Home prices will continue to outpace income says Arch MI… RE/MAX named top real estate franchisor… One city ranking that will make your skin crawl…
Home prices will continue to outpace income says Arch MI
For first-time buyers struggling to get onto the housing ladder due to high prices, there is little prospect of that changing through 2018.
The latest Housing and Mortgage Market Review from Arch Mortgage Insurance says that the likelihood of price declines is just 4 per cent across all states and major cities, down from 6 per cent a year ago and 8 per cent in 2015.
“Housing is not in a bubble relative to incomes or monthly payments, either in a historical or international context,” said Dr. Ralph G. DeFranco, Global Chief Economist, Mortgage Services of Arch Capital Services Inc. “Even as homeownership remains out of reach for many people, a growing housing shortage will continue to push up national home prices faster than inflation for the foreseeable future.”
Although wage growth is sluggish, DeFranco says the supply issue is the main factor creating upward pressure on prices, negating positives such as low mortgage rates and high employment rates.
RE/MAX named top real estate franchisor
For the 14th time in the past 18 years, RE/MAX has been named as the top real estate franchisor by Entrepreneur magazine.
The firm held the top slot due to its growth rate, financial stability and the size of its system. The firm was also ranked 10th across all sectors in the Franchise 500 list which was topped by 7-11 and includes McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and Sport Clips.
"Many of our franchisees gravitated to the RE/MAX model because our focus has always been on the needs of the agent," said Chris Pflueger, Vice President, Business Development, RE/MAX, LLC. "We provide our broker/owners with the leading-edge tools, on-demand education, global brand recognition and more than 40 years of industry-leading experience to attract and recruit the top performing real estate agents in their markets."
The closest rivals to RE/MAX listed were HomeVestors of America at number 52 and Keller Williams Realty at 77.
One city ranking that will make your skin crawl
For many reasons ranking as the number one city in America would be considered a bonus for real estate agents as another selling point for their inventory.
A report this week though is an exception. Orkin, the pest control firm, has ranked Baltimore as the number one city in the US for bed bug treatments! It moved up 9 spots since last year’s survey.
Completing the top 5 are Washington DC, Chicago, New York and Columbus, OH.
If you thought that the little critters are only found in poor neighborhoods, think again. Orkin insect expert Ron Harrison says “We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing.”
For first-time buyers struggling to get onto the housing ladder due to high prices, there is little prospect of that changing through 2018.
The latest Housing and Mortgage Market Review from Arch Mortgage Insurance says that the likelihood of price declines is just 4 per cent across all states and major cities, down from 6 per cent a year ago and 8 per cent in 2015.
“Housing is not in a bubble relative to incomes or monthly payments, either in a historical or international context,” said Dr. Ralph G. DeFranco, Global Chief Economist, Mortgage Services of Arch Capital Services Inc. “Even as homeownership remains out of reach for many people, a growing housing shortage will continue to push up national home prices faster than inflation for the foreseeable future.”
Although wage growth is sluggish, DeFranco says the supply issue is the main factor creating upward pressure on prices, negating positives such as low mortgage rates and high employment rates.
RE/MAX named top real estate franchisor
For the 14th time in the past 18 years, RE/MAX has been named as the top real estate franchisor by Entrepreneur magazine.
The firm held the top slot due to its growth rate, financial stability and the size of its system. The firm was also ranked 10th across all sectors in the Franchise 500 list which was topped by 7-11 and includes McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and Sport Clips.
"Many of our franchisees gravitated to the RE/MAX model because our focus has always been on the needs of the agent," said Chris Pflueger, Vice President, Business Development, RE/MAX, LLC. "We provide our broker/owners with the leading-edge tools, on-demand education, global brand recognition and more than 40 years of industry-leading experience to attract and recruit the top performing real estate agents in their markets."
The closest rivals to RE/MAX listed were HomeVestors of America at number 52 and Keller Williams Realty at 77.
One city ranking that will make your skin crawl
For many reasons ranking as the number one city in America would be considered a bonus for real estate agents as another selling point for their inventory.
A report this week though is an exception. Orkin, the pest control firm, has ranked Baltimore as the number one city in the US for bed bug treatments! It moved up 9 spots since last year’s survey.
Completing the top 5 are Washington DC, Chicago, New York and Columbus, OH.
If you thought that the little critters are only found in poor neighborhoods, think again. Orkin insect expert Ron Harrison says “We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing.”
