Buyer Urgency Expected to Drive 2013

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

Home shoppers will likely have more urgency in the new year, wanting to buy before home prices rise even more. 

Home prices are edging up in most markets, and buyers are taking notice. Buyer surveys recently have shown that home shoppers expect home prices to continue to inch up, and they want to cash in before they rise too much higher. 

“Every single thing about housing is flashing green” with household formation rising, inventory falling, and affordability hovering at record highs, James Dimon, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase told CNBC last month. 

In 2013, rising rents are expected to push more renters to buy, The Wall Street Journal reports. Also, investors who’ve had a big appetite for housing in recent years may start to decrease their share in some markets that have seen prices rise, such as Phoenix, and focus on other markets still in recovery mode, like Chicago and Atlanta. 

“Rising prices could eventually encourage more sellers to put their homes on the market, which would help boost demand even further,” The Wall Street Journal reports. 

To meet the expected increase in demand in 2013, some real estate companies are going on a hiring spree. For example, Redfin says it plans to increase its 400 agents nationally by 50 percent by the end of January after having to send about half of its referrals to other companies earlier this year because demand outstripped its supply of agents.

Source: “2013: How Rising Prices Could Boost Housing Demand,” The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 18, 2012)

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4 Housing Issues to Watch in 2013

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, December 27, 2012

What does 2013 have in store for the housing market? With marked gains this year, housing experts expect the housing market to continue to gain momentum in the new year.
The Wall Street Journal recently offered up some chief housing issues likely to be important in the New Year. These include:

• Inventories rise: To meet the increased demand, home builders are increasing production and more sellers may be more willing to test the market as housing prices increase.
• Home prices spur demand: More buyers have urgency with home purchases as rents rise, housing values gain momentum, and mortgage rates remain low.
• Credit remains tight: “While rising prices could serve as a tailwind, new regulations may lock in some of the defensive underwriting posture while impeding capital rules may lead banks to pare their lending footprint,” The Wall Street Journal predicts.
• Broader economy dictates how far recovery goes: If unemployment decreases and the economy improves, many of the biggest challenges facing the housing market would likely fade, such as tight credit, the large number of underwater home owners, and a high rate of foreclosures.

“Any renewed weakness in job growth could put housing back into the stall that it found itself in between 2010 and 2011,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “The housing market is still fragile. ... If lawmakers can’t agree on a series of spending cuts and tax hikes to avert the ‘fiscal cliff,’ that could crimp demand or damage confidence.”
Source: “Recap: Five Housing Issues to Watch in 2013,” The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 21, 2012)


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