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This month ATTOM Data Solutions, “curator of the nation’s largest fused property database,” released their 2017 Rental Affordability Report which says that buying a home is more affordable than renting in 66% of U.S. housing markets.  The report used data from HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and RealtyTrac on 540 counties with at least 900 homes in 2016.

“While buying continues to be more affordable than renting in the majority of U.S. markets, that equation could change quickly if mortgage rates keep rising in 2017,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions, the new parent company of RealtyTrac.

Click here to read ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2017 Rental Affordability Report.

Early this month, Zillow recently released their list of what they believe will be the ten hottest real estate markets of 2017.  Topping that list is Nashville, Tennessee, which Zillow predicts will see homes appreciating by 4.3% (Nationally, Zillow expects home values to appreciate 3% over 2017).  For their analysis, Zillow looked at cities with quickly rising home values, low unemployment rates and strong income growth.

Zillow’s top 10 hottest housing markets for 2017 are:

1. Nashville, Tenn.
2. Seattle
3. Provo, Utah
4. Orlando, Fla.
5. Salt Lake City, Utah
6. Portland, Ore.
7. Knoxville, Tenn.
8. Ogden, Utah
9. Denver
10. Sacramento, Calif.

“The growth and demand for housing will drive up home prices in 2017, and these hot markets are experiencing change as more people discover them.” Said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell.

Click here to read the full story on Zillow.com.

Who are first-time homebuyers, exactly, and what are they composed of?  Using data from the NAR’s annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers the folks over at MGIC put together some interesting facts & insights about first-time homebuyers.  Interestingly, 74% rented before buying and 67% said their primary reason for buying a home was out of a “desire to own our own home.” 

What is the purchasing power of women when it comes to buying a home?  Mortgage insurer MGIC recently pulled together the following data to illustrate the purchasing power of women when it comes to homebuying.  After all, the 2nd largest group of homebuyers, after married couples, are single women.  Happy Friday!

Click here to read the full story on MGIC.

The folks over at Realtor.com recently came up with a list of five trends that they believe will shape the world of real estate in 2017.  As in years past, their economic team analyzed economic indicators and market data to come up with their predictions for the coming year.  Be sure to read the full article to get the gist of their predictions.  Remember….everyone has a crystal ball.

“With more than 95% of first-time home buyers dependent on financing their home purchase, and a majority of first-time buyers reporting one or more financial challenges, the uptick we’ve already seen may price some first-timers out of the market,” says Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke, who worked on the realtor.com 2017 housing forecast.

The five trends are:

1. Millennials and boomers will move markets

2. Millennials will look to the Midwest

3. Price appreciation will slow down

4. Fewer homes, fast-moving markets

5. The West will lead the way

Click here to read the full article on Realtor.com.

This week S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller released their National Home Price Index which showed that home prices rose 5.5% in September, year over year (up 0.4% from August).  Their 10-City Composite posted a 4.3% annual increase and their 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.1%.  Seattle, Portland, and Denver reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities over each of the last eight months. 12 cities reported greater price increases in the year ending September 2016 versus the year ending August 2016.

“The new peak set by the S&P Case-Shiller CoreLogic National Index will be seen as marking a shift from the housing recovery to the hoped-for start of a new advance” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Click here to read the full report.

The National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing recently reported that the 55+ housing market strengthened in 3Q 2016, according to their Housing Market Index.  The third quarter results show single-family 55+ housing at 59 points, up 2 points from the previous quarter.  This marks the 10th consecutive quarter that the number has remained above 50 on the single-family HMI.  The NAHB produces two separate 55+ HMI’s, one for the single-family market, and another tracking the condominium market. The condo HMI was up 1 point at 48.

Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index says that for August, 2016 home prices continued to rise across the country.  The report showed a 5.3% annual gain in August, up from 5.0% last month.  In addition, their 10-City Composite posted a 4.3% annual increase, up from 4.1% the previous month and their 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.1%, up from 5.0% in July.

“…While the stock market recovery has been greater than the rebound in home prices, the value of Americans’ homes at about $22.3 trillion is slightly larger than the value of stocks and mutual funds at $21.2 trillion.”  Said David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Click here to read the full report on S&P Indices.

Recently financial information site GOBankingRates.com surveyed 61 of America’s 100 most populous citiesto determine which cities they believe are the best and worst for owning rental property.  Using data from Zillow and the U.S. government, they looked at four major factors in their evaluation;  Employment Growth, Population Growth, Increase in home values, and Years to pay off property.  As with all data like this, take it with the appropriate amount of salt.

Click here to read the full story.

Crowdfunding is hot….and getting hotter.  We’re even starting to see more & more success stories and positive media about it.  Recently, an article on Bloomberg talked about how home flippers have turned to crowdfunding for their funding needs with great success.  Using platform sites such as RealtyShares, LendingHome, PeerStreet and Patch of Land home flippers and developers have learned that financing can be quicker and easier than going through traditional banks.

“[A house flipper] crowdfunded nine deals totaling more than $9 million through RealtyShares over the last two and a half years. A July deal for $1 million took him just 12 hours.  “Generally, raising money takes so much time….This offers so much flexibility and time savings.  It’s so much better than going to family offices, banks or Wall Street firms.’’ 

Click here to read the full story on Bloomberg.com