Columbia SC home sales continue to increase as more and more homes come on the market, a sign of strength in housing as the Spring home buying season swings into high gear.
Columbia SC home sales have been constrained by a shortage of properties on the market, which has pushed up home prices and limited choices for potential buyers.
Columbia SC Home Sales Rising With Nation
The National Association of Realtors said just recently that existing home sales increased 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.19 million units, the highest level since September 2013. The percent increase was the largest since December 2010.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales rising to only a 5.03 million-unit pace last month.
The report was another indication that the economy is regaining some momentum after hitting a speed bump at the start of the year. But data on retail sales, housing starts and manufacturing suggest the rebound in second-quarter growth will probably be insufficient to convince the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates in June.
The outlook for housing is favorable against the backdrop of a strengthening labor market.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for loans to purchase homes increased 5 percent last week to the highest level since June 2013. It was the fourth time in five weeks that purchase applications rose.
At March's sales pace, it would take 4.6 months to clear houses from the market, down from 4.7 months in February. A supply of six months is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand.
With supply still tight, the median price for a previously owned home increased 7.8 percent from a year ago.
That was the largest percentage gain since February 2014 and suggested that the pace of home price increases, which had been slowing after double-digit growth for much of 2013, appears to be re-accelerating.
First-time buyers accounted for 30 percent of transactions last month, well below the 40 to 45 percent share that economists and realtors say is required for a strong housing recovery.
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Getting a Columbia SC home inspection is not just for buyers after the sale. If you're selling, getting a Columbia SC home inspection before you even list is super important. In a effort to get the sale finalized in a short period of time you may be tempted to forgo a Columbia SC home inspection. This is a bad move and should never be omitted from home listing procedure.
Reasons a Columbia SC Home Inspection is Important Before Listing
There are a number of reasons why a Columbia SC home inspection is important before even listing your home for sale. One of the chief reasons is that it helps your buyers to view you as an honest seller. This makes the process more amicable as fears of being swindled are reduced.
Home inspections are required by law in some jurisdictions. This means that selling without getting one may void the contract. In this case it's better to err on the side of safety so if you are not certain what the laws in your area require, get the inspection done. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Getting a Columbia SC home inspection done also protects your interests. It may uncover previously undiscovered advantages in your home that enhance its value. This gives you more power at the bargaining table. Imagine being able to increase your asking price by a hefty sum because your home inspector discovered something new about the home. The home inspector can also offer tips on improvements that need to be made and these improvements may enable you to increase your asking price.
On the flip side, getting a Columbia SC home inspection can serve as a heads up. If glaring serious flaws, such as a damp foundation, are highlighted you can decide to get them repaired before placing the unit on the market or reduce your asking price to compensate for the flaw. Failure to do this could lead to you wasting your time and efforts as buyer after buyer turns down your home after getting it inspected themselves and determining that for the asking price there are simply too many flaws. You are also protected from asking for an unrealistic price and having the unit avoided like the plague because of a ridiculous asking price.
You are also protected from unfounded post sale claims by a Columbia SC home inspection. This means that if a fault emerges after the sale and your home inspection report does not support this flaw then the buyer cannot approach you for repairs to be done. Many times a seller is pummeled by requests to make repairs and adjustments to solve problems that simply did not exist prior to the sale of the property, and they have no grounds on which to claim that the faults are new. You don't want to be forced to use the proceeds of the sale of your home to pay for renovation to a home that is no longer yours.
So before you finalize that deal for the purchase of the home you selected from among the many attractive homes on the market, call a Columbia SC home inspector to check out the property you are trying to sell. Protect yourself and your family from unnecessary problems.
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As the weather warms up, so does the Columbia SC real estate market, and experts say this year's spring selling season is shaping up to be an active one. Beth Braverman with The Fiscal Times penned an article recently that points out the trends to watch in 2015, whether you're buying or selling.
2015 Columbia SC Real Estate Trends
1: Columbia SC real estate prices are rising, even hitting record levels in some places. Home prices nationwide rose by 5.7 percent in January, compared to a year ago, according to CoreLogic.
2: Mortgage rates are still low — for now. At less than 3.7 percent, mortgage rates haven't been this favorable to consumers since 2013. Rates are expected to rise as the year progresses, for now these rates are really at very low levels. To be safe, once you've got a closing date, consider locking in your mortgage at today's rock-bottom rates.
3: It's still a seller's market. Total housing inventory at the end of February increased 1.6 percent to 1.89 million existing homes for sale, but that's still 0.5 percent less than a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.6-month supply, giving sellers a slight advantage in today's market. (A six-month supply is considered a healthy market.)
4: Buyers want turnkey properties. Even with tight inventory, buyers are looking for properties that are move-in ready and won't require much more than a coat of paint.
5: Foreclosures are no longer a factor. After peaking in August 2006 just before the housing bubble burst, foreclosures are on pace to return to historic norms this year, according to RealtyTrac. Foreclosure filings fells 4 percent in February to their lowest level since 2006.
6: Investors are backing off. Ordinary buyers in recent years often found themselves competing with investors. Today's houses are getting less desirable for investors because price points are going higher, so it doesn't pencil out as much. The share of homes going to institutional investors or all-cash buyers dropped in 2014 to the lowest level in four years.
7: In most places it's much cheaper to buy than to rent. Soaring rents in recent years have made buying Columbia SC real estate much more affordable for those who want to stay put than renting it. Nationally, U.S. renters spend an average of 30 percent of their income on rent, versus just 15 percent of income on mortgage payments, according to Zillow.
8: Credit is getting looser. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have introduced new lending programs that allow borrowers to put just 3.5 percent down on a home – although this comes with risk, of course. The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently reduced the cost of mortgage insurance by half a percentage point, which will save home buyers an average of $900 per year. All of this makes it a little bit easier for first-time buyers to qualify for a home loan.
9: New homes are smaller and greener. The average new home in 2015 was expected to be about 2,200 square feet, or 10 percent smaller than the average new home five years ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Millennial buyers and downsizing boomers want a smaller carbon footprint and a more eco-friendly home with energy-efficient windows and plumbing.
You can read the full article here.
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There's a potential new roadblock on the horizon that could wreck havoc with the Columbia SC housing market, just when it's pulling out of its worst downturn in decades.
Changes to Forms Could Affect the Columbia SC Housing Market
On August 1st, the new TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure) forms replace the HUD-1 Settlement and Good Faith Estimate. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's mission is to rebuild the mortgage banking landscape so the industry will avoid the type of conditions that led to the Great Recession. The CFPB replaces the Department of Housing and Urban Development for oversight because HUD did not provide specific consumer protection.
The new rules will require a new three-day waiting period when there are any changes in the TRID forms. The recommendation is to allow an extra 15 days to close a transaction. In other words, 30-day contracts will now require 45 days, and 60-day contracts will require 75 days.
Clients, agents and attorneys are accustomed to routinely making changes at the closing table and still closing the sale on the same day. The new three-day waiting period will severely limit this practice for items covered in the TRID documents.
So who will be affected the most when it comes to the Columbia SC housing market? Maybe the moving companies.
When transactions don't close on time, it's quite common for one or more of the principals to be stuck with furniture on a moving van and nowhere to go. Anyone who has experienced this situation knows how nasty this situation can get.
If there are multiple properties involved, any delay on one home's closing could delay others from closing as well. Now imagine how much more complicated this could become if there is an error that retriggers the three-day TRID waiting period. Everyone will be scrambling to handle late closings — not just for one day, but for at least three days or more.
Other potentially costly issues that could affect the Columbia SC housing market include situations where one of the principals must close by a certain date to take advantage of the tax breaks on the sale of their primary residence — or situations where one of the principals is involved in a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. The lost tax-benefit costs of a late closing could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to also figure how rate locks on mortgages could be severely affected. A buyer locks in an interest rate for 60 days. There is an increase in interest rates. This means the lender can no longer sell the buyer's loan on the secondary market. As a result, the lender demands additional documentation. The documents are submitted in a timely matter, but the underwriting department takes days to get to the changes. In the meantime, the buyers' interest rate lock expires, and the property doesn't close on time. At this point, the lender requires a higher interest rate in order to close the transaction.
Beginning to get the picture on the ripple affect all this could have on the Columbia SC housing market?
As we creep closer and closer to the August 1st changeover date, there will be unexpected delays in obtaining loan approval, potential changes in the documentation during the transaction, and a host of problems we probably can't even begin to imagine. Stay tuned, we'll update you again as the time draws closer.
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Buying a Columbia SC home is not always first in the minds of newlyweds, especially when you stop to think that total average spending on weddings has now exceeded $31,200!
One might ask, "Should you spend that much on a wedding, or use the same dollars for a down payment on a Columbia SC home?"
The website, The Knot, reports that the total average spending on weddings grew 5 percent to $31,213 in 2014. That may or may not be the result of a recovering economy and a testament to the still-strong sentimental value of that special day. But that hefty price tag, especially if the bride and groom are saddled with most expenses, raises questions about smart financial planning by young couples and their parents.
According to The Knot's survey of 16,000 U.S. brides and grooms married in 2014, the bride's parents contribute 43 percent, the bride and groom pay for 43 percent, and the groom's parents kick in 12 percent of the total wedding budget (others account for the remaining 2 percent).
Weddings Today Cost Nearly a Down Payment on a Columbia SC Home
The rapidly rising value of a Columbia SC home and tighter inventories have kept first-time homebuyers out of the market. With the average home price nationally at about $180,000, the 20 percent down-payment needed to qualify with just about any lender (assuming good credit scores) would be $36,000. That's about $5,000 more than the average price of a wedding noted by The Knot.
Financial planners have long cautioned young couples on overspending for an event only lasting a few hours — obviously, these numbers-crunchers are not too concerned about sentimental value. But the average wedding price does raise eyebrows.
Couples seem more focused on creating an amazing guest experience and reception details, including finding unique venues to reflect their personality, as opposed to looking for a Columbia SC home instead.
Of the nearly 16,000 U.S. brides and grooms who participated in the survey conducted by The Knot, 23 percent said they didn't have a budget to begin with, which explains why about 45 percent surveyed went over budget on their nuptials.
If wedding bells are in your future, consider how smart it is to spend close to the equivalent of a down payment on a Columbia SC home when planning your wedding, or whether you'd rather be coming back to a home you own when you return from the honeymoon.
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