What’s Going on With Pending Home Sales in the Market?

Here’s a quick-but-important message regarding pending home sales in the market.

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In April of this year, pending home sales actually dropped by 1.5%, according to the NAR of Washington, D.C. This was a modest change from the growth seen in the previous month. Only one of the four major regions of the country—the Midwest—experienced growth, while the remaining three regions reported a drop in their respective contract activity.

The pending home sales, according to the NAR, is a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings. In March, they were at 105.9 but fell 1.5% in April to 104.3.

Though the latest monthly figures show a mild decline in contract signings, mortgage applications and consumer confidence have been steadily rising.

Year-over-year contract signings declined by 2%, making this the sixteenth straight month of annual decreases. Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said that the sales dip has yet to account for some of the more favorable trends toward homeownership such as lower mortgage rates.

Though the latest monthly figures show a mild decline in contract signings, mortgage applications and consumer confidence have been steadily rising. It’s inevitable that sales will be higher in a few months.

As far as the local activity here in the Northeast, the Pending Home Sales Regional Breakdown indicated that actual signings declined by 1.8% to 88.9 in April. That’s now 2.1% lower than what it was a year ago.

In the Midwest, the index grew 1.3% to 96.8—2.4% lower than where it was in April of 2018.

If you have any questions regarding what’s happening with your specific property value or about what might be happening in your neighborhood, feel free to reach out to us. Let us know what we can do to make your real estate experience a pleasant one.

Familiarizing You With TRID and What This New Rule Means for You

I’m happy to inform you that the new TRID regulations are now in effect.

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Today I’m coming to you with a brief message concerning TRID, or the TILA RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule, and the regulations it consists of.

You’re probably wondering, “What is TRID, anyway?”

The Lenders Network states, “As of October 3rd, 2015, the CFPB integrated the TILA (Truth in Lending Regulation) and RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) Disclosures. Essentially, there are now two new forms that lenders are required to send out within three business days of receiving a loan application from the consumer.”

It goes on to say that, “The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to integrate the TILA and RESPA disclosures in such a way that these two new, integrated disclosures are now called the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure. RESPA’s Good Faith Estimate, GFE, and TILA’s Truth in Lending Disclosure were integrated creating the loan estimate. The final TIL and HUD-1 Settlement Statement were integrated creating this new disclosure.”

“TRID is designed to help borrowers understand their loan more clearly before they actually go to closing, and it streamlines and condenses certain loan disclosures. It also changes the timing of certain mortgage processes. TRID provides consumers with a clearer, more easy-to-understand estimate of the costs involved in obtaining a mortgage.”

This new regulation “will make shopping for a mortgage and comparing loans easier.”

“Providing consumers a more convenient way of comparing loan offers from different mortgage lenders, TRID reduces the amount of paperwork involved and provides a more clear and accurate loan estimate. The loan estimate replaces the GFE, which has always been provided from lenders three days after receiving a loan application. A loan estimate, however, will be standardized with all lenders and will create one clear state of terms and estimated fees.”

This is significant for consumers because it “will make shopping for a mortgage and comparing loans easier. Furthermore, the Closing Disclosure or the HUD-1 Statement has been replaced with the Closing Disclosure. The new Closing Disclosure is more complete with the cost and the fees clearly stated, and the Closing Disclosure will also be more accurate. TRID has made provisions on how much certain items actually cost at closing, and they can vary from the estimated cost and the Closing Disclosure.”

Before you go to close on a home, TRID mandates that all closing costs must be made known to you, the consumer, a minimum of three days before the conveyance.

If you have any further questions, thoughts, or concerns regarding TRID regulations, give us a call at 978-256-3306 or visit our website at HomesAreUs.com. Let us know how we can help!