A report from the Dallas Morning News in Texas. “Just over 15% of people who were surveyed by LawnStarter.com said they were sorry they bought their home. Looking around the country, the greatest percentage of buyer regrets were in Wyoming, where almost half the people who purchased a property said they regretted the buy. So how about Texas? Do our new homebuyers have a lot of remorse? Texas ranked 34th for homeowner satisfaction with their new purchase, ranking between Massachusetts and Minnesota on the buyer regrets list.”
“Along with Wyoming, the bottom of the list includes Washington, D.C., Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, California and Oklahoma. The unhappiest homeowners were those who paid more than $900,000 for their house.”
From Yahoo Finance. “Millennials are anticipated to play a crucial role in driving the housing market this year. Most of these individuals will turn 30 next year and consider buying their first home. In fact, millennials are expected to take half of all mortgages next year, surpassing both Generation X and Baby Boomers, per realtor.com.”
“The report states that demand for especially entry-level homes will pick up, courtesy of millennials driving overall demand. In fact, buyers will certainly benefit from almost flat home prices, which are anticipated to increase only 0.8%. The report added that home prices may even decline in cities such as Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago and San Francisco.”
From Patch New Jersey. “$300K Price Drop On This Ocean City Property. The buyer can build a dream home at the end of the 17th Street lagoon. Now the property only costs $1.2 million.”
The Tribeca Citizen in New York. “For so many reasons, it is a great time to buy. Interest rates are extremely low, prices have come down considerably, sellers are more realistic and inventory is high. Some buyers anticipate even lower prices, but as most savvy investors will tell you, it is impossible to time the market and just when you think it’s time, chances are prices and competition will be on the upswing. If history is a guide, the window of opportunity may close in a year or two.”
From Homes & Property on New York. “Jennifer Lawrence has dropped the asking price of her Manhattan penthouse by £2.6 million. The Hunger Games star, 29, originally put her NYC base on the market for £11.8 million but has struggled to sell it. She bought the place for £11.9 million in 2016, so it seems she overpaid.”
The Cohasset Mariner in Massachusetts. “A strong local economy and continuing low interest rates have resulted in a robust January Norfolk County real estate market, according to Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell. However, a definite concern was in the area of foreclosure activity. ‘During January,’ said the register, ‘there were 15 foreclosure deeds filed compared to 12 during the same time period in 2019. Also, there was a 36% increase in the number of Notice to Foreclose Mortgage filings, the first step in the foreclosure process. The foreclosure numbers seen in January are a stark reminder that while the local economy remains strong, some of our neighbors are having trouble paying their mortgage.’”
The Seaside Signal. “With new, lower prices for Seaside High School, Broadway Middle School and Gearhart Elementary School, interest is growing from potential buyers, officials say. The new prices represent about a 30% reduction, district project manager Jim Henry said at the meeting, with price tags of $3.5 million for the Seaside High School, $2.9 million for the Broadway Middle School and $1.2 million for the Gearhart Elementary School.”
“‘We’ve reduced the cost by about 30% on each property just to account for that’s a cost that will have to be borne by a developer when they buy the property,’ Henry said. ‘From what we’ve seen over the last year they’ve been on the market, there doesn’t seem to be a market.’”