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Your roof is what protects your family from the elements and other dangers outside your home. However, your roof is susceptible to damage, especially from different critters. Here are some of the animals and other pests that can quickly ruin your roof:

Birds

It can be nice to hear birds singing out in your yard, but you don’t want to hear them singing on your roof. Though birds aren’t very heavy, they do have some talons that can tear up the roof, and some will peck at the roof looking for insects to eat. Their droppings are also acidic, which can cause corrosion. The issues can get even worse if the birds decide to build a nest on your roof. Most likely, the nest will be in your gutters. These nests, however, can block the gutters and create pools of water that can leak through the roof or into your home’s foundation.

Rodents

Mice and rats like to live in the walls of homes for warmth, and they’ll often reach the roof if the infestation isn’t discovered and eradicated. Once in or on your roof, they may eat the building material or insulation in the walls or attic. Additionally, rodents that aren’t exterminated will likely have babies that will also live in your walls and roof. If you notice a biting sound in the walls or ceilings of your home, you likely have rodents. Another sign to look for is bitten or gnawed on walls, wires or other materials around your home.

Termites

Although your roof may not have wood shingles, it likely has wood underneath, so it’s important to get protection from these wood-eating pests regularly. If you have termites, the wood in the infested area will start to get thinner and thinner until holes start to appear. It will be harder to control the temperature and your home won’t be protected from the rain and water damage. While termites prefer wood, they’ll also snack on other materials too, like paper, cardboard, cotton and anything else that contains cellulose. Termites will even chew through plastic to get to their meal of choice.

Bees

It’s important to protect bees, but that doesn’t mean we want them living in or on our roofs. If bees do decide to build a hive on your roof, they’ll eat at it to provide room. Bees will also add a lot of weight to your roof, potentially weighing it down to the point of structural damage. That isn’t to mention the possibility of getting stung if you open an upstairs window.

If you’ve noticed damage to your roof caused by any of these creatures, you’ll need to get your roof inspected after having the pests cleared out. A residential roofing contractor can tell you whether the damage is serious enough to require a whole roof replacement or if you just need some repairs.

These pests aren’t necessarily a nuisance in the wild, however, they will be in your home. There are a number of natural ways to prevent creatures from getting too comfortable on your property. If those tactics don’t work, call pest control!

Anita Ginsburg is a freelance writer from Denver, Colorado. She studied at Colorado State University and now enjoys writing about health, business, and family. A mother of two wonderful children, she loves traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. If you have roof damage from pests, she recommends contacting a residential roofing company. You can find her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.

Existing-home sales ticked up slightly in January and increased 23.7% from a year ago, according to the latest data from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). January reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million existing-home sales.

Single-family home sales increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.93 million in January, rising 0.2% from 5.92 million in December. This is up 23.0% YoY. For condos and co-ops, existing-home sales increased 4.1% from December and 28.8% YoY to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000.

By Region:

Midwest
Existing-Home Sales: 1.57 million (+22.7% YoY)
Median Price: $227,800 (+14.7% YoY)

Northeast
Existing-Home Sales: 870,000 (+24.3% YoY)
Median Price: $361,400 (+15.8% YoY)

South
Existing-Home Sales: 2.94 million (+25.1% YoY)
Median Price: $263,300 (+14.6% YoY)

West
Existing-Home Sales: 1.31 million (+21.3% YoY)
Median Price: $461,800 (+16.1% YoY)

How the Industry Is Responding:

“Home sales continue to ascend in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly snatched up virtually every new listing coming on the market. Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices. Home sales are continuing to play a part in propping up the economy. With additional stimulus likely to pass and several vaccines now available, the housing outlook looks solid for this year.” — Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist

“This year, more than ever, we are prepared and eager to help families and neighbors secure housing. NAR is working to close the racial homeownership gap, secure equal access to housing for all Americans and address housing affordability issues plaguing communities across the country.” — Charlie Oppler, NAR President

“Rising sales clearly show that Americans have experienced a fundamental shift in the importance of home over the course of the pandemic. They aren’t waiting until the traditional spring buying season. We are in the dead of winter, yet people are still looking to size up, find places with more space or a much-needed office.” — Bill Banfield, Rocket Mortgage Executive Vice President of Capital Markets

“The January increase in existing-home sales pushed the annual sales pace to almost 6.7 million units, close to levels last seen in 2006. The housing market is starting the year on a strong note, driven by sustained housing demand, low mortgage rates, and the economy regaining its footing.

“Despite scarce inventory levels in the entry-level portion of the market, first-time buyers represented a third of sales last month. We expect a significant portion of purchase demand in the coming years to be driven by millennials and the younger-age cohorts.

“Overall, low housing supply and rising prices continue to be a constraint on an even higher sales pace. The number of homes for sale declined yet again, falling to a record low of 1.04 million units—a 1.9-months’ worth of supply. The median sales price has come down from a record high in October, but at $303,900, it was still 14% higher than a year ago. Tight inventory levels continue to create a competitive market for buyers and are pushing prices higher. Yesterday’s [at press time] U.S. Census Bureau report showed that new residential construction activity continues to rise, which hopefully bodes well for more choices for buyers and slower price growth in the spring.” — Joel Kan, Mortgage Bankers Association Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting

By RISMedia Staff

CoreLogic® recently released the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ for December 2020, providing a lookback at the state of the housing market and the pandemic’s impact on home price performance throughout 2020.

The housing market exceeded expectations in 2020, closing out the year with the highest annual home price gain since February 2014 in December at 9.2%. Despite a blip in April, home-purchase demand surged as record-low mortgage rates persuaded first-time homebuyers to enter the market. Meanwhile, the consequences of the pandemic were seen in the dwindling supply of homes—dropping, on average, 24% below 2019 levels—as homeowners delayed selling.

These factors translated to significant home price growth in 2020, surpassing the previous year’s levels with an average monthly year-over-year gain of 5.7%, compared with 3.8% in 2019. However, with the severe shortage of for-sale homes, we may see rising affordability concerns and some prospective buyers priced out of the market in 2021.

Top Takeaways:

– Nationally, home prices increased 9.2% in December 2020, compared with December 2019. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 1% compared to November 2020.

– December 2020 gains across all of the 10 select metropolitan areas surpassed their December 2019 levels.

– Affordability concerns continue to persist as prices continue to steeply rise. For instance, in San Diego, prices increased 10.4% year-over-year in December 2020 compared to the 3% gain December 2019. San Diego home prices are also forecasted to increase an additional 8.2% over the next 12 months.

– At the state level, Idaho, Indiana and Maine had the strongest price growth in December, up 19.1%, 16.1% and 15.2%, respectively.

“At the start of the pandemic, many braced for a Great Recession-era collapse of the housing market,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “However, market conditions leading into the crisis—namely low home supply, desire for more space and millennial demand—amplified the rapid acceleration of home prices.”

“Two record lows are fueling home price gains: for-sale inventory and mortgage rates,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “Prospective sellers with flexible timetables have opted to delay listing their home until the pandemic fades or they are vaccinated. We can expect more inventory to come available in the second half of the year, leading to slowing in price growth toward year-end.”

For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

Real Estate Trends Have Changed Due to COVID

The coronavirus pandemic changed many things, buying and selling trends among them. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently released its annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report, which found that the pandemic incentivized buyers to search out multi-generational homes, while pushing sellers to sell their properties faster.

According to the report, buyers who purchased after March were more likely to seek out multi-generational homes. These purchases accounted for 15 percent of sales after March, compared to 11 percent for those who closed before April. This may have to do with quarantining periods, during which consumers stayed home, individuals moved back in with their parents, and some worked remotely, causing people to rethink their living spaces.

“The coronavirus, without a doubt, led homebuyers to reassess their housing situations and even reconsider home sizes and destinations,” said Jessica Lautz, vice president of Demographics and Behavioral Insights at NAR. “Buyers sought housing with more rooms, more square footage and more yard space, as they may have desired a home office or home gym,” she added. “They also shopped for larger homes because extra space would allow households to better accommodate older adult relatives or young adults that are now living within the residence. So many sellers were eager to get out of their old home and move to something bigger that would better meet their needs during quarantine.”

Due to a growing interest in having more space, as well as added privacy, buyers who purchased after March were likely to relocate to the suburbs and pay more for that home. On average, buyers who purchased before April spent $270,000 on a property. After April, that number increased to $339,400, on average. According to NAR, the longevity of homes may shrink for these purchasers, with post-April buyers likely to stay in their home for 10 years compared to the 15 years forecast for pre-April buyers.

COVID also impacted people’s sense of immediacy. NAR found that owners who sold in 2020 were more likely to say their need to sell was “at least somewhat urgent.” In addition, 18 percent of those who sold in April or later likely sold because their home was too small, compared to the 13 percent before April.

There was a demographics-related impact as well. The average buyer age is 55, found NAR—an all-time high. The average first-time buyer was 33 years old, and first-time buyers made up 31 percent of all buyers, down from 33 percent in 2019 and the lowest percentage since 1987. NAR also reported a slight rebound in single women buyers, from 17 percent to 18 percent YoY.

In terms of searching and the purchasing process, starting online has continued to grow in popularity. According to NAR, 97 percent of buyers searched for their home online—the highest percentage and up from last year’s 93 percent. On average, buyers looked at nine homes in person and an additional five homes via online virtual tour. Most buyers (88 percent) used an agent to purchase their home—a near-historical high. Ninety-one percent of buyers said they would “definitely” or “probably” use the same agent in the future.

“Some buyers purchased their homes before ever physically seeing them in person,” said Lautz. “They researched, viewed photos online and did virtual tours from their computers and phones, and ultimately made an offer through their agent.”

“REALTORS® did their part in not only keeping afloat America’s real estate industry, but also in helping sustain our nation’s economy as it faced unprecedented and unexpected challenges throughout the past year,” said NAR President Vince Malta, broker at Malta & Co., Inc., in San Francisco, Calif. “We are all in unknown territory with this pandemic, so it’s no surprise that more buyers than ever turned to agents to help them navigate through some of the uncertainties and one of the most complex, competitive markets any of us have ever seen.”

To read the entire report, click here.

For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor.

From Housing Wire

This week’s dip marks 13 consecutive weeks of rates below 3%

October 22, 2020, 10:01 am By Alex Roha

The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 2.8% this week, another record low, Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday. The rate fell one basis points from the week prior and is now six basis points lower than the original all-time low set in mid-September.

The average fixed rate for a 15-year mortgage was 2.33%, falling from last week’s 2.35%.

After this week’s dip, there have now been 13 consecutive weeks when average mortgage rates have been below 3%, and rates have broken records 11 times this year.

“Mortgage rates remain very low, providing homeowners who have not already taken advantage of this environment ample opportunity to do so,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Mortgage rates today are on average more than a full percentage point lower than rates over the last five years.”

In March, in an effort to buffer the economic blows from the shutdown, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced the Fed would start buying bonds to prevent a credit crunch and make borrowing cheaper. According to Fed data, the central bank has bought over $1 trillion in bonds backed by home loans since then.

While purchase loans are seeing record-low rates, the adverse market fee imposed on refinance loans by the FHFA in August make record lows for those loans unlikely.

During this week’s Mortgage Bankers Association annual event, the heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac discussed the adverse market fee.

“As you know, safety and soundness is one, two, and three for us,” said Fannie Mae CEO Hugh Frater. “And for us to play our role in all markets, good and bad, markets small and large, we have to do it safely and soundly with long-term risk management in mind. And that’s the rationale for this change, as the GSEs are shouldering significant risks associated with the pandemic — as the principal risk taker, we have to price that risk appropriately.”

He added that while the housing market has demonstrated real resiliency, “many millions of borrowers are under stress, there’s still significant risk caused by economic uncertainty both in the near term and the longer term. And we’re required by law and regulation to be compensated for these risks and these costs.”

Freddie Mac CEO David Brickman struck a similar tone, saying that the GSEs have provided “extraordinary support” to the market.

“Costs have changed, risks have changed. What we put in place is an appropriate and prudent response to that change in the external environment for us to support struggling homeowners.”

They both noted that with interest rates still low, borrowers will realize savings, even with the 50 basis point refinance fee factored in. “But obviously, anybody who’s refinancing their mortgage at a lower rate is already beginning to save in terms of their mortgage payments, this only means they save just a little bit less than they would have otherwise,” said Brickman.