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Real Estate Roundup!

FOR RELEASE AT 10:00 AM EDT, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018
MONTHLY NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES, APRIL 2018
Release Number: CB18-77
May 23, 2018 – The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for April 2018:
NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES
APRIL 2018
New Houses Sold1: 662,000
New Houses For Sale2: 300,000
Median Sales Price: $312,400
Next Release: June 25, 2018
1Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates 2Seasonally Adjusted
Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, HUD, May 23, 2018
New Home Sales
Sales of new single-family houses in April 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000,
according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. This is 1.5 percent (±11.8 percent)* below the revised March rate of 672,000, but is
11.6 percent (±23.7 percent)* above the April 2017 estimate of 593,000.
Sales Price
The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2018 was $312,400. The average sales price was
$407,300.
For Sale Inventory and Months’ Supply
The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 300,000. This represents a

Forget Sesame Street. Welcome to Warren’s World. As in Warren Buffett, the investment guru who chairs Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A, -0.36% and sits atop a $70 billion fortune. Already known as one of the most famous investors in the world, the Oracle of Omaha has become celebrated of late among the grade-school set for his work with the Secret Millionaires Club, an animated program that teaches kids about finance. — From Market Watch

70 million Americans teetering on edge of financial ruin

In the past few years, the job market has vastly improved and home prices have rebounded — yet Americans are becoming even more irresponsible when it comes to saving for emergencies. According to a survey of 1,000 adults released by Bankrate.com on Tuesday, nearly one in three (29%) American adults (that’s roughly 70 million) have no emergency savings at all — the highest percentage since Bankrate began doing this survey five years ago. What’s more, only 22% of Americans have at least six months of emergency savings (that’s what advisers recommend) — the lowest level since Bankrate began doing the survey. — From Market Watch

Home Sales Are Way Up (Again), and First-Time Buyers Are Driving the Market

In what the National Association of Realtors® called “an encouraging sign” for the housing market, first-time home buyers helped push home sales in May to their highest level since May 2009.

5 Ways to Use Real Estate Investing to Teach Your Kids About Finance

It’s never too early to start imparting wise money ways to the next generation. Teaching children about money can be a challenge. Ask me how I know this! I have five children, and several already have a firm grasp on the concept of spending money. I am having a little more difficulty helping them grasp the saving, investing and growing concepts…

4 Buyer Beliefs that are Hard to Break

The vast amount of online home buying “education” can have its drawbacks. Yes, the Internet is chock-full of all sorts of information that can help homebuyers learn about the process. The down side is the online search experience can cause many homebuyers to develop all sorts of dangerous pre-conceived notions about the home buying process.

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We’re ready for the TRID rules!

At 5 p.m. EST June 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a statement that the effective date for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules would be pushed back to Oct. 1, 2015.

What are the Trid guidelines?
New mortgage lending regulations went into effect in October, and you may have heard that they’re creating closing delays for mortgage borrowers. The newguidelines are called TRID, which stands for Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure.Mar 18, 2016

CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a prepared statement: “The CFPB will be issuing a proposed amendment to delay the effective date of the Know Before You Owe rule until Oct. 1, 2015. We made this decision to correct an administrative error that we just discovered in meeting the requirements under federal law, which would have delayed the effective date of the rule by two weeks. We further believe that the additional time included in the proposed effective date would better accommodate the interests of the many consumers and providers whose families will be busy with the transition to the new school year at that time.”

Rainier Title has been working towards the TRID implementation for over a year and felt prepared for August 1st. However, with the proposed delay we will be taking this opportunity to continue our education and training of TRID. While we believe that we have been proactive and ready for this change, there are still so many unknowns that will have to be addressed at the time of implementation. The industry should still prepare for 45-60 days for transaction to close due to the new timing parameters of the forms.

We’re working hard to be ready for all changes!

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Real Estate Roundup

Active Home-Building Industry Will Lead to More Demand for Warehouse Space

Strong consumer spending and the rise in housing construction activity are currently the prime factors for the incredible rebound of the U.S. industrial real estate sector, and experts say as home buying continues to increase, so will demand for warehouse space. — From NRE Online

To Buy or Not to Buy: That Is the Developer’s Question

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