housing Administration. Under this proposed bill public/private school teachers, prison guards, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians would all be eligible for this benefit.