McKae Properties Real Estate Market Commentary

Zillow the on-line Home-Listing Platform, said on Monday October 18th, it would pause its automated House-Flipping operations for the rest of the year!   Instead Zillow said it would close existing purchase contracts and selling the homes it has on hand.   Zillow further said, it was experiencing back logs related to to renovating the homes.   Constraints for on-the-ground workers created back logs. To further detail the announcement I have gone to the Wall Street Journal for Tuesday October 19, 2021;  Zillow stated the practice of buying refurbishing and selling homes using its database 3 years ago.  The WSJ article further opines that sales volume has recently begun to cool.  This was a profitable business for Zillow as they obtained fees on both the buy and sell side.  We call that DOUBLE ENDING.  While most realtors and agents have mixed opinions on the practice as it puts to question Agency, whose interest do you represent, the buyer or the seller?   Zillow Offers, the house flipp

 On September 30, 2021 the eviction moratorium ended.  The estimates I have is that there were 1.7 million homes in forbearance.  These are properties which have not made mortgage payments during the Pandemic.  1.7 million is down from over 7 million at the peak of the Pandemic.  There were 600,000 homes for sale in the U.S. at that time. The benefit today is that this is not 2007 during the financial crisis.  Home values have escalated at rates that have ben historic.  That would indicate that of the 1.7 million in forbearance a major portion should be able to refinance or re-negotiated to present-day mortgages.  Considering that interest rates are at historic lows; this gives the new mortgage payments a lower payment that previous loans in forbearance.  Those owners who are unable to afford have the benefit of a strong real estate market to sell their homes and pay off the debt and walk away with proceeds.  This was uncommon during the  Financial Crisis. As the Law of Supply and Dema