Real Estate News 01/24/2024

Today’s News Synopsis:

Each election cycle brings a ripple of changes permeating through sectors of the national economy, including real estate. Every noteworthy shift in political power has distinctive consequences, evoking changes in property markets in each state. Here’s what I anticipate could happen with real estate–while impacting real estate investing–in the upcoming election.

In The News:

INC– “How the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election May Impact Real Estate“ (01-24-24)

“There’s a quaint, often oversimplified perception, that associates higher property prices with Democratic states, whereas Republican states are often linked with lower prices.”

Zillow –  “December Existing Home Sales: Higher Mortgage Rates Pulled Supply And Sales Lower in 2023” (01-19-2024)

“3.78 million existing homes were sold in December (SAAR), down 1% from November and down 6.2% from December 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).”

Cal Matters –  “350,000 Californians are now on the FAIR Plan, the last resort for fire insurance. Now what?” (01-23-2024)

“The agreement reached by the Insurance Department and the FAIR Plan in November over complaints of non-renewals and cancellations between 2016 and 2019 has led the plan to make changes. One of them is to allow policy-holders to pay a surcharge if there’s a fixable issue on their property, instead of citing it as a reason to cancel their plan.”

CNET –  “Reverse Mortgages: Everything You Need to Know” (01-23-24)

“According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, lenders sent a whopping 48 million ads for reverse mortgages through the mail in 2022. More Baby Boomers are retiring, so reverse mortgage companies have plenty of prospective customers.”

Business Insider –  “The housing market capped off its worst year of sales since 1995. Here’s how affordability, inventory, and demographics have changed in 3 decades.” (01-24-24)

“High mortgage rates, lofty prices, and low inventory kept the US housing largely frozen in 2023, and home sales slumped to their lowest mark since 1995.”