Today’s News Synopsis:

House flipping hits an 8 year high.  Mortgage rates are at a record low with 30-year rates now at 3.29% and 15-year rates at 2.79%.  The desire for millennials to buy a home is similar to that of the silent generation.

In The News:

Freddie Mac – “Mortgage Rates Hit All-Time Low” (3-5-2020)

“Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® (PMMS^®), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged the lowest rate in our survey’s history which dates back to 1971.”

Zillow – “More Density in Single-Family Neighborhoods Can Ease Affordability, and a New Survey Shows Homeowners Support It” (3-5-2020)

“More than three-quarters of homeowners across 20 large metro areas agree local governments should do more to keep housing affordable, and most agree that allowing more building would help, according to a new Zillow® survey.”

CNBC – “Foreign investors are piling into this US real estate play as a coronavirus safe haven” (3-5-2020)

“In the last few weeks, Roofstock, a rental property sales website, has seen traffic from investors in Asia on its site jump 500%. CEO Gary Beasley said it is a direct result of the coronavirus.”

Curbed – “You can soon book a stay in an iconic giant wooden elephant on the Jersey Shore” (3-5-2020)

“Ever wondered what it’d be like to nestle into the belly of a Victorian wooden elephant?”

ATTOM Data Solutions – “U.S. Home Flipping Increases to Eight-Year High in 2019 While Returns Drop to Eight-Year Low” (3-5-2020)

“ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), today released its year-end 2019 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows that 245,864 single-family homes and condos in the United States were flipped in 2019, up 2 percent from 2018 to the highest point since 2006.”

National Association of Realtors – “Home Buying Desires of Millennials Mirror Silent Generation, Realtor Report Finds” (3-5-2020)

“A number of the homebuying characteristics of younger millennials are replicating the buying desires of those in the silent generation.”

Redfin – “How to Introduce a Dog to a New Home” (3-5-2020)

“Moving to a new home ranks right up there among life’s super-stressful events. This also holds true for your dog. New rooms, unfamiliar smells, a new yard, and a neighborhood of new people and pets.”

Realtor.com – “Stage is Set for Competitive Spring Home Buying Season” (3-5-2020)

“The U.S. housing market continued to tighten in February as the inventory of for sale homes saw additional listings evaporate and home prices rose, according to realtor.com^®‘s February Housing Trends Report released today.”