These home sales in the US hit a nearly three-decade low: How did we get here?

Jim Sergent USA TODAY

The National Association of Realtors said Friday that just over 4 million homes were sold in the U.S. in 2023. The last time sales fell below 4.1 million, another Democratic president was in the White House.

Barack Obama’s administration would be a good guess. The 44th president inherited a financial crisis that led to the Great Recession and some of the lowest monthly home sales this century. And December’s rivaled those. The seasonally adjusted annual rate fell to 3.78 million − 6.2% lower than in December 2022.

The answer: Bill Clinton. Like today, the Federal Reserve started rapidly increasing interest rates in 1994 to stem inflation. That drove 30-year mortgage rates over 9% and reversed what had been a growing housing market.

The silver lining: The Fed’s actions then are considered a blueprint for a soft landing and led to 10 consecutive years of housing sales growth. Our current Fed is attempting to do the same: Slow the economy without pushing it into recession.

Annual existing home sales fall to 28-year low

How did home sales get here?

Since 2022, the number of homes sold began tumbling after the Fed announced its plans to raise interest rates in an effort to tame 40-year-high inflation.

The Fed stopped aggressively raising short-term interest rates this past summer. By then, mortgage rates more than doubled and approached 8% in October, according to Freddie Mac. Higher rates, in turn, increased monthly payments for new homeowners. In most markets, home prices have continued to increase, too.

NAR found this fall that U.S. homes haven’t been this unaffordable since Ronald Reagan’s presidency when 30-year mortgage rates hovered around 14% in 1984. The mix of higher prices and more expensive monthly mortgages fed this steep decline.

In November, USA TODAY looked at 10 markets across the country, including Des Moines, Iowa, below. That market was typical of the rest: High prices and higher interest rates severely cut into what the city’s residents can afford.

Why home sales are falling

Housing experts have speculated in recent months that a handful of issues have kept prices high and deterred would-be buyers. Among them:

• Elevated prices. December’s median sales price of $382,600 was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year prices increases, according to the Realtors association.
• Tight inventories. There’s a 3.2 months’ supply of houses on the market based on the current sales pace. A better-balanced home market between buyers and sellers would have a four- to five-month supply.
• High mortgage rates. Potential buyers are the only ones reluctant to step into the housing market now. Homeowners who took advantage of historically low mortgage rates in recent years are not interested in taking on new mortgages, which might be more than double their current rates.

Where the most homes were sold in September

Nearly half the homes sold in the U.S. were sold in the South in December. Homes selling for between $250,000 and $500,000 represented the majority of purchases, but even that category was down 7.1% from the year before. Sales of homes under $100,000 fell the most (18%) while homes over $1 million rose 14% from December 2022.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/01/19/existing-home-sales-data-chart/72285034007/

Soaring House Prices

Story by Kaniya Rogers

Becoming a homeowner is still a facet of the American Dream that most young adults or blossoming families strive to reach by a particular stage in life. For many Americans, however, the milestone of signing off on your first home is more unattainable than ever. If you’re pinching pennies left and right each year, but somehow, the down payment on a property in your desired neighborhood is always out of reach, even if just slightly, you’re not the only one. An analysis of mortgage payments compared to rents by The Economist calculated that for 89% of Americans, renting a two-bedroom place is cheaper than buying a similar property. That’s a hefty figure, especially when it was 16% as little as three years ago.

Photo Credit: Michael Tuszynski© Provided by Home & Texture

What does the data say?

While the economy previously favored homeowners from 2011 to 2020, when the average monthly mortgage payment on a home was 12% less than rent, it’s not likely that homebuying will produce such an advantage again anytime soon. Why? House prices have increased by around 40% since 2020, while mortgage rates climbed from 3.1% to 7.3%. Mortgage payments have also more than doubled since the same year, yet rents rose by merely 20%.

It’s not to say that homebuying is soon to shift to an archaic practice forever left behind in the 2010s, but that it’s not going to get any easier on your wallet unless a few things happen in the market: house prices drop by one-third, or average mortgage rates decrease to 3.2% or less. Furthermore, in an unwelcome turn of events, rental costs could rise by at least 50%, which would essentially revert the economy to the decades when renting costs more in the long haul than purchasing. Unfortunately, experts predict none of these outcomes will happen within the coming year.

Navigating the Housing Market

Banking firm Goldman Sachs forecasts that housing prices will skyrocket by 1.9% in 2024 and 2.8% in 2025. Meanwhile, mortgage rates will enter a slow decline of 7.1% by the end of 2024 and 6.6% by the end of 2025. Nonetheless, with new apartments popping up throughout the country, renters have almost unlimited choices, making for weak demand and steady prices—allowing renting to remain the most affordable option.

Of course, new homebuyers could always pick an area where houses have always been relatively cheap. Despite this strategy, the mortgage rates offered to borrowers will still be much more expensive than the ones of current owners. So ultimately, whether buying or renting is right for you is a personal decision. Regardless of market shifts, with a strict budget and financial plan, you can still meet your goals and get the keys to your forever home.

The post Soaring House Prices appeared first on Home & Texture.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/soaring-house-prices/ar-AA1n8r6R?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=600b7ad2b9644ee3b6164dc9bba8c5e1&ei=9

Don’t have a property manager? 12 Times a Landlord Can Sue a Tenant

Legal Reasons to Go to Court.

Conflicts between landlords and tenants cannot always be easily worked out. Sometimes, the only way to resolve the issue is in court. There are many times a landlord has a legal right to sue their tenant. Here are twelve reasons a landlord can bring a tenant to court. 

Why Would a Landlord Sue a Tenant

Filing a lawsuit against anyone can be a stressful experience, but it does have certain advantages.

• Tenant Could Settle to Avoid Court: The first advantage, and the one many people hope for when filing a lawsuit, is that the case will never actually go to court. The hope is that, after receiving the court summons, the tenant will want to avoid the hassle of going to court and potentially losing anyway. They would rather pay the amount the landlord is requesting or compromise on paying a lesser amount that the landlord agrees to accept. This would also keep the tenant’s name off the court records.
• Recover Money Owed: Sometimes taking a tenant to court is the only way to receive the money you are owed from the tenant. If a tenant does not believe they are responsible for paying for damages at the property, it can be very difficult to get them to pay the money unless they are legally obligated to do so.
• Receive Additional Damages: In court, you can sue the tenant for the actual money you are owed, but also for additional damages. For example, if a tenant breaks their lease and moves out early, you can sue them for the rent that is due for the remainder of the lease and potentially the costs associated with finding a new tenant to fill the vacancy.
• Clear Your Name: Suing your tenant and winning will provide legal proof that you were in the right.
• The Case Will Be on Record: You will have a record that you won a court case against your tenant. This can be beneficial if the tenant ever tries to sue you at some point in the future. A victory will also show that you are a landlord who follows the law and knows the proper procedures and practices for running a rental property.

Risks of Taking a Tenant to Court

There are advantages to suing your tenant, but a landlord must also understand the risks involved. There is no guarantee of victory and you could trigger a counterclaim from your tenant.

• You Could Lose: Filing a lawsuit is not a guarantee that you will win the lawsuit. You could spend your time, energy and money going to court and still lose.
• Could Win, But Never See the Money: You could be awarded the money owed to you by the court, but you may never actually collect this money. Although the tenant will now have a judgment against them, you could be trying to chase the tenant down for years to collect the money you are owed.
• Cost: Whether you win or lose, there will still be costs involved with going to court. You will have to pay a court fee just to file your case. This fee varies widely by jurisdiction. Depending on the nature of your case, you may also have to hire an attorney to represent you, which can get very expensive very quickly.
• Tenant Could Countersue: By initiating a lawsuit, you could anger your tenant, leading them to countersue. You could wind up losing the lawsuit and then have to pay even more money to the tenant in damages and attorney’s fees.

Is Suing the Only Option?

Instead of filing a lawsuit, a landlord can send a demand letter to the tenant in the hopes that it will be enough to get the tenant to pay what they owe. This letter may be intimidating enough to avoid a court battle. A landlord can also decide to do nothing and chalk up any losses as a learning experience.

12 Reasons You Can Sue Your Tenant

There are endless reasons that you can take a tenant to court. Some of the more common reasons a landlord can sue a tenant include:

1. Unpaid Rent: If a tenant has not paid their monthly rent, you can first send them a notice to pay rent or quit. If that does not work, you can file to evict the tenant. At the same time, you can also sue them for any rent they owe.
2. Unpaid Utility Bills: If there are any outstanding utility bills at the rental property in the tenant’s name, you can sue the tenant to recover this money. Often, you can deduct this amount from the tenant’s security deposit. If the security deposit is not enough to cover the expense, you can sue in small claims court to recover the rest.
3. Damage to the Property: A landlord can sue a tenant if the tenant has caused damage to the property. Again, you can start by deducting the amount of damage from the security deposit. If the security deposit does not cover the amount of damage done, you can take your tenant to court to hopefully get the rest of the money you are owed.
4. Unapproved Alterations to the Unit: If the tenant has made changes to the unit without approval, you can sue the tenant to recover the money it will take to restore the unit to its original condition.
5. Tenant Owes More Than Security Deposit Amount: If you have taken the maximum amount of deductions from the tenant’s security deposit, but they still owe more, you can try to recover the rest in small claims court.
6. Countersue for Security Deposit: A tenant may sue if they believe you wrongly withheld their security deposit. In this case, you can countersue to show you had every legal right to withhold or make deductions from their deposit.
7. To Recover Lost Rent From an Illegal Move Out: If the tenant moved out before their lease was actually up, you can take them to court to recover the rent they owed for the remaining time on their lease.
8. To Recover Costs to Find a New Tenant After Illegal Move Out: Some states will also allow you to pursue a tenant who has moved out early for the additional expenses you may incur trying to find a new tenant for the unit. This could include things like marketing costs and utilities.
9. Expenses to Dispose of Tenant’s Abandoned Property: You can sue a tenant for the cost to dispose of or to store their abandoned property.
10. Tenant Used the Property for Illegal Dealings: If a tenant used the property for some illegal means, you can sue them to recover damages.
11. Illegally Have a Pet: If you have a no pets policy and you find out the tenant has an animal, you can sue them for damages and for any additional damage the pet has caused at the property.
12. Other Breaches to the Lease Agreement: If the tenant has broken any other clause of the lease and it has caused you monetary, emotional or physical harm, taking the tenant to court could be the way to collect the money owed to you.

Source: liveaboutdotcom

Disclaimer: Nothing contained on this website constitutes tax, legal, insurance or investment advice, nor does it constitute a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument. AAOA recommends you consult with a financial advisor, tax specialist, attorney or other specialist who is able to properly advise you.

https://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/property-management/12-times-landlord-can-sue-tenant/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter

More than 750,000 square feet will be allocated for life science research, logistics and education.

RXR Realty has acquired Veridea, a more than 1,000-acre mixed-use development site in Apex, N.C. The company purchased the land for $91 million. Hudson Realty Capital was previously attached to the project, CommercialEdge data shows.

The project aligns with RXR’s national strategy of investing in Superstar Regions. The company expects a total investment of $3 billion.

The first phase will include 1,000 multifamily units, 1,100 single-family residences developed by Lennar, while more than 750,000 square feet will be allocated for life science research, logistics and education. RXR also partnered with Wake Technical Community College for the construction of a 340,000-square-foot campus across 34 acres. Plans also call for the development of a new elementary school on a 21-acre site.

The initial focus will be on East Village and will set the tone for the project. The 460-acre East Village Neighborhood Center is situated on the eastern part of the Veridea development, accessed through the intersection of Highway 55 and Technology Drive.

The zoning of the site allows for the development of as many as 8,000 residential units, 12 million square feet of commercial space including life science, industrial and warehouse properties, and 3.5 million square feet of retail, hospitality and civic uses.

Veridea is located at the intersection of three major highways: US 1, Interstate 540 and Highway 55, 19.4 miles from Raleigh, N.C., and 26 miles from Durham, N.C. The development site is roughly 20 miles south from the Research Triangle Park, a major employment hub in the area.

Foundry Commercial brokered the transaction. CEO & Principal Moss Withers of Lee & Associates brokered the sale of the site where Wake Technical will relocate the new campus.

Mixed-use projects in the Research Triangle

Veridea marks RXR’s first acquisition and development in North Carolina, situated within the Research Triangle area of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, the largest scientific research center in the U.S.

Major developments in the area include The Exchange Raleigh, a $1 billion, 40-acre mixed-use project, developed by DeWitt Carolinas Inc. In September 2022, construction began on 1000 Social, the first of the mixed-use property’s two 12-story office towers totaling 330,000 square feet.

Raleigh had another mixed-use building completed in the spring of 2022, a 19-story tower totaling 292,500 square feet of office and retail space developed by Barings and The Fallon Co.

Earlier in February, Trammell Crow Co., in partnership with High Street Residential, topped out 400H, another Raleigh mixed-use project, slated for completion in the summer of 2023.

https://www.commercialsearch.com/news/rxr-realtys-3b-project-moves-ahead-with-land-deal/

Triangle homeowners bracing for insurance hikes after recent filing

BySean Coffey 

Sunday, January 7, 2024 11:28PM.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — On Friday, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced that the North Carolina Rate Bureau had filed a rate filing with the Department of Insurance asking for an average statewide increase in homeowners insurance rates of 42.2%. The proposed increase for Wake and Durham counties was slightly lower, at 39.8%.

The effective date for the proposed hikes was August 1, 2024.

Typically, the Rate Bureau — which represents insurance companies — and the Department of Insurance will negotiate new rates after a filing like the one announced on Friday. In November 2020, the Rate Bureau filed for a 24.5% average increase before the two sides settled on a more modest 7.9% average increase statewide.

Still, homeowners in Raleigh were frustrated to hear some of the new figures being proposed.

“I realize there’s inflation in the economy, but 45% is way beyond — even in an inflationary economy, it’s way, way high,” said John Seibert, a homeowner in Raleigh’s Forest Park.

Seibert says he’s left wondering what’s changed in Raleigh to justify insurance companies asking for such a steep hike — which he contends is out of step with inflation.

“We really haven’t had a large risk like the coast where they have hurricanes, or some other type of event that would justify that kind of increase,” he said. “So I’m always asking why they are justifying this type of high increase?”

If you own a house near the coast or on the beach, it could be even worse. The Rate Bureau’s proposed increases include a 99.4% price hike for beachfront homes in places like Brunswick, Carteret, and New Hanover counties.

Cody and Danielle Leach bought in Raleigh about four years ago, and say their home insurance rates have historically been affordable — but they were bracing for Friday’s announcement.

“That’s the most lagging effect of inflation,” Cody said. “If it costs more to repair things, then they’re going to charge more for premiums. It makes sense. It’s not ideal, no one likes paying more, but I kind of expected it.”

Cody said he’s not bullish about there being much recourse in terms of price-shopping once a settlement is reached.

“At the end of the day if it’s truly because it costs more, then you’re not going to find a ton of savings elsewhere,” he said. “It’s just the cost of doing business.”

Per state law, there will be a public comment session for feedback on the proposed hikes. There will be an in-person session on January 22 at 10 a.m. at the Albemarle Building in Raleigh, and a virtual comment session held at the same time.

https://abc11.com/triangle-homeowner-insurance-hike-recent-filing/14293844/

People flocked to these NC cities in 2023. Now, they hold top spots on national lists

BY SIMONE JASPER

JANUARY 03, 2024 2:07 PM

People moved to North Carolina in droves last year — and the state was home to three of the nation’s top places for people to settle down in 2023, new rankings show. Charlotte ranks No. 7 in the country on a list of cities that gained new residents last year, according to the moving equipment company U-Haul. The Charlotte region also topped United Van Lines’ similar list of the hottest larger metropolitan areas for growth. The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area didn’t land far behind in those rankings, and Wilmington was No. 2 among metro areas of all sizes when it came to the ratio of people moving into the region versus out.

The rankings come as both moving companies also listed North Carolina among the top 10 states attracting new people, according to results published Tuesday, Jan. 2. HOW WERE THE LISTS CREATED? To create its rankings, United Van Lines said it studied which U.S. metros had the highest percentage of people moving into them compared to those moving out of them. Meanwhile, U-Haul made its list after it compared the number of one-way rentals coming into and out of each region. U-Haul cautions that its “migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth,” but calls its growth index “an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents.” WHAT MAKES THE NC DESTINATIONS SPECIAL? Though U-Haul didn’t immediately share specific data for Charlotte, the metro area made its mark on the United Van Lines list after more than 1,800 people moved in or out. Roughly 64% of those moves were inbound, and 36% were outbound. That made the Charlotte metropolitan area — which includes part of South Carolina — reign at the top of the 50 most populated metros. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill ranked No. 5 on that same list after the study found that almost 56% of its moves were inbound.

When both small and large metros were considered, Wilmington ranked among the nation’s favorite places to move. That might not come as a surprise, since Wilmington also was named the hottest place for growth in 2022. When it comes to qualities that might appeal to new residents, United Van Lines previously gave the city a nod for its “large historic district, vibrant riverfront” and proximity to popular coastal destinations.

In its latest report, United Van Lines listed job changes as the top reason for people to find new places to live, impacting 29% of respondents. The results come from a nationwide survey, and McClatchy News has asked for more information about how it was conducted. Meanwhile, U-Haul said North Carolina may be enticing people with its mild weather and relative affordability. “People are moving to North Carolina because it’s such a diverse state,” Kay Church, U-Haul of West Charlotte president, said in a news release. “We have mountains and beaches, small towns and big cities. You name it, you can find it in North Carolina.”

The moving results reflect the larger population trends happening in North Carolina. U.S. Census Bureau estimates show the state has welcomed new people from other states as the Wilmington, Charlotte and Raleigh areas all gained residents between 2020 and 2022. On the United Van Lines list that spanned all population brackets, the highest-ranking metro was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The top region for growth on U-Haul’s list was Palm Bay-Melbourne, Florida.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article283779983.html