US New Construction Home Sales Hits 25 Year High

With the demand for houses maintaining a ferocity and the supply for existing home maintaining a low level, US home buyers have decided to go to route of purchasing new construction.  Sales of new homes were purchased at a pace not seen in 25 years and sales of new construction homes increased 17.5% in November from a month earlier.

According to the report released by the Commerce Department, new home sales last month increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units compared to 624,000 in October.   It is the biggest monthly gain since January 1992.
New construction homes have increased steadily and the inventory of existing homes continue to fall.  Some of the demand is also precipitated by an increasing economy and 17 year low in unemployment.  Sales of existing homes has also increased at sizzling pace which will see an estimated 5.81 million sold within the year and a 3.8% increase year over year.   This has amounted to a significant shortage while demand is strong in all regions.

In the Northeast, sales of new construction homes increased by 9.5%.  The Western region lead the overall charge with an increase of 31%.  This was followed by the South with an increase of 14.9%, then the Northeast and the Midwest having the 6.9% increase.  Median sales prices increased by 1.2% to $318,700 and the average sales price is $377,100.

The numbers falls in line with Homebuilder confidence levels which we reported on and can be read here.  According to the survey, homebuilder confidence hit a high of 74 on their index.  The number reached according to the survey is the highest since 1999.

If you are an investor or homeowner looking for management of a new construction or existing residence than Blue Harbour Property Management is for you.  We are a full service NYC property management company representing commercial and residential buildings and homes in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/us-new-construction-home-sales-hits-25-year-high/

Existing Home Sales Pace Strongest Since 2006

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales has increased for 3 consecutive months and is now on its hottest pace since December of 2006.  According to the report, the amount of total existing home sales which are defined as completed transactions including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 5.6% from last month to 5.81 million sales in November.  The sales pace represents an increase of 3.8% from year over year and the strongest pace of existing home sales since December 2006.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR seems extremely optimistic from the report.  He states “Faster economic growth in recent quarters, the booming stock market and continuous job gains are fueling substantial demand for buying a home as 2017 comes to an end.  As evidenced by a subdued level of first-time buyers and increased share of cash buyers, move-up buyers with considerable down payments and those with cash made up a bulk of the sales activity last month. The odds of closing on a home are much better at the upper end of the market, where inventory conditions continue to be markedly better.”

Also of significance the median existing home price increased once again to $248,000.  It is an increase of 5.8% from the same time last year.  Supply remains a concern with the market and has affected both increases in home prices and sales.  The report indicates inventory has dropped 7.2 percent to 1.67 million existing homes available.  The amount of inventory is 9.7 percent lower than a year ago (1.85 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 30 consecutive months.   There are concerns of affordability as we enter into the new year.  There is speculation that mortgage interest rates will be increased leading to higher prices if inventory congestion remains.

In the Northeast the November existing-home sales increased 6.7 percent to an annual rate of 800,000. The median sales price in the Northeast was $273,600, which is 4.0 percent above November 2016.

If you are a homeowner or looking to purchase a home and are in need of property management than Blue Harbour Property Management can assist.  We are a full service residential NYC property management company with buildings managed in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/existing-home-sales-pace-strongest-since-2006/

Homebuilder Confidence Hits Highs Not Seen Since July 1999

According to a report by the National Association of Home Builders the confidence in the market of single-family homes increased to a level of 74.  The reading marks the highest level of builder confidence since July of 1999.  A reading of 50 marks the demarcation line of whether builder's sentiment is either positive or negative.  The sentiment grew 5 points from last month and 5 points overall year over year.

Some of the factors that has helped with homebuilder sentiment is the improving economy and the removal of regulations by the government.

“Housing market conditions are improving partially because of new policies aimed at providing regulatory relief to the business community,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.

According to the NAHB the monthly survey was derived from a monthly that the NAHB has been conducting for 30 years.   The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.  Three factors that have increased is that buyer traffic jumped 8 points to 58. Also, current sales conditions rose 4 points to 81 and the expectation of sales for the next six months increased 3 points to 79.  One of the main deterrence to increased sales would be inventory and there still remain shortages in housing nationwide.

"With low unemployment rates, favorable demographics and a tight supply of existing home inventory, we can expect continued upward movement of the single-family construction sector next year," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

Of significance for us in New York City is that builder confidence inched up 1 point in the Northeast according to the new survey.

If you are a builder or a homeowner looking for property management in NYC Blue Harbour Property Management may be for you.  We are a full service residential building management company managing properties in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/homebuilder-confidence-hits-highs-not-seen-since-july-1999/

Tenants Will Soon Be Able To Make Rental Payments With Bitcoin

It is being reported by CNBC that ManageGo, a Williamsburg Brooklyn based rental payment platform being used by property managers with over 6,000 buildings in their portfolio throughout New York City will be accepting Bitcoin to their list of acceptable payment arrangements for the service.  The company will also add payments through Bitcoin, Ether or Litecoin.

The way it would work is that the paying tenant who uses bitcoin and will the app ManageGo which will convert the bitcoin to dollars using Coinbase, a digital cryptocurrency broker. The landlord will gets the rent payment in dollars and the value of the exchange is locked in at the time of the payment.  Executives at ManageGo believe that it is only a matter of time before property managers and landlords jump in on using the payment method.  The demand for the use of the payment method has been low and there is a belief that larger landlords would be reluctant to use it until there is a higher demand and Bitcoin becomes less volatile.

According to Chaim Lowenstein, vice president of business strategy at ManageGo, the company has already received interest from landlords.  "We lead in innovation, so we saw bitcoin was something that's going to happen and become a standing currency sometime in the future.  Right now there are types of clients we have, their tenants fit the profile, and we wanted to offer it as the new amenity beyond a fancy gym or a new couch in the building."  Lowenstein also believes that this ability to accept payments of this nature can make them stand out from the competition.

Blue Harbour Property Management does not currently accept payments through ManageGo and will monitor the utility of the service going forward.  We are a full service NYC property management company managing buildings in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.  If you are in need of professional property management you can reach us at 718-843-1185 or at info@blueharbourpropertymanagement.com.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/tenant-will-soon-able-make-rental-payments-bitcoin/