Home Prices Set Records Ahead of Spring Buying:   Spring may have sprung early in the housing market. The U.S. median list price set a record high of $392,000 in February, according to realtor.com®’s Monthly Housing Trends Report. Many markets continued to post double-digit annual price gains. Over the last five years, we have seen home prices break records early in the season But this is the first time the record has been broken in February, signaling that competition is already heating up weeks before the start of the spring buying season.

Changes in Homeowner Tenure:  The American homeowner tenure average reached 13.2 years in 2021, a slight decline from 2020’s average of 13.5 years. Has homeowner tenure peaked as more Americans move?  Homeowner tenure is still up by historical standards; it stood at 10.1 years in 2012 for comparison. The lengthening tenure average in recent years occurred because of older homeowners’ growing desires to age in place, a shortage of homes for sale, and relatively low monthly payments due to record-low mortgage rates, according to an analysis 

Homeowners Tempted To Use Equity:  Homeowners are seeing record levels of equity in their properties, and many plan to tap into some of that newfound wealth.  Mortgage holders have an average of about $185,000 in home equity, according to research from Black Knight. That amount assumes retaining a 20% stake in the property.  The options to draw money from a home are typically cash-out refinancing, home equity lines of credit, and reverse mortgages.  Most lenders will require owners maintain at least 20% equity in their home.

Housing Wealth Skewed to Rich Homeowners:  Homeowners across the board are feeling richer from rising home prices, but the wealthiest have enjoyed the largest gain, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS®. From 2010 to 2020, about 71% of the increase in housing wealth was in high-income households. Low- and middle-income households received a smaller share of housing wealth gains, according to the NAR report. High-income homeowners held 28% of all U.S. housing wealth in 2010, but by 2020, that percentage had grown to 42.6%.

Millennials Fear More Debt:  Debt is a significant concern for millennials, and their worries may be so great that they are reluctant to buy a home. Nearly half of the millennials surveyed in January by Rocket Mortgage said they had delayed their decision to purchase a home due to fear of falling into debt. They also reported wanting to save more money for a down payment and being concerned by  high costs of housing. Further, the age group has shown itself as more debt-averse than older generations.  For example, credit card debt among millennials is much lower than older age groups (averaging $4,300 for millennials compared to $7,155 for Gen Xers and $6,043 for baby boomers).

Mortgage Rates Rise Mid-March:  Following two weeks of declines, mortgage rates rose this week as U.S. Treasury yields increased. Over the long-term, rates are expected to continue to rise as inflation broadens and shortages increasingly impact many segments of the economy. However, uncertainty about the war in Ukraine is driving rate volatility that likely will continue in the short-term.

High Heating Bills Stun Homeowners:  Heating bills this winter have left many homeowners in sticker shock, as fuel costs rose from 5% – 100% throughout the country this winter. Natural gas suppliers in Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama said they raised prices by 96% this year.

3 Mistakes of Novice Sellers:  With soaring home prices and high demand, homeowners are finding it a great time to sell. But some sellers—particularly first-timers—may be so caught up in the headlines about the rosy market that their expectations may become clouded.  Some of the mistakes of rookie home sellers in the current market include:  unrealistic price expectations, accepting the highest offer and trying to FSBO: “For sale by owner”.