S & J Journal

 Average U.S. mortgage rates started the year by dipping to new lows, with the benchmark 30-year rate marking its lowest level since May 2013. The ongoing decline in mortgage rates would appear to be a boon for prospective home buyers. But it hasn't yet significantly enticed more buyers into the market. At the same time, there are fewer distressed properties and bargains coming onto the market that attract real estate investors. This week the nationwide average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 3.73 percent from 3.87 percent last week, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported. The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, slid to 3.05 percent from 3.15 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year mortgage stood at 4.51 percent and the 15-year mortgage at 3.56 percent. Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve in October ended its monthly bond purchases, which were meant to hold down long-term rates. The housing market has st...

Miami is still experiencing an unprecedented real estate boom fueled by a robust pool of wealthy out-of-town buyers and projects built by experienced, well-financed developers, according to prominent real estate insiders. Yet, big drops in November condo sales and the weakening buying power of foreign investors could mean the boom is in for a slowdown in the coming year, some economists and real estate analysts say. Developer Richard LeFrak told The Real Deal last month that he doesn’t see Miami’s current cycle slowing down soon. “I’d be worried if interest rates go up and consumer confidence drops,” LeFrak said, speaking at a sales party for his 1 Hotels & Homes South Beach. “But the U.S. economy is doing well and the stock market is high.”  LeFrak cited the dramatic increase in the number of buyers from the northeastern U.S. over the past two years as evidence of a continually bullish Miami market. “These are the people paying the big prices in Miami Beach…They all like Mia...

Retirement surge. Those words are real estate consultant John Burns' "big idea" for 2015. More Americans were born in the 1950s — 41 million — than any other decade, he blogs. And they will be "dropping out of the workforce in droves" this year as they begin turning 65. His advice: take advantage of the sizable surge, no matter what your business. Lennar has, among designs seen as ideal for boomers, a NextGen "multigenerational" home with an extra suite. For homebuilders, the seismic shift is an opportunity to throw down the welcome mat to a demographic that has better credit and more cash than younger buyers, especially those still largely missing first-timers. "It's a pretty affluent group compared to prior generations of retirees," Burns told IBD. Formidable Demographic Those born in the 1950s are just part of the wave, though a big one, of the 78 million or so baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Americans 55 an...