DS News

88 Florida Minority Certified Business MIAMI-DADE & BROWARD COUNTIES 786-499-6994 www.REOPitStop.com Luis@ContinentalRealtors.com RESNET ID: 106089 | Equator ID: 272261 Luis F. Guzman Broker/Owner NORTH CAROLINA Two North Carolina Markets Top Hot Housing List e U.S. housing market is getting hotter in 2018 with 52.6 percent of all homes across the country worth as much or more than they were at the peak of the national housing boom in April 2007, according to a survey on the 10 hottest housing markets of the U.S. released by Zillow in January. e survey says that U.S. housing markets with healthy income growth, abundant job opportunities, and above-average housing appreciation are likely to get hotter in 2018. ese include technology hubs like the Silicon Valley markets of San Jose and San Francisco and markets in the southeastern part of the U.S such as Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee. With a median household income of $110,000 and a Zillow Home Value Forecast of 8.9 percent, San Jose tops Zillow's list as the hottest housing market in the U.S. e survey said that home values in this Silicon Valley hub gained 17.4 percent over the past year, showing the fastest growth among the 50 largest metro areas as high-paying tech jobs continued to keep pace with climbing housing costs. e survey also ranked two North Carolina markets—Raleigh and Charlotte, second and fourth respectively. With a median household income of $71,7685 in Raleigh and $59,979 in Charlotte, both these areas according to the survey, show strong income and population growth. Raleigh is growing as the Research Triangle and is getting known for innovations outside its life science base, while Charlotte is building on its reputation as a financial center where the Bank of America is headquartered. Tech hubs Seattle ranked third and San Francisco ranked fifth rounded out the top five. e top 10 list also included Nashville, Denver, and Austin which have the lowest unemployment rates among large metros, even as Austin's population grows faster than other major metros (at 2.8 percent between 2015 and 2016), the survey indicated. e survey also reported on housing markets that would continue to face challenges in 2018. ey include former industrial giants such as Cleveland, Buffalo, and Milwaukee. e survey indicated that the population of these three metros was falling, and unem- ployment in Cleveland was well above the historically low national rate of 4.1 percent at 6.2 percent. TEXAS Dallas Appraiser Valuations Overshoot Homeowner Expectations Estimates about home values among homeowners and appraisers were consider- ably closer to lining up during the final month of 2017, according to new data released by Quicken Loans last month. According to the National Quicken Loans Home Price Percep- tion Index (HPPI), home appraisals were only 0.5 percent lower than what homeowners ex- pected in December 2017, up from 0.67 percent lower in November 2017 and a full 1 percent discrepancy in December 2016. is gap between homeowner and ap- praiser perception was narrower in December 2017 than it had been since March 2015. at trend toward homeowners and apprais- ers being more on the same page has been continuing for seven months in a row. In only a quarter of the metros measured by the HPPI were appraiser opinions lower than home- owner opinions. "Appraisers and real estate professionals evaluate their local housing markets daily," said Bill Banfield, Quicken Loans EVP of Capital Markets. "Homeowners, on the other hand, may only think about their housing market when they see 'for sale' signs hit front yards in the spring or when they think about accessing their equity. is is reflected in the HPPI. e housing markets that are rising quickly, like those in the West, are having ap- praisal values increasing above owner estimates because owners don't realize just how quickly those markets are advancing." Quicken Loans' Home Value Index also reports that the average appraisal value for homes increased 0.65 percent between Novem- ber and December, and an impressive 6.17 per- cent compared to December 2016. e West leads the nation in home appraisal values ac- cording to Quicken Loans' data, growing 7.42 percent year-over-year compared to December 2016. Trailing behind the West were the Mid- west (6.46 percent YOY increase), South (6.37 percent YOY increase), and Northeast (3.50 percent YOY increase). e Northeast is also the only region that saw a month-over-month decrease in appraised home values in Decem- ber, dropping 0.21 percent month-over-month. "Homeowners received the gift of added equity this holiday season," said Banfield. "With several years of growth, owners may have more equity than they realize. Many consumers use the tax season at the beginning of the year to re-evaluate their entire financial life. It also provides a good opportunity for them to consider how best to take advantage of their equity while mortgage interest rates and borrowing costs are still near record lows." e top five metros where appraiser value topped homeowner perception of value in December 2017 included: » Dallas, Texas (+3.17 percent) » San Jose, California (+2.55 percent) » Denver, Colorado (+2.22 percent) » San Francisco, California (+2.22 percent) » Seattle, Washington (+2.20 percent) e five metros Quicken Loans found to have the biggest disparity between home- owner and appraiser perception for December included: » Cleveland, Ohio (-2.09 percent) » Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (-1.97 percent) » Baltimore, Maryland (-1.78 percent) » Chicago, Illinois (-1.38 percent) » Houston, Texas (-0.43 percent) of U-haul truck arrivals were recorded in Texas out of all one-way U-Haul traffic across the U.S., marking Texas as a popular migration destination. Source: U-Haul Migration Trends data STAT INSIGHT 50%

• Cover