thegardenisland.com
THE GARDEN ISLAND
Ready to buy a home? Alex Veiga ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — Nathan Long and Lili Chin have struck out so far in their four-month search to find an affordable home in the Los Angeles area — a cold streak that threatens to mess up their anniversary plans. The housing market has been a pillar of economic strength during the pandemic, but many would-be homeowners, particularly firsttimer buyers such as Long and his wife, have met with frustration because of a low number of homes for sale and consistently rising prices. The couple made a major concession to the virus pandemic in August when they got married via Zoom. They planned to make up for the lack of in-person nuptials by hosting a wedding party at a new home on their oneyear anniversary. But so far, the market won’t cooperate. “We go out and we don’t find many places at all,” said Long, a video-game writer who rents an apartment in the L.A. suburb of Glendale. “I’m not hopeful that we will find anything for a while.” Homebuyers are facing the most competitive U.S. housing market in decades this spring. To put that in perspective, the inventory of homes for sale nationally fell to a record-low 1.03 million units by the end of February, or about 30% below what it was a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. That amounts to a two-month supply, well short of the six-month supply economists say is needed for a balanced market. Homes in February typically sold within just
US average mortgage rates fall again; 30-year loan at 3.04% ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Mortgage rates fell for a second straight week amid signs of economic improvement. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the benchmark 30-year home-loan rate declined to 3.04% this week from 3.13% last week. At this time last year, the long-term rate was 3.31%. The rate for a 15-year loan, popular among those looking to refinance, dipped to 2.35% from to 2.42% last week. Last week’s decline was the first in more than two months. Mortgage rates have been at historically low levels, but strong demand and low supply of available homes have pushed prices higher in recent years. The coronavirus pandemic has fueled demand for single-family homes as people look for more space. Experts expect home-loan rates to increase modestly for the rest of the year, while remaining at low levels in light of the Federal Reserve’s stated intention to keep its principal borrowing rate near zero until the economy recovers from the pandemic. A flurry of key U.S. economic data – on the pace of layoffs, retail sales and manufacturing – point to an economy that is steadily regaining its health as vaccinations accelerate, business restrictions are lifted in many states and Americans are increasingly willing to travel, shop, eat out and otherwise spend again. At the same time, the pandemic is holding back some areas of the economy, and many lower-income Americans are still suffering.
Friday, April 16, 2021 • B3
The trick is finding or affording one
height of the last housing boom. John Badalamenti and his wife, Brittany, moved out of their San Francisco apartment last year and spent several months, their baby daughter in tow, checking out San Diego, Miami, Austin, and other cities, as they considered where to settle down and where they could get the most home for the money. The couple ended up in Charleston, South Carolina, where a few weeks ago they landed a fivebedroom, five-bathroom house with a pool that was listed for just over $1.8 million. John Badalamenti, who led a design team for a ride-hailing company that allowed remote work and now has co-founded a video chatting company, said the couple didn’t want to risk losing out to a rival buyer. So, they made an all-cash offer that matched what the seller was asking. Finding a similar property in the DAMIAN DOVARGANES / ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco area could have cost as much as double what the Nathan Long, a video game writer, poses for a picture outside his rental apartment courtyard in couple paid in Charleston, said Glendale, Calif. Badalementi, 33. “That was a big factor in making this decision.” mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, what the owner is asking. A surge 20 days of hitting the market. Glenn Kelman, CEO of real though that’s still down from Meanwhile, the national median in millennials eager to become estate brokerage Redfin, says the 3.33% a year ago. homeowners, plus a growing sale price of a single-family home “We expect homebuyer demand influx of relocating buyers has climbed nearly 15% to $315,900 in number of people who work to remain strong this spring, but it contributed to soaring home remotely and are able to move to the last three months of 2020, prices in markets such as Tulsa, will be tested by higher mortgage according to the NAR. That works more affordable areas, are Oklahoma, and Buffalo, New York. rates,” said Danielle Hale, chief expected to keep the market out to about four times the U.S. The percentage of Redfin economist at Realtor.com. running hot. median family income of $77,774, customers who are moving across The ultra-competitive housing Homebuyers still have low according to data from the market trends are prompting many the country now is 31%, up from mortgage rates on their side, Realtors group. The gap can 26% a year ago, Kelman said, providing them with a measure of aspiring homeowners to flee become a chasm in cities like Los noting that the trend is stronger in pricey coastal markets for the financial flexibility, though rates Angeles or Boulder, Colorado, metropolitan areas. Among the Midwest and South. where home prices can be double have been creeping higher. The cities that come up in Redfin home For millions of Americans, the average rate on the benchmark 30the national levels. searches by people living pandemic normalized working So, from Los Angeles to Boston, year loan moved above the 3% elsewhere are Las Vegas, Dallas, mark early last month for the first remotely and that trend helped those homes on the market are power U.S. home sales last year to Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami, and time since July 2020. It stood at selling in a heartbeat, often Sacramento, California. the highest level since 2006, the fetching multiple offers well above 3.13% this week, according to