Amazing August

As August arrives, we enter the final month of summer, signaling the end of the warm weather season. It's a perfect opportunity to make the most of the outdoors before fall sets in. Maybe you're considering a family vacation before the kids return to school. Whatever you decide, savor the moments, be safe, and stay cool!

Exhibit A

Exhibit B illustrates home inventory levels through the years, which shows half as many homes for sale today. (Provided by Realtor.com)

Exhibit B

Convincing a Seller to Sell Now VS. Later

Given low inventory and high prices, how do you convince a homeowner this is the right time to buy or sell?

Compelling reasons to sell a home now*:

1. Home prices are still rising. As you can see in Exhibit A, home prices continue to appreciate, and the longer you've owned your home, the bigger the gains.
2. Home equity is at all-time highs. Recent surveys suggest nationwide homeowner equity levels have risen to 70%, a near-40-year high. This puts the seller in a powerful position in that the equity could be put toward buying a new home—perhaps in all cash or close to it.
3. Now is a excellent time to be a cash buyer. If the homeowner has paid down their mortgage considerably or owns the home outright, then the mortgage is less of a factor for them. In addition to bypassing today's high rates, all-cash or high-cash offers can help an offer on a new house stand out. It can even give you added negotiation power to get a good deal in a market where few buyers can stomach the high mortgage rates benefiting from the lack of competition.
4. The supply of homes is at rock-bottom lows. There are just a bit more than half as many homes for sale nationwide as were available pre-pandemic. This means that any new listings are bound to get a lot of attention, which benefits sellers dipping their toe in the market.
5. A variety of sales methods offers sellers flexibility. Typically, selling a house involves weeks or even months of time and effort, prepping a place, and fielding offers from buyers. Today, though, home sellers have a wide variety of options that make home selling much easier, faster, and more flexible than in the past.
6. More buyers will get out in warmer weather. Whatever mortgage rates do, buyers tend to come out in force from spring through summer. Homeowners will get much more interest in their homes, particularly from people who might be more serious about buying.
7. Nobody knows what mortgage rates will do next.It's impossible to predict whether mortgage rates will go up or down accurately—and if they go up, when, or by how much. In other words, homeowners shouldn't delay life decisions based on where the market might be expected to go. They should base their decisions on the here and now—and their own needs.
8. It’s the right time for you.  No matter what interest rates and home prices do next, sometimes homeowners have to move—due to a new job, new baby, divorce, death, or some other major life event change.

* Excerpts via Realtor.com

Locating the Best Prospects Increases Your ROI

I searched Title Toolbox in Costa Mesa, CA, to see how many homes have had life events in the last six months. As you can see below in Exhibit C, I found a total of 205 life event leads (minus cash buyers) which include email and phone numbers (if available). The total cost for those life event leads is $128.64. That is a substantial cost saving rather than targeting ALL 20,737 properties in this area by sending out postcards, door hangers, flyers etc... 

Using the compelling reasons to sell now and calling/emailing these prospects with life events will help your chances of getting that next listing/s, saving you time and money.

Exhibit C

With a few clicks of a button, Title Toolbox makes it extremely easy to share your data and research with your clients and prospects.

If you need assistance with Title Toolbox to help expedite your marketing efforts, please contact ttbhelp@benutech.com for questions and jdubois@benutech.com for one-on-one training.

July News Highlights and Life Event Trends

National:

• What The Heck Is Going On With The Housing Market? The explanation boils down to a unique set of circumstances that have unfolded in a distorted post-COVID world. A wave of people locked themselves into ultra-low mortgage rates, creating an inventory shortage. That's kept prices from falling, even as demand gets slammed by higher mortgage rates. (INSIDER) More>

• The Housing Market Is Near An Inflection Point As Home Prices Show Signs Of Trending Sharply Higher, Black Knight Says. The latest Black Knight Home Price Index rose for at seasonally adjusted monthly rate of 0.7% in May, hitting a new record high. The fifth consecutive monthly gain also completed a full reversal of the retreat that began last July. (NEWSBREAK) More>

Mortgage:

• Mortgage Rate Soars To 7.22% After Strong Economic Data. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage hit 7.22%. (CNBC) More>

Rent:

• Study: Nearly 72% Of Renters Don’t Believe They’ll Own a Home. As interest rates creep up and housing inventory remains low, many Americans do not see themselves buying a home despite homeownership being a goal to 85% of respondents. With rents increasing as well, 1 in 4 renters says they spend 50 percent or more of their income on rent. (DSNEWS) More>

Trending:

• Golden State Tops Destinations For Luxury Property Seekers. Los Angeles also dominated the ultra-luxury sector, with nearly 12% of its homes priced above the $5 million mark. (DSNEWS) More>

• Millennials Remain Fundamental Drivers Of Homeownership. A new study from First American revealed there’s one generation in particular that will remain a driving force of homeownership demand for years to come—millennials. (MREPORT)  More>

• Service Members Increasingly Eager To Purchase Homes. Some 75% of veterans and service members nationwide are considering buying a home in the next year. That’s according to a study by Veterans United Home Loans, which financed more than $26 billion in loans in 2022. (MREPORT) More>

• U.S. Foreclosure Filings Exceed 185K In First Half of 2023. According to ATTOM’s Midyear 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were a total of 185,580 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions—in the first six months of 2023, up 13% year-over-year and up 185% from the same time period two years ago during the heart of the pandemic. (DSNEWS) More>

• A Boom(er) Market On The Horizon. There may be signs of hope for increased inventory if Boomers follow the pattern of past generations, but will they? (HOUSINGWIRE) More>

• It Hasn’t Been This Hard To Buy An Existing Home In At Least A Decade. Only 14 of every 1,000 U.S. homes changed hands during the first six months of 2023, according to a new report from Redfin. (HOUSINGWIRE) More>

• Investor Purchases Propel The SFR Market. Demand for single-family living increased during the pandemic and has been sustained by the aging of the large millennial cohort into its 30s and 40s—peak homebuying years, but also the age many households form families. (DSNEWS) More>

• Newlyweds Adding ‘A New Home’ to Their Gift Registries. Among those surveyed who have created a wedding registry in the last 24 months, an estimated 85% say they would have preferred to have received money toward a down payment on a home, rather than a physical gift. (MREPORT) More>

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