In the first quarter of 2016 home price indicators showed some volatility but new construction permits increased. Market rates have risen only slightly while oil prices came up from near record lows. Unemployment is holding and we wait for the Fed to make decisions about rate increases (or...not) in the coming months.
These stories were important and may have an effect on the real estate marketplace, but the stories below were the ones that our team paid attention to the most. See if you agree with out staff picks.
Resales fall sharply in February - But New Home Sales Surge
U.S. home resales fell sharply in February in a potentially troubling sign for America's economy which has otherwise looked resilient to the global economic slowdown. NAR reported greater than a 7% decrease while home prices were still up more than 4% around the country. Is this trouble for the economy on the whole or is this a normal winter slowdown?
Perhaps - as Bloomberg noted that February New Home sales surged, especially in the Western part of the country. This conflicting piece of information may only signal a leveling of the playing field when it comes to the pricing of new and existing homes. We want a few more months of data before making any determination.
View the full resale breakdown and story online at Reuters.
To read more and see the stats for the New Home sales in February, visit Bloomberg Online here.
TREC Rules Take Effect
The Texas Real Estate Commission made many rule changes that took effect at the start of 2016. Among these was the requirement that all licensees in their first renewal cycle complete 8-hours of Legal CE as a part of their Salesperson Apprentice Education (SAE) requirement. Did we say 8-hours? Yes. The Legal and Ethics requirement of 6-hours was changed to an 8-hour requirement consisting of two 4-hour Legal courses. (Note that this may also have an affect on REALTORS looking to complete their NAR mandated Ethics requirements. Check with your local board to determine if you will now be required to complete and additional Ethics course moving forward.)
VanEd previously reported on the proposed changes on our site (click here) and we have now updated and made all of the courses available online to meet the new requirements. You can also click here to learn more about the new Legal I and Legal II courses required for all Texas Licensees (errr.... License Holders now. Sorry, just another rule change.)
CREC/DRE Director Gives 2016 Update
In a webcast presented by the Colorado Association of REALTORS (CAR) Division Director Marcia Waters discussed the sunset review and upcoming rulemaking hearings taking place that affect real estate brokers in Colorado. Our key takeaway from the presentation was that the Director has an excellent handle on what is going on currently in the Colorado real estate marketplace.
We have posted the entire presentation online on the VanEd Newslog.
Oregon is the most popular State
In January CNN Money reported that the number of people moving to Oregon has increased by 10% in the past six years. This is not surprising considering the number of new businesses has also increased providing new jobs, and housing prices have increased as well. A sign of housing popularity that is a direct result of new residents moving to popular areas.
Learn more online at CNN Money
Tech Tools to help your Business
How can you tell if a tech tool will be good for your business and which are just shiny new toys? Inman tackled this question in February in an article we found to be right on point. The key challenge for most people is either integration or implementation. In other words, how long will it take to to get yourself up to speed on the tool, and then how long does it take you to put it into practice?
Take a look at this article for tips that may help you separate the good from the bad (or in the case from the shiny) online at Inman News.
Raising the Bar in Real Estate
We were happy to see another article on how real estate professionals can work to raise the bar every day. Increasing the reputation of everyone in the industry starts with each of us, and this second article from Inman News hit the mark with us in a number of ways.
You can find our favorite tip (Be Humble) and 9 others online at Inman News.
Can Government Housing also be Sleek?
In February Curbed reported on some government housing getting a new, stylish design. The fact that these are in Eastern Europe doesn't change our feelings much - these are much better designs and we hope more U.S. affordable housing might be created from older, out of date, properties.
Learn more at Curbed.com
Any Stories where Penguins get on a Treadmill? You Bet!
The Guardian posted on a study that shows that fat Penguins fall over more often than slim ones when they're put on a treadmill. With this information apparently not being scientifically proven up until this point, this study was critical.
(It also defines, clearly, the validity of my own less-than-scientific-survey of 1, in which I discovered that I am just like a penguin.)
Seriously though, you have got to watch the video associated with this story online at The Guardian.
And, of course, Zombies and how they relate to Amazon
If you are developer who uses Lumberyard (tools to create video games) with Amazon's cloud services, you will be happy to know that the Acceptable Use language in the Terms of Service agreement do create an exemption to certain rules if the CDC certifies an outbreak that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh exist.
In other words, Zombies.
If there are zombies those developers can use Lumberyard with life critical systems. This is important: This does NOT mean that Video Games can keep you safe from Zombies. We had hoped otherwise, but, alas, no. We're still not safe.
We recommend reading the CNN Money Article linked into this Newser post before looking at the bottom for the link to the article on how to stay safe from Zombies. Because that's really all we were looking for in the first place.
Housing Quote of the Quarter
On March 25th U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) issued the following statement upon conclusion of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee hearing titled “The Future of Housing in America: Government Regulations and the High Cost of Housing.”
“The purpose of today’s hearing is simple: to examine the high cost of housing in America. Today, we heard testimony that 40 percent of rental costs are due to regulation. Rising costs and lack of availability paint a bleak picture for the future of workforce housing in America. Unfortunately, the stock of affordable market-rate housing is not plentiful for those seeking it. This subcommittee will continue to examine these issues and methods to lift Americans from poverty and ensure they don’t just have a place to live, but also a place to have a life.”
- See more at: http://missouri.realestaterama.com/2016/03/25/luetkemeyer-subcommittee-examine-high-cost-of-housing-in-america-ID0924.html#sthash.BlHIsHjb.dpuf
Comments