Single-family homes in suburbs desirable

A traditional single-family home in suburban areas is a high priority for most of today's prospective buyers. A study on this subject was recently concluded by a major real estate organization.

"Over three-quarters of surveyed households would purchase a single-family home if they were to buy in the next six months, and 79 percent of renters would choose to buy outside of an urban area, according to the second installment of the National Association of Realtors new quarterly consumer survey.

"The survey also found that confidence about now being a good time to buy is waning among renters, particularly in the West, where prices have solidly risen.

"The survey data reveals an overwhelming consumer preference for single-family homes in suburban areas. Most current homeowners (85 percent) and 75 percent of renters said they would purchase a single-family home, while only 15 percent of homeowners and 21 percent of renters said that would buy in an urban area."

The report included comments by Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. He noted the survey findings call attention to the glaring need for more supply of single-family homes.

"The American dream for most consumers is not a cramped, 500-square-foot condo in the middle of the city, but instead a larger home within proximity to the jobs and entertainment an urban area provides," he said.

"While this is not a new discovery, supply and demand imbalances and unhealthy levels of price growth in several metro areas have made buying an affordable home an onerous task for far too many first-time buyers and middle-class families."

The study confirms the fact that today's homebuyers are just as motivated to own their residences, as were their parents and grandparents.

Q. Will the Federal Reserve push interest rates higher soon?

A. At last report, the Fed decided that action in the near future to raise interest rates in 2016 would not be productive for our economy, it was reported in a news release.

"It was expected that the Fed would not make a change to policy, what with the tumultuous markets of the midwinter only recently calming. The Fed noted that the domestic economy has maintained a moderate pace of expansion despite the global economic and financial developments of recent months but that these issues continue to pose risks to maintaining that pace."

Q. Is home affordability improving?

A. In many markets affordability is decreasing. Here's a report from a major real estate firm as noted in a news release:

RealtyTrac, a source for housing data, released its first quarter 2016 Home Affordability Index, which shows that 9 percent of U.S. county housing markets were less affordable than their historically normal levels in the quarter, up from 2 percent of markets that exceeded historic home affordability levels a year ago.

Q. Are home sales increasing?

A. Home sales are rising. Here is a statement posted by the National Association of Realtors:

"Pending home sales rose solidly in February to their highest level in seven months and remain higher than a year ago. Led by a sizable increase in the Midwest, all major regions except for the Northeast saw an increase in contract activity in February.

"The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 3.5 percent to 109.1 in February from a downwardly revised 105.4 in January and is now 0.7 percent above February 2015 (108.3). Although the index has now increased year-over-year for 18 consecutive months, last month's annual gain was the smallest."

Q. Are mortgage applications rising?

A. At this writing, applications are dropping a bit, as reported in a news release.

"Mortgage applications decreased 3.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to its lowest level since August 2015 - 55 percent of total applications from 56.7 percent the previous week.

"The FHA share of total applications decreased to 11.7 percent from 12 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.3 percent from 12.6 percent the week prior."

• Email Jim Woodard at storyjim@aol.com.

© 2016, Creators Syndicate