Real eState
Hot real estate market sparks warnings to potential buyers as complaints to regulator double
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As home sales in the province continue on a dizzying trajectory, the province’s real estate watchdog and regulator are warning buyers to be wary of what they may be getting into.
The Real Estate Council of B.C. (RECBC) and the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate said that in the first three months of 2021, they have seen an increase in inquiries and complaints.
Calls to the regulator were up 42 per cent over the previous year, while complaints, such as how offers were made and accepted, were double the number received in the same period in 2020.
“Buying a home is one of life’s biggest financial decisions. There are potential risks at the best of times, but with the added pressure and stress of the current market conditions, those risks are amplified,” Micheal Noseworthy, superintendent of real estate, said in a statement.
Planning on buying or selling a home this spring? With increased market activiy, its important to understand the risks, and we are here to help. Here are some tips to help you find the most up-to-date information before you make a decision: <a href=”https://t.co/7D8d5Of5XZ”>https://t.co/7D8d5Of5XZ</a>
—@RECBCofficial
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says sales in the region have continued at a record-setting pace.
Residential home sales covered by the board totalled 5,708 in March 2021, up 126.1 per cent from March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and up 53.2 per cent from February of this year.
Rural and suburban areas have experienced the biggest spikes.
For the past two weeks, Jay Park has been in the middle of the buying frenzy.
He and his partner are trying to upgrade from their one-bedroom apartment to a two-bedroom condo or townhouse in Vancouver.
“I wish we had done this a month or two ago,” he said.
Park put an offer on a $1-million condo, $4,000 above asking price.
“To entice the [seller], we put in a subject-free offer, but it wasn’t successful,” he said. “They accepted $110,000 over asking price that was also subject-free.”
The hot market has led to bidding wars. Some would-be buyers have even lined up outside for days to try to get a jump on a property.
Erin Seeley, the CEO of the council, is warning buyers to do their research and be aware of risks before making an offer.
“It’s really important that buyers have engaged with their lender before they’re making offers so they know how to stay within a reasonable budget,” she said.
Seeley said some of the complaints the council has heard from buyers is that they weren’t aware the seller has a right to take an early offer.
“And the seller was really in the driver’s seat about setting the pricing,” she said.
Aaron Jasper, a Vancouver realtor, advises clients to avoid cash offers and to include finance clauses even if it may mean they lose a deal.
“There’s a lot of frustration among buyers, feeling pressure to take some risk,” he said.
“You’re better to be delayed perhaps a year getting into the market as opposed to being completely financially ruined.”
Jasper also says realtors are limited in the advice they can give to clients on legal matters, home inspections, potential deficiencies with homes, and financing.
‘Caught up in the craziness’
Other tips from the council include seeking professional advice before making a subject-free offer or proceeding without a home inspection, and speaking to a professional to determine how market conditions may be affecting prices.
Meantime, people like Jay Park say they are still keen to buy. Park has more viewings scheduled and is optimistic.
“It’s a very exciting time for us, but I also don’t want to get caught up in the craziness and make a purchase that’s above our means.”
Source: – CBC.ca
Real eState
The real estate sector's unique view of 2024 — and what's to come – Yahoo Finance
This is The Takeaway from today’s Morning Brief, which you can sign up to receive in your inbox every morning along with:
Despite a rough few days for the S&P 500, which is still comfortably in the green this year (up 6%), one sector of the stock market is feeling more pain than the rest.
The perception that rates might stay higher for longer is hammering the real estate sector, even as debate rages about how many times — if any — the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year.
The group is far and away the worst performer in the S&P 500 for 2024, down more than 10%. The bulk of those declines have come in the past two weeks, as Treasury yields have climbed to their highest level since November and investors traverse the acceptance phase that the hoped-for cuts are not on their way.
Now investors are faced with the question of whether to buy the dip or, to quote another market cliché, risk trying to catch a falling knife.
One real estate investor said the rent indicators she’s seeing in real time are encouraging on the inflation front. That’s in contrast to the much-criticized rental barometers that the Fed relies on.
“If you take into account real-time shelter costs, it’s much lower than what’s in the prints,” Uma Moriarity, senior investment strategist at CenterSquare, told Yahoo Finance. “We think inflation is trending in the right direction.”
That’s why she’s still confident in three rate cuts this year — a view, of course, that the market has been moving away from. It’s also why she’s still confident in real estate. That, plus the fact that stocks are relatively cheap.
Read more: What the Fed rate decision means for loans and mortgages
The reasons that real estate stocks suffer when rates are on the rise are twofold. First off, the companies tend to carry a lot of debt, and as rates go higher, it becomes more difficult to service or refinance that debt. Secondly, with relatively high dividend yields, the stocks compete with instruments like money market funds for investing dollars.
It’s traditionally been tough for real estate stocks to rally in the face of rising rates. But if Moriarty — and Citigroup — are right, they might not be rising for as long as the broader market anticipates.
Julie Hyman is the co-anchor of Yahoo Finance Live, weekdays 9 a.m.-11 a.m. ET. Follow her on Twitter @juleshyman, and read her other stories.
Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices.
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Real eState
Celebrity real estate agent Mauricio Umansky explains when housing prices will come down – Fox Business
Real eState
Real Estate Stocks Fall As Mortgage Rates Rise To 4-Month Highs: 'Inflation Is Proving Tougher To Bring D – Benzinga
Real estate stocks slid at Wednesday’s market open, weighed down by the latest disappointing data on housing starts and a spike in mortgage rates, darkening the outlook for the sector.
By 9:00 a.m. EST, the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE had dropped by 0.3%. This marked its fourth consecutive day of losses and set a course for its lowest close since the end of November 2023.
The fund has also slipped below its 200-day moving average, a critical long-term benchmark, signaling that investor sentiment has turned negative.
The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances up to $766,550 climbed by 12 basis points to 7.13% for the week ending Apr. 12, 2024, according to the latest figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association. This rate is the highest recorded since early December.
On Wednesday, the yield on a 30-year Treasury bond, a key benchmark for long-term mortgage rates, traded at 4.75%, at the highest since mid-November 2023, as Fed Chair Powell admitted that there has been a lack of progress in the disinflation trend.
Chart: Real Estate Stocks Fall Below Key Long-Term Moving Average As Inflation Bites Again
Weaknesses In Multifamily Segment Continue
Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, explained the rise in rates, stating, “Rates increased for the second consecutive week, driven by incoming data indicating that the economy remains strong and inflation is proving tougher to bring down.”
Despite the uptick in mortgage rates, there was a 3.3% week-over-week increase in the Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume.
Kan further noted, “Application activity picked up, possibly as some borrowers decided to act in case rates continue to rise. Purchase applications were the primary driver of this increase, although they are still about 10% lower than last year’s levels. There was a slight uptick in refinance applications, mainly due to a 3% rise in conventional applications.”
Chart: US 30-Year Mortgage Rates Rose To The Highest Level Since Late November
The real estate market’s challenges are linked to affordability and a shrinking availability as the supply of new homes falls.
Andrew Foran, an economist at Toronto Dominion Securities, commented on the trend in home building, “Homebuilding activity moderated in March as weakness in the multifamily segment persisted and the single-family segment gave back most of its considerable gain from the prior month.”
Data revealed a 14.7% month-over-month decline in housing starts in March, with the figures dropping to 1.32 million annualized units, significantly below the anticipated 1.49 million.
Both the single-family and multifamily sectors experienced declines, with single-family starts down by 12.4% (or 145,000 units) and multifamily starts plummeting by 21.7% (or 83,000 units). This retreat in multifamily starts marked the lowest level since April 2020.
Additionally, residential permits decreased more than expected in March, falling by 4.3% month-over-month to 1.46 million annualized units. This included a 5.7% drop in single-family permits—the first decline in fifteen months—and a 1.2% reduction in multifamily permits.
Rising & Falling
The weakest performers among real estate stocks with a market cap of at least $1 billion on Wednesday were:
Name | 1-day %chg |
---|---|
Prologis, Inc. PLD | -6.55% |
First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. FR | -3.33% |
STAG Industrial, Inc. STAG | -2.89% |
EastGroup Properties, Inc. EGP | -2.89% |
Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. REXR | -2.35% |
Those showing the highest gains were:
Name | 1-day %chg |
---|---|
SL Green Realty Corp. SLG | 3.18% |
Opendoor Technologies Inc. OPEN | 2.55% |
Medical Properties Trust, Inc. MPW | 2.49% |
eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI | 2.32% |
Vornado Realty Trust VNO | 2.25% |
Now Read: Best REITs to Buy in April
Image: Midjourney
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