Welcome to today’s news in the Real Estate category! Stay informed about the latest developments and trends shaping the housing market. Discover key insights from the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), a monthly survey that provides valuable data on market conditions for new homes. Explore programs and grants available for first-time home buyers in California, and learn about housing and construction projects in Santa Cruz County. Delve into creative solutions addressing the affordable housing crisis and gain insights into housing market predictions for 2024. Plus, find out how you can get involved and make a difference in the housing industry. Get ready to dive into the exciting world of real estate!
NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) | NAHB
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) is based on a monthly survey of NAHB members designed to take the pulse of the single-family housing market. The survey asks respondents to rate market conditions for the sale of new homes at the present time and in the next six months as well as the traffic of prospective buyers of new homes.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI is a weighted average of three separate component indices: Present Single-Family Sales, Single-Family Sales for the Next Six Months, and Traffic of Prospective Buyers. Each month, a panel of builders rates the first two on a scale of “good,” “fair” or “poor” and the last on a scale of “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low”. An index is calculated for each series by applying the formula “(good – poor + 100)/2” or, for Traffic, “(high/very high – low/very low + 100)/2”.
Each resulting index is first seasonally adjusted, then weighted to produce the HMI. The weights are .5920 for Present Sales, .1358 for Sales for the Next Six Months, and .2722 for Traffic. The weights were chosen to maximize the correlation with starts through the following six months.
The HMI can range between 0 and 100.
View the release date of each HMI in 2024.
Get the latest updates on key developments in the housing industry.
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California First-Time Home Buyer | Assistance Program & Grants
Buying your first home can be a real challenge, especially in a state like California where prices are often sky-high. Luckily, the Golden State has a variety of first-time home buyer loans and grants to help those who need an extra hand. Here’s how to get started.
In this article, you’ll find information about the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) and their special mortgage loan programs. These programs include the CalHFA FHA loan, CalPLUS FHA program, CalHFA VA program, CalHFA USDA program, CalHFA conventional program, CalPLUS conventional program, and the CalVet program for veterans and service members.
Additionally, there are down payment assistance programs available such as the Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan, CalHFA MyHome Assistance Program, The CalHFA ADU Grant Program, and the Pathway to Homeownership Closing Cost Assistance grant program.
California’s big cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose also have specific programs to assist first-time home buyers in those areas.
If you’re a California first-time home buyer, explore these programs and grants to see how they can help you achieve your dream of homeownership.
Housing and construction projects in Santa Cruz County – Santa Cruz Local
Stay up to date on major housing and construction projects across Santa Cruz County and find out how to make your voice heard. Explore the latest information on major water and highway projects in the area. Whether you’re interested in staying informed or getting involved, this resource has you covered.
Creative Solutions to Affordable Housing – CZI Blog
Discover innovative solutions to California’s affordable housing crisis. Learn how organizations like CZI are working to address the challenges and make a positive impact. From successful projects like Project Roomkey, which provided housing for unhoused Californians during the pandemic, to exploring industrialized construction methods and alternative homeownership models, there are promising approaches to increase housing affordability.
Find out how cross-sector collaborations, such as the Partnership for the Bay’s Future, are tackling the housing crisis from diverse perspectives. Explore the importance of converting surplus and underutilized lands into permanently affordable housing, the potential of infill housing, and the need to protect naturally occurring affordable housing. With continued support for these creative solutions, we can make progress towards ensuring safe and affordable homes for all.
Housing Market Predictions For 2024: When Will Home Prices Be Affordable Again? – Forbes Advisor
Explore the housing market predictions for 2024 and gain insights into when home prices may become more affordable. Despite the current challenges of rising mortgage rates and high home prices, experts anticipate a gradual increase in home sales transactions compared to last year. While affordability hurdles persist, there are factors such as increased inventory and slower price growth that could positively impact the housing market.
Learn about the recent $418 million real estate broker commissions settlement involving the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the upcoming changes it will bring to the industry. Discover expert tips for buyers and sellers in today’s tight housing market, and gain insights into the foreclosure activity and its potential impact on the market.
While timing the housing market is challenging, experts emphasize the importance of finding a home that meets your needs and aligns with your financial situation. Whether you’re considering homeownership for the long term or as a short-term investment, understanding the current market conditions can help inform your decision-making process.
The Coming California Housing Boom
Suddenly, a lot of housing is being built across the state. New six-story apartment buildings in downtown Santa Cruz loom large over a funky one and two-story plaza one block away which is home to Redwood Records, The Bagelry (est 1977) and the world renowned Kuumbwa Jazz Center. The state of California has set an ambitious goal of building 2.5 million units of new housing by the end of the year 2030—that’s almost 500,000 units per year. Over the past decade, housing production averaged fewer than 80,000 new homes each year.
Judging from news breaking throughout the state, the lofty goal does not seem impossible. Through a combination of recent state legislation and new programs and incentives, housing projects of all sizes are hitting the development pipeline.
Across the state, municipalities are scrambling to get their general plan housing element approved by the California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Communities that have been reluctant to build multifamily housing, in particular, are rushing to catch up with their housing element obligations—lest the situation be wrested from their control and builders allowed to plow ahead, under state or court auspices.
But there are also projects on the drawing board for much larger developments and some already under construction. These include an 8,000-unit “healthy living” seniors community in El Dorado/Sacramento counties, a 1,464-unit affordable neighborhood in Sonoma County, and the ongoing Brooklyn Basin development in Oakland. Not to mention the city-sized, 400,000-resident California Forever community proposed in Solano County.
Plans for housing development in local communities are first publicly vetted by the local planning commission and then usually voted upon by the city council or county board of supervisors. All meetings are public, and are good forums for citizen presence and involvement. Recent state legislation addressing housing and development, combined with the shifting majority public political sentiment from a NIMBY mindset to YIMBY—especially among younger voters—constrain local citizens’ or agencies’ ability to completely halt developments that make it to the permitting process. But citizens maintain leverage to make housing projects better.
Is the project for multifamily housing? Advocate for an onsite playground if one isn’t in the plans. Is the project’s landscaping water-efficient, utilizing native plants? Is the lighting Dark Sky Approved? Is there solar power available? Is the roofing a white color to reduce the urban heat island effect? Does the project incorporate efficient electric heat pumps for heating and air conditioning? Become a planning geek and advocate for more attractive, resilient and sustainable elements in the development plans while it is still early in the planning and permitting process.
If the project is built on a transit corridor and exempt from automobile covered parking requirements, how safe is the area for bicycle use, what are the plans for secure onsite bicycle storage, and what are the public mass transit options? Housing and transportation are linked, and a way to make a housing project better is to increase options for safe, car-free transportation. Become a transportation policy geek and work to get those new sidewalks, protected bike lanes and improved mass transit implemented in your community.
The housing boom is here. Now is the time to get involved and make it better. Get into the weeds. Find the missing pieces. Make the ask.
New Residential Construction Press Release
Contact the Economic Indicators Division Residential Construction Branch at 301-763-5160 or eid.rcb.customer.service@census.gov for data inquiries. For media inquiries, reach out to the Public Information Office at 301-763-3030 or pio@census.gov. Stay updated by subscribing to email updates.