MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 4/15/2024 – 4/22/2024

Did You Know?

* Flooding in the United Arab Emirates’ city of Dubai last week illustrates a simple climate change problem the modern world has not fixed: lack of drainage. Expect local municipalities to tighten building codes on drainage requirements. Dubai received over 10 inches of rain in areas last week….rumors of cloud seeding were denied by the government. Always a good idea to remind your clients to maintain their drainage systems by keeping them clear of debris and blockages. (CNBC)

* Game-flation? Americans legally bet a record $119.84 billion on sports in 2023, up from $93 billion in 2022. That’s up about 29% in one year…. (Business Insider) 

* A Smart City index produced by the IMD World Competitiveness Center’s Smart City Observatory in collaboration with the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) based in Seoul, South Korea ranks 142 smart cities worldwide based on data analyzed by researchers and survey responses of 120 residents in each city capturing an overview of how the infrastructure and technology available in a city impacts the city’s performance and quality of life of its inhabitants. The Top 10 were: Zuirch, Oslo, Canberra, Geneva, Singapore, Copenhagen, Lausanne, London, Helsinki and Abu Dhabi. (CNBC)

* 46.8% of luxury homes that were bought during the three months ending Feb. 29 were paid for in cash, the highest percentage in at least 10 years and a 44.1% increase from 2023. (Barrons)

* Owners of a 2,000sf home in an HOA in Whisper Valley outside of Austin Texas pay $70 a month to connect to a grid and around $60 a month on average for electricity…. about 50% less than what they paid for electricity at a smaller rental apartment in Austin. All of the houses in Whisper Valley have solar panels, heat pumps—and a geothermal borehole around 350 ft below ground. They’re connected to a communitywide geothermal grid that pulls heat from the ground to warm buildings in cold weather and pumps heat out of buildings and back to the ground to cool them in hot weather …..whisper quiet too.(WSJ)

* Are RETRO kitchens from the 1950’s making a comeback with brighter colors and a more whimsical approach? Some designers think so…. (Mansion Global)

* Days on market for homes in the US spiked by almost 85% on average YOY….but at 48 days as of February 2024, that is still very fast! (WSJ)

*  Did you see the Barbie-themed “The Dream House” video created by Priscilla Wood Balikian of COMPASS Rancho Santa Fe to help market a listing when I posted in 2023? Well…..it is now up as a contender to win one of The Telly Awards! In its first 24 hours it received over 16,000 views! The video is up against the likes of NBC Universal and Lamborghini so please support this outstanding effort….. Here is a link to vote for the video

Mortgage Rate Updates

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage soared to 7.1% as of April 18th, 22bps above the previous week to the highest since November, according to data from Freddie Mac. The result was in line with the sharp rise in long-dated Treasury yields amid the increasingly hawkish expectations for the Federal Reserve. In the corresponding period of the previous year, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.39%. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surpassed 7 percent for the first time this year, jumping from 6.88 percent to 7.10 percent this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “As rates trend higher, potential homebuyers are deciding whether to buy before rates rise even more or hold off in hopes of decreases later in the year. Last week, purchase applications rose modestly, but it remains unclear how many homebuyers can withstand increasing rates in the future.”.

Source: Freddie Mac