Rise in housing inventory is out of the ordinary | Price drop seals deal for this Ontario property | Pricing strategies for contractors in a tough economy
Rise in housing inventory is out of the ordinary The number of active listings in the housing market has reached a high for the year, increasing 137% from March and bucking previous trends, according to Altos Research. "Usually by this time of the year, we have fewer new listings, and some sales still wrapping up from the summer," says CEO Mike Simonsen, adding that inventory normally decreases 1% to 2%. Full Story: MarketWatch (tiered subscription model) (10/26)
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Best Practices in Sales & Marketing
Price drop seals deal for this Ontario property Agent Ira Jelinek advised her clients to drop the price of their four-bedroom Ontario property after it sat on the market for more than 40 days. The move attracted offers within 24 hours, whereas "some [of the competing properties] were relisted or ... sitting on the market a while," Jelinek said. Full Story: The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (tiered subscription model) (10/25)
Pricing strategies for contractors in a tough economy Contractors can insulate themselves from unideal market conditions by pursuing contracts with flexible pricing language, writes Laurie Hager of law firm Snell & Wilmer. Contractors can also mitigate risks by seeking fixed prices for downstream subcontractors and suppliers, "but chances are that the subcontractors and suppliers have quote expiration dates or price escalation clauses of their own," Hager writes. Full Story: JD Supra/Snell & Wilmer (10/25)
Index shows significant cooling in housing market Year-over-year home-price growth reached 13% in August, compared with 15.6% in July, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index. That marked the sharpest deceleration ever recorded by the index, and Craig Lazzara of S&P Dow Jones Indices noted that "home prices may well continue to decelerate." Full Story: CNBC (10/25),Bloomberg (10/25)
Remote work inspires thoughtful home design Decorative artist Tess Newall shares her ideas on creating spaces that work in every sense. Her Folk Flower collection of wallpapers and lampshades allows remote workers "to feel that they are in a place that is inspiring and thoughtful," Newall says. Full Story: Country Life (10/21)
Sept. home sales decline further in Canada Canadian home sales in September decreased 3.9% month over month and 32.2% from a year ago, while home prices declined 6.6% from September 2021, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. "With many sellers also opting to play the waiting game, the market remains on the tighter side of balanced market territory," which "makes for an interesting dynamic, one that doesn't really have many historical precedents," says Chair Jill Oudil. Full Story: Global News (Canada)/The Canadian Press (10/14)
A realty firm is asking at least $1.5 million in cryptocurrency for a nonfungible token representing a beachfront site in Hampshire, England, in what may be a UK first. The land does not have planning permission, and while the NFT nature of the sale may avoid traditional administrative issues, it's not clear if the sale technically transfers land ownership. Full Story: Homebuilding & Renovating (10/22)
St. Louis REALTORS® supports homeownership for Blacks The St. Louis REALTORS® Association is promoting homeownership among the African American community at the city's housing expo, one of the association's 22 initiatives. "I think often things start with knowledge, and so by coming, we can get you to get connected with the knowledge that you need to be able to move forward with homeownership," said Katie Berry, association president. Full Story: St. Louis Public Radio (10/25)
Legislation & Regulation
FHFA: Mortgage lenders should use 2 credit score sources Mortgage lenders that use credit scores for underwriting and then sell loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will have to use scores from both VantageScore Solutions and Fair Isaac Corp., according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Previously, the agencies have accepted loans based solely on Fair Isaac's FICO score. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (10/24)
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