Download First-Time Home Buyers Want to Skip the Starter Home, Shop for the

First-Time Home Buyers Want to Skip the Starter Home, Shop for the
Long Term
Source: HousingWire
As peak home-buying season begins, first-time home buyers are prioritizing their long-term residential
needs, according to the inaugural Bank of America Home Buyer Insights Report. Seventy-five percent of
first-time buyers would prefer to bypass the starter home and purchase a place that will meet their future
needs, even if that means waiting to save more, and 35 percent plan to retire there.
Making sense of the story

The same number of home buyers consider saving for or paying off a home (92 percent) as
important as saving for retirement (91 percent).

Two-thirds of first-time millennial home buyers expect some kind of assistance from their parents
when buying a home, ranging from financial support to assistance moving in.

More than half of first-time buyers are looking for a home in the suburbs.

Eighty-five percent of first-time home buyers would use a tool that automatically withdrew
money from their paycheck to save up for a home purchase.

First-time home buyers are highly motivated by aspirational and emotional factors when making
the decision to buy a home. For instance, 52 percent would like a place to call their own and 43
percent said owning a home is something they have always wanted to do.

Thirty-seven percent of first-time buyers said they would rather spend money on a mortgage than
rent, 36 percent said they want more space, 17 percent plan to have a child, and 14 percent are
getting married.

D. Steve Boland, Consumer Lending executive for Bank of America, commented, “Today’s
aspiring home buyers want to be selective and believe they should wait until they can afford to
buy a home they’ll live in for years to come. They’re also realistic about the need to save for a
down payment.”
Read the full story
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/36727-first-time-homebuyers-want-to-skip-starter-home
In other news …
Does Increase in Home Renovation Plans Suggest People Unwilling To
Move?
Source: Marketplace
Twenty-eight percent of U.S. homeowners plan to remodel, expand, or otherwise improve their homes in
the next 12 months, according to the latest Bankrate Money Pulse survey. Even lower-income
homeowners are planning to renovate by using savings, credit cards, or bank loans. Some people might
just be sprucing up their houses to sell them, but planning big projects seems to indicate many
homeowners plan to stay put and finally tackle projects they put off during the recession. About 52
percent of homeowners planning a project over the next year indicate they want to work on their
driveways, decks, patios, pools, landscaping, or fencing. One professor commented that the housing crisis
forced many people to give up on the idea of buying a big, fancy house, especially since housing prices
have risen out of reach.
Read the full story
http://www.marketplace.org/2016/04/01/world/us-homeowners-flag-surrender
Why Aren’t New Homes Going Up That Millennials Can Afford?
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Hopeful home buyers who have to navigate newly strict lending standards to get the necessary cash for a
new home aren’t the only ones facing a hard time to obtain financing. Developers and builders also have
had a harder time getting the financing needed to embark on new projects, which limits the amount of
new construction. The bulk of residential construction around the country is done by smaller builders who
typically go to local lenders such as banks and credit unions for financing. Robert Dietz, chief economist
at the National Association of Home Builders, commented, “There are limits to how fast the industry can
grow, given the industry has to rebuild its workforce, rebuild the building lots supply, and also have an
increased access to lending for builder loans.”
Read the full story
https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-aren-t-homes-going-100039910.html
No More Garages? Redfin CEO Says Self-Driving Cars Will Change
Urban Real Estate
Source: Geek Wire
Experts believe self-driving cars will dramatically change transportation and urban life, but it’s not clear
how fast such change will transpire. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman writes, “A third of urban real estate is
devoted to parking garages that could become parks; there are eight U.S. parking spaces for every car in
operation, for as many as two billion U.S. spaces overall. Thirteen percent of every lot for a typical
single-family home is now dedicated to a garage.” He added that a car has been the pet that Americans
insist on accommodating, in numbers ten times higher than modern parts of Asia like Hong Kong, despite
the space and cost dynamics related to cars that could change with the advent of self-driving vehicles.
Read the full story
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/redfin-ceo-glenn-kelman-self-driving-cars-will-change-urban-real-estatemarket/
California's economy expected to outpace that of U.S. this year
Source: LA Times
The state’s economy will grow faster this year than the national economy, and unemployment will drop to
5 percent in early 2017, according to a new report by the UCLA Anderson Forecast. In 2016, personal
income in California will grow 3.6 percent, compared with 4.5 percent in 2015, the report said. Wages
and salaries in the state, not adjusting for inflation, will grow about 5.7 percent this year, according to the
projections. That's down from 7.5 percent last year. That means Californians will earn $60 billion more in
wages than in 2015. The U.S. economy overall will expand 2.7 percent, according to the report.
Read the full story
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ucla-economic-forecast-20160406-story.html
Want Solar Panels on Your Roof? Here's What You Need to Know
Source: Atlantic
The cost of solar keeps on falling and the number of installations keeps rising, but there are a lot of
important questions to consider before making the jump to solar energy. The nonprofit Interstate
Renewable Energy Council has just released a consumer checklist and other resources for rooftop solar
since the number of experienced buyers is limited. For instance, it’s advised that potential buyers start
with an energy audit and look for efficiency upgrades before you draw up blueprints, as the amount of
solar energy you need to produce depends on how much energy you actually use.
Read the full story
http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2016/04/want-solar-panels-on-your-roof-heres-what-you-need-toknow/476805/?utm_source=nl__link6_040616
Campaign Asks “Who’s Your REALTOR®?”
Source: C.A.R.
On Monday, April 4, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) launched its annual
consumer advertising campaign. The campaign illustrates the value REALTORS® provide not only to
home buyers and sellers, but also the community at large. C.A.R. partnered with media giants NBC TV
and iHeartRadio to help spread the message that California REALTORS® are there to help their clients
every step of the way. As part of the campaign, C.A.R. updated its consumer website
ChampionsOfHome.com, which provides tips for home buyers and sellers. Consumers also can view the
commercials.
More info
http://championsofhome.com
Talking Points …

Mortgage applications slightly grew 2.7 percent from one week earlier, with the seasonally
adjusted purchase index decreasing 2 percent from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage
Bankers Association.

Driving the rise in mortgage applications, the refinance index increased 7 percent from the
previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with
conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased from 3.94 percent to 3.86 percent.

The Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications barely fell to 11.3 percent from
11.5 percent the week prior. The Veteran Affairs’ share of total applications decreased to 12.2
percent from 12.9 percent the week prior.