First-Time Buyers at 24%, Age Hits Record High

 A record high 26% of buyers paid cash for their home and 17% purchased a multigenerational home, according to NAR’s new 2024 buyers and sellers profile.

WASHINGTON — The first-time homebuyer market share decreased to a historic low of 24% (down from 32% last year), while home buyers’ ages hit all-time highs of 56 years overall (49 last year), 38 years for first-time buyers (35 last year) and 61 years for repeat buyers (58 last year), according to the National Association of Realtors®' 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

This annual survey of recent home buyers and sellers – this year tracking transactions between July 2023 and June 2024 – has been NAR's flagship report since it first published in 1981, providing industry professionals insight into detailed homebuying and selling behavior.

“The U.S. housing market is split into two groups: first-time buyers struggling to enter the market and current homeowners buying with cash,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers. Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.”

The typical home buyer’s median household income for 2023 rose to $108,800 from $107,000 in 2022. First-time buyers had a median household income of $97,000, up from $95,900 the prior year and an increase of $26,000 in the last two years. Repeat buyers had a median household income of $114,300, up from $111,700 the previous year.

The share of married couples increased to 62% of all buyers, with single female buyers seeing a slight rise to 20%. Conversely, the share of single males decreased to 8% and unmarried couples dropped to 6%. In addition, the share of single female first-time buyers jumped by 5%.

Eighty-three percent of recent home buyers identified their ethnicity as White or Caucasian. Seven percent of recent buyers identified as Black/African American, 6% identified as Hispanic/Latino, 4% identified as Asian/Pacific Islander and 3% as some other ethnicity.

Seventy-three percent of recent home buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home – the highest share recorded.

Seventeen percent of home buyers purchased a multigenerational home, the highest share in the data series. The top reasons cited were cost savings (36%), to take care of aging parents (25%), children over the age of 18 moving back home (21%), and children over the age of 18 who never left home (20%).

“As home buyers encounter an unaffordable housing market, many are choosing to double up as families,” explains Lautz. “Cost savings are a major factor, with young adults returning home – or never leaving – due to prohibitive rental and home prices. Meanwhile, elderly parents and relatives are moving in with family members as home buyers reprioritize what matters most to them.”

Real estate agents played a crucial role in the homebuying process, with 86% of all buyers utilizing their services – the highest of all information sources used. Agents were the most useful information source in the home search process.

Eighty-eight percent of home purchases were made through a real estate agent or broker, demonstrating the continued importance of agents in the homebuying process. Nearly 90% of buyers each expressed satisfaction with their agent’s responsiveness, knowledge of the purchase process, honesty and integrity, knowledge of the real estate market and people skills. Eighty-eight percent of home buyers would use their agent again or recommend to others.

In 2024, the median down payments were 18% for all home buyers, 9% for first-time home buyers and 23% for repeat home buyers – the highest down payments for first-time home buyers since 1997 and repeat home buyers since 2003. First-time buyers continue to rely on savings (69%); however, 25% used loans or gifts from friends and family, 21% used financial assets and an all-time high of 7% used inheritances. A record 26% of home buyers paid cash for their homes.

The typical age of home sellers reached 63 years, the highest ever recorded. The share of married couples selling their homes was 69%, an increase from 65% last year, marking the first increase in four years.

For sellers, the most cited reason for selling their home was the desire to move closer to friends and family (23%), followed by home was too small (12%), home was too large (11%) and neighborhood becoming less desirable (10%).

“Family support systems are influencing buying and selling decisions,” said Lautz. “Being close to friends and family is the top reason to sell, while buying a home convenient to friends and family continues to grow in importance. Today’s buyers are less likely to be concerned with their work locations when purchasing, perhaps because of a higher share of older repeat buyers and remote work flexibility remaining a factor.”

Ninety percent of sellers sold with the assistance of a real estate agent, up from 89% last year, and only 6% were for-sale-by-owner sales, an all-time low. Most sellers (87%) said that they would definitely (72%) or probably (15%) recommend their agent for future services.

“Most home buyers and sellers find it valuable to use an agent who is a Realtor® to help them maneuver through the complicated homebuying and selling processes, especially in a challenging housing market,” said NAR President Kevin Sears, broker-associate of Sears Real Estate/Lamacchia Realty in Springfield, Massachusetts. “Realtors® provide critical knowledge and expertise that ensure a successful transaction.”

Methodology

Data gathered in the report is based on primary residence home buyers. In July 2024, NAR mailed out a 127-question survey using a random sample weighted to be representative of sales on a geographic basis to 167,750 recent home buyers. The buyers must have purchased a primary residence home between July 2023 and June 2024. NAR received 5,390 responses from primary residence buyers. After accounting for undeliverable questionnaires, the survey had an adjusted response rate of 3.2%. Per the Realtor Confidence Index, 83% of home buyers were primary residence buyers in 2023, which accounts for 4,756,000 homes sold in 2023 (among new and existing homes). Using that calculation, the sample at the 95% confidence level has a confidence interval of plus-or-minus 1%.

© 2024 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

Contract Signings Signal Market Improvements

 By Melissa Dittman Tracey

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun forecasts improved home sales, slower appreciation and falling mortgage rates over the next two years.

CHICAGO — More home buyers signed contracts for a home purchase in September, a sign that the housing market may be on the mend after a sluggish summer.

The National Association of Realtors®’ Pending Home Sales Index  a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings — jumped by 7.4% in September compared to August, NAR reported Wednesday. Contract signings also were up 2.6% from a year ago.

“Contract signings rose across all regions of the country as buyers took advantage of the combination of lower mortgage rates in late summer and more inventory choices,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Pending sales rose by nearly 10% in the West last month, followed by a 7.1% gain in the Midwest, 6.7% increase in the South, and 6.5% gain in the Northeast. “Further gains are expected if the economy continues to add jobs, inventory levels grow, and mortgage rates hold steady,” Yun says.

Sales of newly constructed and previously owned homes could rise by 10% in each of the next two years, Yun predicts, noting that “sizable pent-up housing demand” is likely to be unleashed in the coming years. First, however, the housing market must dig itself out of a rut: Existing-home sales hit a 14-year low in September as prospective home buyers pull back due to high prices.

What likely triggered more contract signings

Home buyers in September found more inventory options, which may have helped boost pending home sales last month. Housing inventory was up 23% in September compared to a year ago, although that’s still down by about 25% from pre-COVID levels, according to NAR.

The uptick in contract signings last month also came as the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in four years. The Fed’s rate is not directly tied to mortgage rates, but the cut initially encouraged movement in the market and helped bring mortgage rates down to 6.18% in September (compared to 6.5% in August). The lower rates may have created some urgency among home buyers. The September drop in rates translated to about a $300 savings in monthly mortgage payments on a typical $300,000 mortgage compared to just a few months ago, NAR’s data shows.

That said, mortgage rates have moved upwards in recent weeks: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.54% last week, according to Freddie Mac.

So, will the latest sales uptick last?

Yun believes home sales will continue to climb, particularly as home affordability improves. Here’s what he predicts for the housing market over the next two years:

• Higher home sales: “After two years of sluggish home sales in 2023 and 2024, existing-home sales are forecasted to rise,” Yun says. He predicts existing-home sales to increase to 4.47 million in 2025 and to more than 5 million in 2026.
• Slower home price appreciation: “During the next two years, expect a slower rate of growth in home prices that’s roughly in line with the consumer price index because of additional supply reaching the market,” he adds. Yun predicts the median sale price for existing homes to increase to $410,700 in 2025 and $420,000 in 2026. However, the pace of home price hikes is slowing, he says.
• Falling mortgage rates: Further helping home affordability, Yun also predicts that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will decrease to 5.9% in 2025. However, he says mortgage rates likely will increase to a 6.1% average by 2026.

Click here to read Yun’s full housing forecast.

© 2024 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.3% in August

 Housing prices increased 4.2% from last year nationwide, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said. Price appreciation remained modest for the 6th month.

WASHINGTON — U.S. house prices rose 0.3% in August, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 4.2% from August 2023 to August 2024. The previously reported 0.1% price increase in July was revised upward to 0.2% .

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from July 2024 to August 2024 ranged from -0.1% in the East North Central and New England divisions to +0.9% in the West North Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +2.4% in the West South-Central division to +6.3% in the East North Central division.

In the South Atlantic division, which includes Florida, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from July 2024 to August 2024 increased 0.1% with a 12-month increase of 3.7%

"House price appreciation in the United States remained modest for the sixth consecutive month," said Dr. Anju Vajja, deputy director for FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics. "The slow but continued house price growth and the effect of locked-in interest rates led to persistent housing affordability challenges."

The FHFA HPI is a comprehensive collection of publicly available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data that extend back to the mid-1970s from all 50 states and over 400 American cities. It incorporates tens of millions of home sales and offers insights about house price changes at the national, census division, state, metro area, county, ZIP code, and census tract levels. FHFA uses a fully transparent methodology based upon a weighted, repeat-sales statistical technique to analyze house price transaction data.

Source: FHFA

© 2024 Florida Realtors®

Pending Home Sales Advanced 7.4% in September

 Pending home sales bounced 7.4% to the highest level since March; they're up 2.6% YoY. In the South, pending home sales improved, NAR said. 

WASHINGTON — Pending home sales rose in September, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All four major regions experienced month-over-month gains in transactions. Year-over-year, the Northeast and West registered increases while sales remained steady in the Midwest and South.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings – jumped 7.4% to 75.8 in September, the highest level since March (78.3). Year-over-year, pending transactions ascended 2.6%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.

“Contract signings rose across all regions of the country as buyers took advantage of the combination of lower mortgage rates in late summer and more inventory choices,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Further gains are expected if the economy continues to add jobs, inventory levels grow, and mortgage rates hold steady.”

NAR economic and housing outlook

In the next two years, Yun foresees slower home price appreciation and corresponding increases in sales.

“After two years of sluggish home sales in 2023 and 2024, existing-home sales are forecasted to rise to 4.47 million in 2025 and more than 5 million in 2026,” Yun said. “During the next two years, expect a slower rate of growth in home prices that’s roughly in line with the consumer price index because of additional supply reaching the market.”

Yun predicts the median existing-home price will rise to $410,700 in 2025 and to $420,000 in 2026. The annual 30-year fixed mortgage rate will slide to 5.9% in 2025 but then move higher to 6.1% in 2026.

Pending home sales regional breakdown

The Northeast PHSI expanded 6.5% from last month to 65.6, up 3.3% from September 2023. The Midwest index surged 7.1% to 75.0 in September, identical to the previous year.

The South PHSI improved 6.7% to 89.0 in September, unchanged from a year ago. The West index rose 9.8% from the prior month to 64.0, up 12.3% from September 2023.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

Pending contracts are good early indicators of upcoming sales closings. However, the amount of time between pending contracts and completed sales is not identical for all home sales. Variations in the length of the process from pending contract to closed sale can be caused by issues such as buyer difficulties with obtaining mortgage financing, home inspection problems, or appraisal issues.

The index is based on a sample that covers about 40% of multiple listing service data each month. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined. By coincidence, the volume of existing-home sales in 2001 fell within the range of 5.0 to 5.5 million, which is considered normal for the current U.S. population.

© 2024 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

Understanding Cybersecurity Risks in Real Estate

 By Brandon Rickwood and Aaron Jackson

Cybercriminals will go to great lengths to gain access to your personal and sensitive information. Be ready by having a plan to reduce risk.

NEW YORK —Your real estate firm is at risk from the growing threat of cybersecurity attacks. The days of retaining hard copies and physical files are increasingly phasing out. In an era where digital transformation is altering the industry landscape, real estate firms are becoming progressively more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats due to the sensitive information they maintain. While firms are adopting digital solutions to streamline operations, close transactions faster and improve the customer experience to ease streamlining operations, doing so also makes them prime targets for cybercriminals. As the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks grow, real estate firms and professionals must understand the risks and implement robust security measures to protect themselves from the escalating threat of cybercrime.

Cybersecurity threats facing real estate firms

Real estate firms are particularly vulnerable to various cybersecurity threats due to the sensitive nature of the information they manage. From phishing attacks and social engineering to data breaches and ransomware, it is important to be cognizant of the most common cybersecurity threats your real estate firm may encounter.

Phishing attacks

"Phishing" remains one of the most prevalent threats facing real estate professionals and firms. Cybercriminals use deceptive emails or messages to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information such as login credentials and/or financial information. It is increasingly common to receive emails or messages from attackers posing as "trusted colleagues" or "trusted clients" asking for immediate action on an urgent matter.

Social engineering

Similar to "phishing" attempts, social engineering tactics involve manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information. In the real estate industry, attackers might impersonate clients or colleagues through phone calls, emails, or other forms of communication to establish trust and gain access to sensitive data or financial resources.

Data breaches and ransomware

Data breaches are also a common occurrence where unauthorized parties access confidential information, such as personal identification details, financial records, and/or transaction histories. Additionally, ransomware attacks that hold firms' encrypted data hostage are rapidly becoming an ever-present threat. There were nearly 318 million ransomware attacks in 2023 alone, and researchers estimate that such attacks will increase to one attack every two seconds by the year 2031.1 Real estate firms maintaining a significant amount of sensitive data are prime targets for such attacks.

Given the present threats and future predictions, it is critical for your real estate firm to prioritize this threat. Cybercriminals will go to inexhaustible lengths to gain unauthorized access to your personal and sensitive information. You must be ready for the attack.

How cybersecurity attacks impact real estate transactions

Cybersecurity threats pose a broad risk to real estate transactions, with significant implications for a real estate firm's financial stability, reputation, and legal compliance.

Financial repercussions can be catastrophic as firms grapple with the costs of ransoms, data breach remediation, potential regulatory fines, legal fees and lost business opportunities. Such attacks can be economically devastating to large firms and catastrophic to smaller firms.

The exposure of sensitive and secure information can result in severe legal consequences, class action lawsuits, data loss, compliance issues, and financial fraud to name a few. Ransomware incidents stifle operations, resulting in significant financial losses and downtime. On September 12, 2023, MGM Resorts confirmed that it suffered a ransomware attack that forced the shut-down of several operational systems, which amounted to $100M in losses according to SEC filings.2

Beyond the immediate monetary losses, a cybersecurity incident can also damage a firm's reputation, as trust and reliance are essential in real estate dealings. Clients provide personal and financial records throughout the real property transaction, which flow through financial and broker institutions to complete the deals. Any breach of client data and/or disruption of services can lead to negative publicity, delayed transaction processing, a decline in clientele, and/or the refusal of lenders and financial institutions to work with the breached firm. In this environment, prioritizing cybersecurity is not just a technical necessity but a critical component of maintaining financial health, client trust, and regulatory adherence.

Best practices for enhancing cybersecurity in real estate

Considering the cybersecurity threats posed to real estate firms and their customers, it is important to highlight the mitigation strategies that real estate firms and individuals should apply to avoid such threats. As the most practical strategy, educating employees about the best cybersecurity practices is essential. Recommendations include the following:

• Educating employees is vital to maintaining sound cybersecurity. Firms should conduct regular training sessions with employees and agents to help them understand how to: 1) safely operate online, 2) identify and avoid cyber threats, and 3) handle and secure sensitive information.
• Using encrypted communication methods and strong multi-factor authentication measures for sharing information can also help protect against unauthorized access and add an extra layer of security for attackers attempting to gain such access.
• Ensuring regular software updates, routinely backing up data and establishing recovery plans further address vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers.
• Developing and enforcing clear policies along with executing robust security protocols are also important to combat any existing risks and can defend against future threats.

In conjunction with these best practices, it is vital to ensure the firm's readiness by establishing a robust incident response plan to execute in the event of any cyberattack.

Conclusion

As real estate firms continue to embrace digital solutions, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. By understanding the threats and implementing best practices, firms can protect their operations, safeguard client information, and maintain their reputation in an increasingly digital world. Caution, awareness, and proactive measures are key to traversing the complex landscape of cybersecurity in real estate.

© Mondaq Ltd, 2024

Home Equity Gains Level Off, Remain Strong

 Almost half of mortgaged homeowners remain equity-rich, according to ATTOM. The portion of owners seriously underwater still close to five-year low.

IRVINE, Calif. – The property analytics firm ATTOM’s third quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report shows that 48.3% of mortgaged residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values.

That level was down from a recent peak of 49.2% hit in the second quarter of 2024. However, it was still up from 47.4% a year earlier and remained historically high, reflecting one of the enduring effects of a housing market boom around the nation that has lasted more than a decade.

Much the same pattern emerged during the third quarter for the portion of home mortgages that were seriously underwater. Just 2.5% of mortgaged homes fell into that category, with combined estimated balances of loans secured by properties that are at least 25% more than those properties’ estimated market values. That was slightly worse than the 2.4% recorded in the prior quarter and the same is in the third quarter of 2023.

“Homeowner equity typically mirrors home-price trends, and the third quarter of this year followed that pattern. Equity remained elevated as the value of residential properties has surged consistently over the years. However, it held steady this quarter, reflecting the cooling of earlier sharp price increases,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “Despite the flat pattern, home equity keeps providing a significant boost to the economy in the form of financial leverage that tens of millions of households can use to finance major purchases or investments.”

He added that “we can expect to see small movements up or down over the coming months as the housing market moves into its annual slow season.”

The latest equity pattern comes as the market remains strong throughout most of the nation but also faces a mix of forces that could either keep it going upward or flatten it out.

Equity-rich shares of mortgages dip quarterly but remain up annually in majority of states

The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich during the third quarter of 2024, 48.3%, remained far above the 26.5% level recorded in early 2020. Although it decreased in 28 of the 50 U.S. states from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2024, typically by less than two percentage points, it continued to be up annually in 37 states.

Annual increases generally tilted more toward low- and mid-priced markets around the country, concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast regions. The increases were led by Vermont (portion of mortgaged homes considered equity-rich increased from 79.8% in the third quarter of 2023 to 86.4% in the third quarter of 2024), West Virginia (up from 30.5% to 37%), Connecticut (up from 41.5% to 47.7%), New Jersey (up from 45.9% to 52% ) and Rhode Island (up from 54.7% to 60.6%).

At the other end of the scale, equity-rich levels declined more often in western states, led by Utah (down, year over year, from 56.8% to 52.4%), Arizona (down from 54.3% to 50%), Colorado (down from 51.1% to 48%), Washington (down from 56.7% to 54.6%) and Oregon (down from 52.7% to 50.8%).

Seriously underwater mortgage levels change by small amounts in most states

The portion of mortgaged homes considered seriously underwater across the U.S. barely changed during the third quarter. It stood at one in 40, which was up slightly from one in 42 during the second quarter but the same as a year earlier – and well below the ratio of one in 15 recorded in 2020.

The rate worsened quarterly in 30 states, though it was still better annually in 24.

The biggest annual improvements in seriously underwater mortgages came in Wyoming (share of mortgaged homes that were seriously underwater down from 5.9% in the third quarter of 2023 to 2.4% in the third quarter of 2024), West Virginia (down from 4.6% to 3.8%), Louisiana (down from 10.8% to 10.1%), Illinois (down from 4.4% to 4.1%) and New Jersey (down from 1.9% to 1.6%).

On the flip side, the largest year-over-year increases in the percentage of seriously underwater homes during the third quarter of 2024 were in Kansas (up from 2.6% to 4.4%), Utah (up from 1.8% to 2.4%), South Dakota (up from 2.6% to 3.1%), Missouri (up from 3.9% to 4.3%) and Colorado (up from 1.7% to 2%).

High-end markets clustered in Northeast and West continue to benefit from best equity-rich rates

The 10 states with the highest levels of equity-rich mortgaged properties around the U.S. during the third quarter of 2024 again were in the Northeast or West regions. Those with the largest portions were Vermont (86.4% of mortgaged homes were equity-rich), Maine (62.2%), New Hampshire (61.1%), Rhode Island (60.6%) and Montana (60.5%).

Nine of the 10 states with the lowest percentages of equity-rich properties during the third quarter of 2024 were in the Midwest or South. The smallest portions were in Louisiana (21.1% of mortgaged homes were equity-rich), Alaska (31.9%), North Dakota (33.2%), Maryland (33.2%) and Illinois (34%).

Among 107 metropolitan statistical areas around the nation with a population of at least 500,000, upscale markets where median home values surpassed $450,000 topped the list of places with the highest portion of mortgaged properties that were equity-rich during the third quarter. 

They were led by San Jose, CA (68.7% equity-rich, with a third-quarter median home price of $1.5 million); Portland, ME (64.6%, with a median price of $520,000); San Diego, CA (64.1%, with a median price of $885,000); Los Angeles, CA (63.9%, with a median price of $949,375) and Buffalo, NY (63.7%, with a median price of $268,000).

The leader in the South was Knoxville, TN (60.7%, with a median price of $345,949) while the Midwest was led again by Grand Rapids, MI (55%, with a median price of $327,520).

Metro areas with the lowest percentages of equity-rich properties in the third quarter of 2024 remained mostly in lower-priced markets of the South and Midwest. The smallest levels were in Baton Rouge, LA (15.8% of mortgaged homes were equity-rich, with a third-quarter median home price of $223,564); New Orleans, LA (26.9%, with a median price of $242,900); Little Rock, AR (30.1%, with a median price of $215,844); Virginia Beach, VA (30.2%, with a median price of $330,000) and Jackson, MS (30.2%, with a median price of $285,407).

The portion of mortgaged homes considered equity rich decreased from the second to the third quarter of 2024 in 80 of the 107 metro areas with sufficient data (75%) but was still up from the third quarter of 2023 to the same period of 2024 in 70 of those markets (66%). 

Midwest and South still have highest seriously underwater mortgage rates

The Midwest and South regions had 19 of the 20 states with the highest shares of mortgages that were seriously underwater in the third quarter of this year. The top five were Louisiana (10.1% seriously underwater), Mississippi (7.2%), Kentucky (5.5%), Arkansas (5.4%) and Iowa (5.2%).

The smallest shares were in Vermont (0.7%  seriously underwater), Rhode Island (0.9%), New Hampshire (1%), Massachusetts (1.1%) and California (1.4%).

Among different regions, one of every 29 mortgaged homes was seriously underwater in the Midwest, one of every 37 in the South, one of every 50 in the Northeast and one of every 61 in the West.

Among 107 metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 500,000, those with the largest shares of mortgages that were seriously underwater in the third quarter of 2024 were Baton Rouge, LA (11.1%); New Orleans, LA (7.4%); Jackson, MS (6.6%); Kansas City, MO (5.5%) and Little Rock, AR (5.2%).

The portion of mortgages that were seriously underwater increased quarterly in 80, or 75%, of the metro areas in the U.S. with enough data to analyze. They were up, year over year, in 61%  of the metro areas analyzed.

Report methodology

The ATTOM U.S. Home Equity & Underwater report provides counts of properties based on several categories of equity — or loan to value (LTV) — at the state, metro, county and zip code level, along with the percentage of total properties with a mortgage that each equity category represents. The equity/LTV is calculated based on record-level loan model estimating position and amount of loans secured by a property and a record-level automated valuation model (AVM) derived from publicly recorded mortgage and deed of trust data collected and licensed by ATTOM nationwide for more than 155 million U.S. properties. The ATTOM Home Equity and Underwater report has been updated and modified to better reflect a housing market focused on the traditional home buying process. ATTOM found that markets where investors were more prominent, they would offset the loan to value ratio due to sales involving multiple properties with a single jumbo loan encompassing all of the properties. Therefore, going forward such activity is now excluded from the reports in order to provide traditional consumer home purchase and loan activity.

Source: ATTOM

© 2024 Florida Realtors®

Florida Tax Revenue Tops Projection

 The state’s general revenue collections in Aug. totaled $3.6 billion, 4.3% higher than expected, thanks to a boost from sales taxes and earnings on investments.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State general-revenue collections in August were 4.3% higher than projected, according to state officials. With a boost from sales taxes and earnings on investments, Florida had net general revenue during the month of $3.639 billion, $149.5 million more than anticipated when a panel of economists revised projections on Aug. 14.

A report posted online Tuesday by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research showed sales taxes accounted for $2.892 billion of the August revenue, $60 million higher than expected.

Earnings on investments totaled $169.9 million, which was $84 million more than anticipated.

General revenue is closely watched because it plays a major role in funding education, health and prison programs. The economists meet periodically during the year to update projections, which are used by lawmakers in negotiating an annual state budget.

© 2024 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved.