A recent property data survey reveals that a rapidly growing base of homebuyers amidst a slower rate of new homes built has created a market that favors Realtors and home sellers alike.

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A recent property data survey reveals that a rapidly growing base of homebuyers amidst a slower rate of new homes built has created a market that favors Realtors and home sellers alike.

The Century 21 report, which accounts for 2,000 Americans, roughly 33 percent of which were looking to buy a home, showed that homebuyers are currently so eager to close the deal they were willing to make compromises on their location and other home preferences, according to CNN. 

"The recovery has transformed the mindset of many buyers and sellers who grew accustomed to the buyers' market we saw for years," said Rick Davidson, CEO of Century 21. "Buyer confidence is building back up and demand is strong... sellers are now in a more favorable position."

Residential sales rose in April
The rate of sale for new single-family homes experienced an uptick from March to April, landing at a seasonally adjusted rate of 454,000 homes sold annually, according to the Census Bureau. In March, that rate was calculated at 444,000, and currently, new single family homes are sold at a rate higher than the 29 percent in April of 2012. 

The number of existing homes for sale dropped by 13.6 percent from April of last year, and while residential sales rose, the Century 21 survey revealed that just 11 percent of bids placed in the past six months were accepted. 

What makes it a sellers' market?
The rise in home sale prices has encouraged many Americans to put their homes on the market, but so did the reduced amount of time that it took to make a sale. A ZipRealty report showed that homes sold after an average of 32 days on the market, 16 days less than it took the average home in April 2012. 

"It's less of an indication of buyer momentum flagging and more of seller momentum picking up, finally," Lanny Baker, chief executive of ZipRealty told the Wall Street Journal. He went on to note that some such indications include a close reflection of the listing price in the final sale and an overall rise in the listed price of houses. 

San Francisco is one of several regions that sported almost 33 percent fewer homes on the market, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Rising mortgage interest rates may affect home sales in expensive regions, but experts do not anticipate that they will have much of an impact on high value home sales.

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Rising mortgage interest rates may affect home sales in expensive regions, but experts do not anticipate that they will have much of an impact on high value home sales. The increase is due to the tapering off of the Federal Reserve stimulus plan, which was the driving force behind such low rates. While the uptick is will likely slow the rate of home sales, it is not expected to reflect a decrease in mortgage records.  

"I anticipate that the rate [for a 30-year fixed mortgage] will probably go up to 5 percent by the end of next year," Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors told Forbes. "So from now until next year, the general direction will be upward." 

Yun noted that the rate of home sales in affordable regions isn't likely to experience a drastic impact, as the rise of interest rates will have less of an effect on mortgages in the areas, but more higher priced homes might feel the difference more. 

However, experts remain optimistic about the recovery of the housing market overall. John Canally told the news source that the he suspected the higher rates might be a positive thing, cooling off some of the "frothiness" in housing. 

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the week ending June 6 was 3.91 percent, up 0.1 percent from the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. 

While consumers' confidence in their ability to buy or sell a home grew in May, the amount of competition for buying a home decreased, according to bidding war public property records.

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While consumers' confidence in their ability to buy or sell a home grew in May, the amount of competition for buying a home decreased, according to public property records. 

Competition for home sales falls slightly
A recent Redfin report shows that the amount of bidding wars decreased from April to May, and at 69.5 percent, it closely resembles the rate of bidding wars in May of last year. This number fell from the 73.3 percent of competing Redfin offers recorded in April. 

Decreases in bidding wars could indicate a cooling market, but the news source attributes the small dip to a rise in supply of houses, which lessens the need to battle over a home. Property data shows that 6.4 percent more homes hit the market from March to April, which is a the first increase of its kind since 2010. 

Roughly 40 percent of survey respondents said that they feel as though the economy will continue to heal, and 41 percent said that they expected their personal financial situation to improve over the next year. A survey low of 13 percent was hit among those who said their household income is notably lower than it was last year. 

Consumer confidence on the rise in May
At 76 percent, the majority of consumers who responded to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey last month said that now would be a good time to buy a house, an uptick from March and April's 71 percent. A record high of 40 percent of respondents said that now would be a good time to sell a home, up from 30 percent in April. This time last year, only 16 percent of consumers thought that it would be beneficial to sell their home. Both numbers are unprecedented since the National Housing Survey's inception in 2012. 

"This jump may foreshadow a gradual return to more normal levels of housing supply from their lows of recent months," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "In turn, increased housing supply could serve to temper increasing consumer home price expectations."

Those price expectations currently reflect the rise in home prices from the past few months. The average price is currently $165,000, according to RealtyTrac, which denotes a rise of 1 percent since March 2012.

Should Congress approve the proposed immigration reform, real estate agents should expect to have a lot less free time.

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Should Congress approve the proposed immigration reform, real estate agents should expect to have a lot less free time. 

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals generated estimates of what the housing market implications are of the immigration bill that is currently before Congress based on a model created for their 2004 study, The Potential for Homeownership Among Undocumented Workers and property data projections.

An estimated 3 million new homebuyers would emerge on the market if the reform passes, creating more than $500 billion in home sales, income and spending in the national housing economy over a period of five years, according to the NAHREP. The potential pool would also contribute about $233 billion in real estate commissions, consumer spending and origination fees.

Up to 6 million undocumented residents are expected to seek citizenship if the bill is approved, according to the Association, and it is anticipated that half of that number would become homeowners. 

"Foreign-born householders have a high value and strong desire for ownership," said Juan Martinez, president of NAHREP. "They have been here in our midst for years, working and participating in our economy. Legitimizing them through immigration reforms would finally give them the access and the confidence to buy homes."

The National Association of Home Builders asked that the bill include an easy and workable way to verify the citizenship of potential employees, according to DS News. 

Potential increase in Realtor income
Based on the age and income characteristics of the typical homebuyer, which is roughly an annual $40,000, undocumented residents would be able to afford an estimated sale price of $173,600. For Realtors, this would generate about $28 billion in income, going off of an average of 5.5 percent sales commission. 

"Immigration reform would unleash pent-up demand for homeownership by millions of undocumented immigrants. It would help re-establish homeownership as a driving force in building wealth and accelerate the recovery of the nation's economy," said Alejandro Becerra, former senior housing fellow.

Strong existing Hispanic presence in housing market 
The U.S. housing market is already contains a large percentage of Hispanic households, according to the New York Times. The amount of Hispanic homeowners grew by 58 percent from 2000 to 2012, compared to 5 percent for the non-Hispanic population. This could be due to the fact that this national demographic is greatly made up of young people who are growing into a homeownership role at a faster rate than the rest of the population.

Property data shows investors from out of the U.S. are answering the allure of an improving market by purchasing sizable amounts of national real estate.

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Property data shows investors from out of the U.S. are answering the allure of an improving market by purchasing sizable amounts of national real estate. 

International property buyers spent 25 percent more on commercial property from last April, Bloomberg reported, citing information from Real Capital Analytics, landing the amount of money spent by foreign investors at $7.97 billion. This is compared to a year-long $4.7 billion low in 2009. 

"We've seen steadily increasing demand from non-U.S. investors," Max Swango, director of client portfolio management for Invesco Real Estate, told the news source. "The interest comes from all parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East. You've got some relatively young, very large sovereign-wealth funds that are just starting to actively invest."

Commercial buildings garner attention
It's the high-quality properties in urban hubs that are getting the most attention from international investors, according to Bloomberg. The largest recent purchase by foreign buyers was not included in the figures, but it was the significant sale of a 40 percent stake in New York's General Motors Building by the families of Chinese real estate developer Zhang Xin and Brazilian billionaire banker Moise Safra as shown by public property records. 

"It is the large trophy deals that really move the foreign volume," Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics, told Bloomberg. 

The news source notes that the U.S. in particular is a target for investment because of the sheer volume of commercial real estate it houses. One particular area of appeal is the amount of control that an investor has over property as opposed to shares. Property buyers have to ability to alter their purchase as they see fit, whereas a shareholder is likely to have no influence on their investment. 

It's also an appealing area given the recent upswing in the economy, promising a rise in the value of investments in the near future. 

Local economies influence sales 
Of course, the level of activity coming from outside the U.S. varies, depending on how the local economy is doing. Jaime Fink, a senior managing director at broker HFF Inc. noted that Canada has recently topped Australia, the lead foreign investor in 2006 and 2007. 

"The South Koreans are very active today, the Japanese less so," Fink told the news source.

Thirteen cities, including Dallas and Miami, make up 81 percent of commercial real estate purchases by foreign buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

Real estate agents may find their schedules filling up, as good news on the housing market front is reported in an increased number of regions.

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Real estate agents may find their schedules filling up, as good news on the housing market front is reported in an increased number of regions.

The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index showed more than 70 percent of metropolitan areas as improved for the fifth straight month, in terms of real estate property records and other economic indicators. 

The number of housing markets that showed signs of improvement increased by roughly 2 percent to land at 263 in June, according to the Index. The report defines a healing market by property data, the proportions of new housing permits, a decreased level of unemployment and a rise in listed house prices over a six-month span. Laredo, Texas; Chicago; and Sioux City, Iowa, were among those added to the Index this month. 

"This is the fifth consecutive month in which the IMI has designated more than 70 percent of U.S. metros as improving," noted Rick Judson, chairman of the NAHB and home builder from North Carolina. "While that's a good sign that the housing recovery is on solid footing, we know that various challenges are slowing its progress - including continuing issues with credit availability for builders and buyers, as well as appraisals that aren't keeping up with the rising cost of construction."

Should this trend continue, Realtors can expect to see a further increase in improved markets in the coming months. 

Positive conditions in the housing market may be underway, as mortgage rate averages continued to climb in early June.

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Positive conditions in the housing market may be underway, as mortgage rate averages continued to climb in early June.

Mortgage rates rose during the week ending June 6 for the fifth consecutive week, with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages reaching 3.91 percent, according to a report from Freddie Mac. This is the first time the average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage has climbed past 3 percent since May of last year, landing at 3.03 percent the report noted. This is an increase from last week's 2.98 percent. 

"In its June 5 regional economic conditions report, known as the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve noted that overall economic activity increased at a modest to moderate pace of April and May in all its districts except for Dallas which indicated strong economic growth," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. 

Further improvement in the economic recovery situation was noticeable in the recent gains in confidence among Americans. Consumer sentiment in May jumped to 84.5, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. This was the highest it's been since the recession. 

Real estate agents can look forward to a possible increase in their compensation, as commissions are on the rise at an unusually fast pace.

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Real estate agents may experience a possible increase in their compensation, as commissions are on the rise at an unusually fast pace. 

The housing market has been in a state of recovery for months, but realtors, who were affected by the recent recession more than most, are finally seeing the improvement implemented in their salaries. 

There was an uptick of 2.7 percent in the value of commissions for realtors for every transaction from March to April, the highest gain of its kind in eight years, found in the producer-price index. It was also the third-largest monthly increase in public property records. The Wall Street Journal reported an increase in home prices overall could be held responsible for such a rise - sellers are more likely to grant a full three percent commission when their home sells for a higher price. 

"As commissions and volume goes up, there's going to be a decent-sized improvement in their earnings," Evan Mann, deal analyst at Gimme Credit told the news source. 

Real-estate brokerage firms' stocks go up
Realtor firms are showing signs of an improved market in their stock prices as well as in their commissions. The news source notes that the largest real-estate brokerage firm in the country, Realogy Holdings Corporation, has hiking the prices of their share by 79 percent since their initial public offering, and for good reason. Between 2011 and 2012, their average home sale price rose 7.7 percent. Trulia and Zillow, two relatively new firms, have reflected similar success in their shares. The former's share price rose 58 percent from their initial offering, and the latter's recently landed at $52 per share, up from a year long low. 

New realtors emerge
As the housing market improves - and Realtors' commissions along with it - retired real estate agents are renewing their licenses, and new realtors are getting theirs for the first time at an increased rate, according to WBIR. The Tennessee Real Estate Commission is busier than ever, as requests for licenses are at a five-year high. They issued more than 1,000 licenses from January to April of 2013, at a median of 258 per month. Real estate agent Vickie York of Cry-Leike Real Estate Services noted that he came back to the field out of enjoyment of the work, but was also lucky to have come back in a market that wasn't hurting. 

A recent boom in the Miami housing market can be expected to keep Florida Realtors occupied, as foreign homebuyers are looking to tie their assets to U.S. properties.

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A recent boom in the Miami housing market can be expected to keep Florida Realtors occupied, as foreign homebuyers are looking to tie their assets to U.S. properties. 

Home sales in the specified market experienced a 34 percent uptick from February to March, and the average home price of non-foreclosed houses reached $190,000 in the latter month, according to RealtyTrac. 

Homebuyers out of Venezuela in particular are looking to invest in Miami houses, given the political uncertainty after the passing of President Hugo Chavez, according to CNN. Wealthy citizens of Venezuela had been buying properties in Florida since Chavez's election in 1998 to safeguard their assets, but recent unrest seems to have created another increase in buying. 

Property data reveals that sales of Miami single-family homes in the first quarter increased by 10.3 percent as compared to the previous year, according to the news source. An increase in home sales conducted with cash implies a strong presence of out-of-country buyers in the housing market. 

Miami luxury condos enter the market
Downtown Miami saw five new projects beginning the construction of condominiums in the first week in May, CNN notes. Le Parc at Brickell was one such building, offering condos at a minimum of 622 square feet for $280,000 and at most 1,566 square foot units priced at $699,000.

The Astor Companies may end up capitalizing on the housing boom first, according to GlobeSt.com. The company developed a total of 59 condominiums in 2007, and now, after completing $300,000 renovations to the units, is putting them on the market, just in time to benefit from renewed interest. 

"With high demands for luxury units in the Miami urban core and adjacent areas, buyers will see the value in purchasing an existing top notch product in a great building without having to wait for construction to be completed," Peter Torres, vice president of Astor, told the source. 

Behind the boom
This is not the first time Miami has heard of foreign homebuyers. The Miami Association of Realtors reported that the market has seen an increase of French interest in city property, hot on the heels of domestic homebuyers in April. The group collected data on the amount and location of origin of searches on the association's website. Brazil was ranked third in terms of search volume, and Venezuela ranked sixth, up from their 2012 position. 

Real estate agents may be finding that they have more ground to cover, as the frequency of mansion construction increased in recent months.

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Real estate agents may be finding that they have more ground to cover, as the frequency of mansion construction increased in recent months. 

The median home size rose 8 percent from 2009 to 2012 to 2,306 square feet, according to a report from the Census Bureau. This increase set a record high for the figure. Industry experts experienced a general decline in home size of 6 percent during the economic downturn, and attributed it to a new attitude among homebuyers. It was assumed that younger generations wanted to live in smaller residences in more central locations, and baby boomers were downsizing once their children moved out. 

Jeffry Roos, regional president for Lennar, a home construction company, says otherwise, according to CNN. He noted that the shrinkage was more likely due to the fact that young home buyers simply couldn't afford large houses. However, now that consumers are gaining confidence in the improved economy, mansions are once again in high demand. 

Approximately 40 percent of single-family homes that were finished in 2012 had four bedrooms or more, the report explained. The average final price of single-family homes in the same year was $292,000, an improvement from the average of $267,900 in the previous year. On average, newly built houses sported three bedrooms, and a new high was set for the amount of single-family homes with a minimum of three bathrooms at 30 percent. 

Further data shows interest in larger homes
A sample of 3,600 home buyers wanted, a 2,226 square foot home, on average, according to a property data survey from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Individuals younger than 35 years old desired a house that had 2,494 square feet, more than the 2,065 square feet that those 65 and older preferred. This data further disputes the 2009 theory that younger home buyers simply desire less space. 

Marcie DePlaza, division president for GL Homes, told CNN that, since the first half of 2012, the homes that her company sold were roughly 7 percent larger on average. 

This is amidst the decline in the sale of foreclosed houses, an additional sign of healing in the housing market. Foreclosure filings in the U.S. ticked down 5 percent from March to April, RealtyTrac reports.