Notable November

Bundle up; here we go! The month of November is the last full month of autumn, and many parts of the country are beginning to experience colder temperatures. The days grow shorter now, as most of the U.S. "falls forward" by one hour, exiting Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, November 6th. And, of course, we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 24th, to give thanks for the things we feel fortunate to have in our lives. On that note, we would like to thank all our clients and users for your continued support in making Title Toolbox your go-to data and marketing platform!

Looking back at October's headlines - inflation, global economic uncertainty, rising mortgage rates, and a tight supply of homes for sale are all weighing on potential buyers, as articulated in the following article. More>

"High mortgage rates, tight supply, and economic uncertainty"

How are you using Title Toolbox to get through the uncertain market conditions to find the ideal prospects ready to purchase and/or sell their home?

It's Time to Dive Deep Into Your Secret Sauce!

In case you didn't notice, we recently added a new feature in Title Toolbox. Now, in any search area that you view on-screen, the properties are clearly marketed as being “Owner Occupied” (Green) vs. “Non-Owner Occupied” (Blue), and the property you hover over (Yellow), as you can see below. This will help you and your customers better know whom they are calling on or looking at when evaluating any area or property address they are marketing to. For example, in the image below, you can see there are 65 Owner Occupied and 16 Non-Owner Occupied homes. Given the market conditions, it might be a good idea to reach out to the owners of the Non-Owner Occupied to see if they might be interested in selling their rental property. 

How to Find Empty Nesters, Possible Next Sellers, and Out-of-State Owners

With a few clicks of a button, Title Toolbox makes it extremely easy to share your data and research with your clients and prospects.

If you need assistance with Title Toolbox to help expedite your marketing efforts, please contact ttbhelp@benutech.com for questions and Jim: jdubois@benutech.com for one-on-one training.

October News Highlights and Life Event Trends

National:

• The housing market is stuck. Home prices are mostly too high to appeal to buyers, who are facing skyrocketing mortgage rates. But sellers are loathed to lower asking prices. Sales are cratering — some folks are just walking away from deals. (Axios) More>

• Home prices are dropping like it’s 2009. The average home price is down 2% ($8,800) from its June peak nationally. (Housingwire) More>

Mortgage:

• Application Volume Plunges to 25 Year Low. Mortgage rates continued to climb last week, causing another pullback in overall application activity, which dropped to its slowest pace since 1997. (Mortgage News Daily) More>

• It's bad enough mortgage rates are over 7% – now it's harder to qualify for a home loan. It's a double whammy for would-be homebuyers. Not only are interest rates soaring, it's getting harder to qualify for a loan. (CNBC) More>

Rent:

• U.S. Apartment Construction on Track to Reach 50-Year High in 2022. No less than 420,000 new rental units are projected to be completed throughout the country before the end of December. The last time apartment completions surpassed the 400,000 units mark was in 1972. (RENTCafe) More>

Trending:

• Potential Buyers Increasing Down Payments to Secure Homes. The amount of money homebuyers are putting into down payments —and the percentage they’re putting down— has skyrocketed over the last two years amid the pandemic-driven homebuying boom. (MReport) More>

• Study Finds More Than Half of U.S. Considering a Move. As many struggle to afford a mortgage–let alone their dream home–nationwide, many are migrating in search of more affordable areas to obtain homeownership and/or avoid being cost-burdened. (MReport) More> 

• Home prices will fall in half of the US next year, and places like California will be hit hardest, a top economist warns. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), said he is forecasting 0% home-price growth in 2023. (NEWSBREAK) More> 

• First-Time Buyers Giving Housing Market a Boost. One positive has come out of the housing market recently, as new data from Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report revealed that for the first time since the pandemic began, the number of first-time homebuyers has rebounded as these buyers now represent 45% of all buyers, up from 37% last year. (DSnews) More> 

• Nearly a Million Americans Fear Losing Their Home to Foreclosure. Of those not caught up on their mortgages, 19.62% across the U.S. report being either somewhat or very likely to leave their home due to foreclosure in the next two months. (DSnews) More>

• Senior Home Equity Hits Record $11.58T Nationwide. Homeowners 62 and older saw their housing wealth grow by 4.10% or $456 billion in Q2 to a record $11.58 trillion from Q1 2022, according to the latest quarterly release of the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index. (MReport) More>

• YoY Bankruptcy Filings Increase for Second Straight Month. Year-over-year, U.S. bankruptcy filings increased 7% across all chapters for the second consecutive month in September, according to new data from Epiq's Bankruptcy Analytics platform. (DSnews) More> 

• Climate Change Plays A Big Role In Home Buyers’ And Sellers’ Decisions To Relocate. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of U.S. residents who plan to buy or sell a home in the next year are hesitant to move to an area at risk of natural disasters, extreme temperatures and/or rising sea levels, according to a survey in August commissioned by technology-powered real estate brokerage Redfin of roughly 1,000 respondents who said they intend to buy or sell a home in the next 12 months. (Forbes) More> 

• A 2007 flashback: Home flippers are in trouble again. With mortgage rates and labor costs rising, it’s becoming increasingly expensive to flip a house. Add falling home prices and low inventory to that mix, and it becomes a toxic situation for even the most experienced of flippers. (FORTUNE) More>

• Home Builders Offer to Sell Homes in Bulk at Discount to Investors. As mortgage rates hit a 15-year high and individual buyers back away, builders look to unload both planned and completed homes. (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) More>