The average price of a newly marketed home jumped by more than £5,000 month-on-month in March, in signs that “we now seem to be past the bottom of the market,” according to a property website.
Across Britain, the typical price tag on a home increased by 1.5% or £5,279, Rightmove said.
The increase pushed the average asking price to £368,118.
Rightmove said the month-on-month rise was higher than the usual 1.0% average seen in March.
The average asking price is still sitting £4,776 below a peak seen in May 2023.
Both agreed sales and buyer demand are higher than this time last year, although the market remains sensitive to pricing, Rightmove said.
Attractively-priced properties are quickly being cherry-picked, but over-optimistically priced homes are taking longer to find a buyer, it added.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “March is typically a strong month for asking price growth, as both buyer and seller activity levels rise and the spring selling season gets under way.
“However, the stronger-than-usual price growth this March indicates that new sellers are feeling much more confident, with some perhaps being overoptimistic, that there is enough buyer activity and affordability in their local market to achieve a higher price.
“Despite the above-average price increases in this opening three months of the year, asking prices are still £4,776 below their peak in May 2023. For those who can afford to buy and have yet to take action to move this year, this may provide a window of opportunity to buy as we now seem to be past the bottom of the market.
“While some sellers are still being overoptimistic with their pricing expectations, there are also more sellers who are aware of the need to be negotiable and realistic, with elevated interest rates compared to recent years still stretching affordability for many buyers.”
The average time to find a buyer is now 71 days, which is the longest at this time of year since 2019, the website said.
Mr Bannister added: “Sellers are right to feel more confident and optimistic this year, but buyer affordability remains stretched and higher mortgage rates are an ongoing challenge. With the market still sensitive to pricing and external events, some caution and willingness to negotiate is advised for sellers who are keen to find a buyer in the spring market.”
Marc von Grundherr, director of estate agent Benham and Reeves said: “While mortgage affordability remains an issue, it certainly hasn’t dampened the appetite of London buyers and we’ve continued to see a high level of activity at all price thresholds, but particularly across the super-prime market. Buyers at the very top end of the ladder are acting with great confidence, with the higher cost of borrowing not presenting the same obstacle as the average homeowner.
“As a result, we’re seeing high demand for super-prime stock and many more buyers circling due to a more constrained supply of suitable properties in this sector.”
The figures were released as a lettings index from property firm Hamptons indicated that growth in rental prices cooled in February.
Last month, the average rent on a newly-let home in Britain rose by 7.1% annually, slowing from 8.3% in January and a peak of 12.0% in August 2023.
Rental growth is still running faster than inflation and increases mean the average tenant moving into a new property would pay an extra £87 per month or £1,044 a year more in rent than if they moved in February last year, Hamptons said.
Across Britain, the average monthly rent on a newly-let property in February was £1,317.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Lower mortgage rates have meant landlords needing to refinance in 2024 are seeing a smaller adjustment in their mortgage costs than those who remortgaged in 2023. This is slowly helping to balance mortgage investors’ books.”
Hamptons’ lettings index uses data from the Countrywide Group to track changes to the cost of renting and is based on achieved rather than advertised rents.
A group of neighbours have been left furious after a ‘monstrous’ back garden shed was built by a nearby resident.
Two homeowners are considering selling up and move away from the development in Thurmaston, Leicestershire that they claim will block their sunlight and infringe on their privacy.
It all started when Gurnam Singh, 40, was given the green light to build extensions to his garden shed and semi-detached house.
However, neighbours were left shocked after the 13ft high ‘eyesore’ in Singh’s back garden was given planning permission.
Plans for the property were approved last year
Charnwood Borough Council
One of the homeowners, a mother of three who asked not to be named, told MailOnline they would be selling up, saying: “I feel I’m being driven out because of it. I blame the owners, I blame the council. The development is a disgrace and should never have been allowed, full stop.
“I have lived here 25 years and now I’m going to sell up, if I can get anyone to buy the place now. The planning authority didn’t even bother telling me and others that is had been approved. If I wanted to live in a built up area I would have bought a house in the city.
“‘I have met [Singh] at the property to raise my objections and he’s always been polite but at the end of the day he’s got what he wants and some of us don’t like it but the council has allowed it.
“It looks into my back bedroom windows and affects my privacy. They knocked down a flat roof garage structure to build a single storey garden structure with a pitched roof. The wall is right up against my fence so it’s no wonder I am annoyed.”
LATEST NEIGHBOUR ROWS
The new developments for the Thurmaston property has split opinion
Google Maps
One neighbour told MailOnline: “It it a complete eyesore and it has devalued my house. Even the parish council objected and couldn’t believe it got through.”
However, Singh, a father-of-two who runs building firm Construction5 Ltd, has defended the construction, saying he and his wife have faced issues with the planning.
He said: “I don’t know why there is a problem with some people. We have done everything right and nothing wrong. We are paying a mortgage for that house and rent on another property to live in, and it is a struggle.
“We have been given permission for a garden extension, boundary to boundary, but we have left a gap. It will be a gym and leisure room and garden storage, and we are building a bigger house but not too big.”
His wife Ranjir Kaur added: “W are trying to get a house built, and we want to finish the works and move in s a family. Is that too much to ask? At the moment with the cost of living crisis we are losing out, paying more and more rent because of neighbours’ complaints which are holding us back they may be using this an ammunition.”
A spokesperson for the planning authority, Charnwood Borough Council, said they were “unable to comment on individual applications.”
However, their report approving the plans said: “The proposed development complies with the relevant development plan policies. It would not result in any harm to neighbouring amenity.
“It would not result in any detrimental visual harm to the character and appearance of the host dwelling, street scene or surrounding area. It would not result in harm to highway safety.”
Thousands of wealthy retirees are ditching Florida and now choosing to spend their golden years in Appalachia instead – but not everyone is happy about it.
With its warm weather and low tax burden, the sunshine state has long been known as the retirement capital of the US.
Yet Southern Appalachia, known for its stunningly beautiful views, is increasingly giving Florida a run for its money, Wall Street Journal reported.
The population in counties in southern Appalachia designated as retirement or recreational areas grew by 3.8 percent between April 2020 and July 2022 – more than six times the national average, according to Hamilton Lombard, a demographer at the University of Virginia.
But while older populations are attracted by cheaper living and housing cost, lower crime levels and pleasant weather with fewer hurricanes, some locals are furious about the impact this influx is having on property prices, traffic and even restaurant bookings – with one resident saying ‘they should go back to where they came from’.
Southern Appalachia is becoming a thriving retirement community due to an aging and affluent population, but some local services are struggling to keep up
Helen (right), born and raised in Dawson, is not pleased with the influx of transplants moving to her rural neighborhood
Pictured: A map of Southern Appalachia in relation to the rest of the United States
Ed Helms, 75, and his wife moved from Panama City Beach, Florida to a gated community, half of it in Dawson and half in a neighboring county, to escape natural disasters, congestion, and the rising cost of living.
‘Our property insurance was going sky high,’ Helms, who worked in mergers and acquisitions, told the Wall Street Journal.
‘We got tired of being unable to find a place to sit in restaurants. Everything was getting out of reason. We wouldn’t go back for anything.’
People like the Helms are often referred to as ‘halfbacks’ – a nickname for those originally from the Northeast and Midwest who moved to Florida before eventually settling somewhere in the middle.
The trend back in the early 2000s and then slowed during the recession – but has now picked up again in earnest.
Gayle Manchin, the The Appalachian Regional Commission’s co-chair and wife of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, told WSJ she believes the pandemic has fueled the retirees’ interest in moving back to more isolated, nature-filled areas.
According to Lombard of the University of Virginia, who has been tracking the pattern, an average of 328,000 individuals from other regions of the country have relocated to the five-state region of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee annually since 2020.
The Georgia county of Dawson has proven particularly popular, reporting a 12.5 percent population increase from 2020 to 2022, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.
But this huge influx has put enormous pressure on local services, leaving some lifelong residents like Helen Anderson unimpressed.
Anderson was born and raised in Dawsonville, Georgia, her family making ends meet by farming chicken and selling moonshine from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Atlanta.
‘They ought to go back where they come from,’ she told the Wall Street Journal when discussing the newcomers.
Manchin told the WSJ that demand for affordable housing has skyrocketed as more workers are needed to serve the influx of halfbacks.
The migration of these wealthy retirees has spread governments thin as they trying to extend healthcare, housing, and other services to its citizens, she added.
But chairman of the Dawson County Board of Commissions Billy Thurmond noted that some of people who stop him to complain about the traffic and development are ironically the same people who moved to the county in recent years.
‘People who have moved here now want us to put up a gate and stop anybody else from moving here,’ he told WSJ. ‘It doesn’t work that way.’
County Manager Joey Leverette said medical calls to eldercare facilities in the county are also taking up resources. For that reason, county officials are considering splitting up staff to dedicate some to just emergency calls, freeing up teams to respond to fire calls.
‘It’s a game changer,’ Leverette told WSJ. ‘If we don’t get the funding, we’ll just have to keep plodding along as best we can.’
An average of 328,000 individuals from other regions of the country have relocated to the five-state region of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee annually since 2020
The population in counties in southern Appalachia designated as retirement or recreational areas grew by 3.8% -more than six times the national average -from April 2020 to July 2022
The demand for affordable housing has skyrocketed for the influx of new workers serving the halfbacks moving in
County Manager Joey Leverette said medical calls to eldercare facilities in the county are taking up resources
Retirees are leaving Florida in droves due to increased cost of living, natural disasters, and congestion
Southern Appalachia has been known for its rural and serene nature
The U.S. Census Bureau has projected further development for the county, according to a piece that the weekly Dawson County News recently shared on Facebook.
One person commented: ‘The entire south and southern living is being ruined.’
Linda Bennett, 81, has lived in Dawson County. Now that she is widowed, she resides in a home close to Georgia Route 400. She cherished being in the country, but she worries that North Georgia will never be the same with so many newcomers.
‘It has grown so much; it is just unreal,’ she told WSJ. ‘With all the houses and apartments they’re building, it’s not going to get any better. How could it?’
After her husband died, Delaware native Karen Rickards, 73, moved from Tallahassee, Florida to Dawson, Georgia.
A halfback herself, she is wondering how much more growth Dawson County can handle.
‘They are building house after house after house,’ she told WSJ. ‘Atlanta’s moving up here, no doubt.’
Shake Smart CEO Kevin Gelfand will remain at the helm.| Photo: Shutterstock.
The private-equity firm NewSpring has invested in the smoothie concept Shake Smart, the firm said Thursday.
The investment comes through NewSpring Franchise, which is dedicated to franchise and multi-concept brands. The firm did not disclose whether it took a majority stake in Shake Smart Holdings LLC.
The concept, which has 45 units, mostly on college campuses, is known for its healthful menu of protein shakes, smoothies, acai bowls, wraps and avocado toasts. CEO Kevin Gelfand, who co-founded the chain in 2011, will remain at the helm, and NewSpring Franchise founders Satya Ponnuru and Patrick Sugrue will join Shake Smart’s board.
“Shake Smart was founded to provide healthy, delicious and nutrient dense food and beverages to students and consumers with increasingly on-the-go lifestyles,” said Gelfand, in a statement. “I am excited to partner with NewSpring Franchise founders Satya Ponnuru and Patrick Sugrue as Shake Smart looks to accelerate unit openings even further in this next phase of growth. Their investment and operating experience will be integral as we continue our expansion.”
It’s not the first restaurant investment for NewSpring Franchise. The fund has also invested in Duck Donuts and Federal Donuts and Chicken, as well as non-restaurant chains, like Blo Blow Dry Bar and Central Bark.
Tecum Capital and NorthCoast Mezzanine provided mezzanine debt financing and equity co-investment for the transaction. Miller & Martin PLLC served as counsel for NewSpring and Shake Smart was advised by Brookwood Associates and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
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Five Iron Golf’s newest location at Grand Central Station in New York City. | Photo courtesy of Five Iron.
Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) has made a $20 million investment in the eatertainment concept Five Iron Golf.
The New York-based Five Iron, which has 24 units in the U.S. and four countries, said Tuesday the investment helped support the opening of a 16,390-square-foot flagship location at Grand Central Station in New York City. It will be the sixth location in the city for the concept, which is also planning to franchise.
The flagship has 15 golf simulators, two full-service bars and lounge areas with other games, like air hockey, billiards and shuffleboard. It’s also available for group and corporate events.
“We are excited to partner with Five Iron Golf to further enhance their innovative blend of golf, hospitality, and good food,” said Meyer, who is also founder and executive chair of Union Square Hospitality Group, in a statement. “This investment is a testament to our belief in Five Iron’s vision and commitment to opening the world of golf both to enthusiasts and avid amateurs who want to practice their inner love for golf without having to visit the links.”
Meyer, who is also founder and chairman of Shake Shack, is partnered in EHI with Mark Leavitt, Pete Mavrovitis and Harry Seherr-Thoss. With the investment, Mavrovitis will join Five Iron’s board.
Jared Solomon, CEO and co-founder of Five Iron, said the investment will help the concept accelerate growth, enhance offerings and deliver an unparalleled experience for guests.
EHI’s investments have included restaurant and food concepts, such as the ice cream brand Salt & Straw, Joe Coffee Company, Dig, Slutty Vegan, and the taco chain Tacombi, as well as tech companies, like the point-of-sale provider Qu.
Eatertainment concepts are on the rise, and Five Iron is one of several golf-focused chains designed to bring people together to play, eat and drink. Others include Topgolf, Puttshack and Puttery, as well as Popstroke.
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CAPE CARTERET — Cape Carteret commissioners voted Monday night to put a property the town bought in December 2023 up for sale through the upset bid process.
The decision came during the board’s monthly meeting in the town hall off Dolphin Street.
The town-owned property at 100 Taylor Notion Road is approximately 1.1 acres and was in 2023 to enable the planned new segment of the Cape Carteret trail to cross the southern portion of the property.
The town purchased the property for $125,000 and incurred an additional $10,000 of legal costs to secure title insurance. But acquisition of the land plan reduced the cost of the planned multi-use path construction by at least $50,000 and likely much more, according to Town Manager Frank Rush.
Cape Carteret will not formally list the property for sale with a real estate agent but will publicize the availability of the property on the town’s digital platforms, via direct communication and via signs posted on the property.
Any formal offer to purchase the parcel will be presented to the board at a future meeting, and the town will use the upset bid process for the actual sale of the parcel.
The upset bid process is outlined in NCGS 160A-269:§ l 60A-269. A city may receive, solicit, or negotiate an offer to purchase property and advertise it for upset bids. When an offer is made and the council proposes to accept it, the council shall require the offer or to deposit five percent (5%) of his bid with the city clerk and will publish a notice of the offer. The notice will contain a general description of the property, the amount and terms of the offer and a notice that within 10 days any person can raise the bid by not less than 10% of the first $1,000 and 5% of the remainder. When a bid is raised, the bidder must deposit with the town clerk 5% of the increased bid, and the clerk will readvertise the offer at the increased bid.
This procedure shall be repeated until no further qualifying upset bids are received, at which time the town can accept the offer and sell the property to the highest bidder. The town can reject any and all offers.
Rush said the reason to sell the property is that the town needs only about 65 feet of the parcel, an area equal to approximately a fourth of an acre.
“The previous owner reserved a sign area easement along the northern 100 feet of the property, an area equal to approximately .15 acre,” Rush told the board Monday. “The remaining land, approximately .7 of an acre remains available for future development by the town or another entity.”
The property is zoned single-family residential and is subject to Star Hill covenants that allow residential development. Commercial development is not authorized.
If the property is sold, the town will retain a multi-use path easement along the southern 65 feet of the property, and the existing sign area easement would remain intact along the northern 100 feet of the property.
The remaining portion of the parcel would be available for the construction of a new single-family residential unit by the new owner. The new owner would acquire the entire 1.1-acre parcel and the parcel would be encumbered by the two easements in perpetuity.
“The remaining land area available for future development can easily accommodate a new single-family residential unit,” Rush said. “The existing septic permit allows a four-bedroom home to be constructed on the lot, and there is sufficient lot depth to meet required setbacks and avoid the wastewater area.”
Rush said he believes the town can sell the property for $75,000 to $100,000, and the sale proceeds would be available for any public purpose determined by the board in the future.
Contact Brad Rich at 252-864-1532 or brad@thenewstimes.com.
There is “no robust evidence” Kāinga Ora activities impact house prices in surrounding areas, a leader in the state housing agency says.
But a Rotorua councillor disagrees, referencing locals’ “terrible, sad and upsetting stories” and offering to arrange for property experts to take the agency “through the evidence”.
The exchange came as representatives of the country’s biggest landlord addressed Rotorua Lakes Council’s Community and District Development Committee on Wednesday.
Kāinga Ora has about 900 homes in Rotorua and is making a major push to build more with 500 homes in the pipeline for 2024/25 – two-thirds of those new builds.
The scale of the building programme had some residents fearing Rotorua becoming the “social housing capital of New Zealand”, councillor Don Paterson said.
Kāinga Ora deputy chief executive, Central, Daniel Soughtton told the meeting a lower proportion (about 2.5 percent) of Rotorua’s housing was publicly owned compared to the national average of 4 percent.
“The large build you are seeing right now in your community is helping this community catch up to where other places are.”
He also said there was “no robust evidence” Kāinga Ora activity impacted the housing market “in terms of prices”.
“There is actually a positive effect. Where we have been upgrading and growing our housing as part of the Canterbury recovery following the earthquake, the surrounding areas actually did better in terms of property prices compared to those that didn’t have that level of investment.”
Councillor Conan O’Brien said the robust evidence councillors had was from living in Rotorua.
“We accept the emails, we listen to our constituents, we get the phone calls. We listen to some very terrible, sad and upsetting stories by people affected by some of the things you are not directly responsible for, I respect that. Personal behaviour is personal responsibility.”
O’Brien said he would be happy to organise a meeting for Kāinga Ora to hear from local real estate agents and rental agencies to talk them “through the evidence”.
“I hope that would be robust enough for you.”
Zero forced evictions
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty regional director Darren Toy said in the last six months 38 households in Rotorua had been “causing us a bit of grief”.
Complaints varied from noise issues, property care and disruptive behaviour. Toy said most were resolved with communication and formal meetings while more serious issues followed the Residential Tenancies Act process.
He said it was “actively issuing breach notices” but had not forced any evictions from Kāinga Ora or other properties in the past two years.
“We have had some moved on after discussions with them,” Toy said. “Without having to formally evict them.”
O’Brien said he believed some people impacted by poor Kāinga Ora tenant behaviour no longer complained to the council because they were “numb” to the issues.
$240m investment
Toy said the agency would invest $240 million in Rotorua in the 2024/25 year.
“We are targeting locals. Local subcontractors, local builders, local suppliers.”
There were no confirmed housing growth plans past that year until the government-commissioned independent review of Kāinga Ora was complete.
This was expected by the end of the month.
Given the number of projects happening in Rotorua, it was taking a city-wide approach to community engagement rather than project-by-project.
A map of all developments in the city could be viewed on its website.
Paterson, who instigated inviting the agency to the meeting, said he believed the number of builds contributed to a community perception.
“The whole rationale behind this [meeting] was to try and put these perceptions behind us so we can move on … a fair amount of [the perceptions] are just, because of what they have gone through.”
“People think the only building that is going on here is community housing … they are worried we are being turned into, the term that is being bandied about, the social housing capital of New Zealand.”
Paterson said while this was unfair, that was the perception.
Council district development general manager Jean-Paul Gaston said about half the consents coming to council were for government-assisted builds.
He said bringing the city up to the national average of public housing was “quite important”.
Rotorua had about 1.5 percent of the country’s population, 2.5 percent of beneficiaries and 3.3 percent of the housing register.
Rotorua’s higher unemployment and socio-economic positioning drove housing need, he said.
By the numbers: Rotorua public housing
- 2.5 per cent: Public housing in Rotorua housing stock, compared to about 4 per cent nationally
- About 950 households are on the Ministry of Social Development register, 250 in emergency housing
- 200 on the register were 55 or older
- 150 homes tenanted since July 2022, most from coming motels and temporary housing – family groups prioritised
- 130 homes built since June 2022
- 12 vacant Kāinga Ora homes
- 500 houses in the pipeline for 2024/2025. Of these, 332 were new builds and the rest existing stock renewals
- $240 million: Total planned Kāinga Ora investment in 2024/2025 year.
Source: Kāinga Ora
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
We are all geniuses in retrospect. Still, we can confidently say predictions of a housing market slump in 2023 were very wrong. Interest rates rose to levels not seen since 2008, but the housing market remained surprisingly sturdy.
First, we should give the forecasters some credit. House price data is a fiendishly tricky thing, and not everyone is on about the same numbers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures prices at completion; Halifax and Nationwide use data from their mortgage customers; Rightmove measures asking prices; and Savills measures house value, which ignores transactions entirely. Still, the consensus assumption from many experts was that over the 12 months to the end of 2023, house prices would sink between 5 and 10 per cent by some metric or another.
Admittedly, the 2023 calendar year is an arbitrary window for forecasting or recording data. Still, the slump did not happen. Not even close. Nationwide ultimately recorded a 1.8 per cent fall in prices in 2023, the ONS said 1.4 per cent, Rightmove 1.1 per cent, Savills said house values dropped a mere 0.3 per cent, and Halifax said prices rose by 1.8 per cent. For housing forecasters, 2023 was a predictive error equivalent to the Brexit vote, or Donald Trump’s presidential win. An anomaly they should have seen coming but did not.
In theory, rising interest rates hit buyers and owners alike. The former can no longer afford higher house prices because mortgages are more expensive. Meanwhile, many of the latter are forced into selling because they can no longer afford their mortgage.
Yet in 2023, owners held onto their homes because many more were on fixed-term mortgages than during the 2008 downturn, when variable-rate mortgages were much more popular. Rising wages and low unemployment, unlike in 2008, also helped them keep up with payments. So, even though buyers’ budgets shrank, sellers had less need to sell. The stand-off kept house prices as they were.
The numbers bear this out. IC analysis of HMRC data found that 2023 saw the lowest number of transactions in over a decade (see chart), and although mortgage arrears rose, they were nowhere near 2009 levels. In other words, most from the limited pool of sellers were not in dire straits.
The ‘I told you so’ award goes to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which outlined precisely how and why everything that happened would happen in a report from February 2023. In summary, its view was that all of the above combined with the persistent housing crisis keeping supply low would keep demand high even if budgets dropped.
But the JRF might turn out to be wrong, too. Bank of England data confirms that many homeowners will need to remortgage at higher rates between now and the end of 2026. As such, the central bank predicts monthly payments will rise to 9 per cent of post-tax income. It might not sound like a high figure to Londoners spending 35 per cent of their income on rent, but the figure is an average, meaning many homeowners will be in worse positions. It would also be the highest level since 2009.
Will this lead to a slump in house prices between now and 2026? Many of the same forecasters who were wrong about 2023 have revised their forecasts for 2024, anticipating anything from a 3 per cent drop to a 3 per cent rise. Your guess is as good as mine, but predictions of a significant fall have clearly tailed off.
Standard Chartered has made a number of changes to its leadership team.
The British banking giant announced Tuesday (March 11) that it had appointed Roberto Hoornweg, head of financial markets, and Sunil Kaushal, regional CEO for Africa and the Middle East, to serve as co-heads of corporate and investment banking.
They replace Simon Cooper, who had held the job since 2018 and is leaving Standard Chartered to “pursue other interests,” the bank said Tuesday in announcing a broader series of changes to its executive team.
“These changes will ensure we have the strongest possible team in place, with clear accountabilities, to drive our transformation efforts and bring renewed intensity to our focus on increased growth and returns through each of our business lines,” CEO Bill Winters said.
In addition to the investment banking appointments, the company has also given Judy Hsu — its CEO for consumer, private and business banking — responsibility for greater China and the north Asia markets.
Ben Hung, currently the bank’s CEO for Asia, will take on the new role of president, while human resources head Tanuj Kapilashrami, will assume the newly-created position of chief strategy and talented officer, the announcement said.
A report by Reuters notes that sources say the shake-up marks Winters’ last push to revitalize Standard Chartered’s talent amid China’s weak economic outlook. The report also said the moves were a surprise, and that Cooper had been considered a possible successor for the CEO.
The moves follow similar changes made by JPMorgan Chase earlier this year to its leadership and organizational structure.
“The senior management changes and new alignments announced today will help the company serve clients even better as well as further develop the company’s most senior leaders,” the bank said in January.
Among the changes is the combination of JPMorgan’s major wholesale businesses of Global Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, and Markets, Securities Services and Global Payments in an expanded Commercial & Investment Bank.
“Combining these efforts will enhance and deepen the way the company can seamlessly deliver the world’s most complete set of wholesale banking products and solutions,” the bank said.
Elsewhere in the banking space, HSBC has begun efforts to hire around 50 more commercial bankers as it steps up lending to tech and healthcare startups.
“There’s this void in the market and we’re jumping into it,” Wyatt Crowell, head of U.S. commercial banking for HSBC, told Reuters. “It’s gone way better than I thought it was going to go, both in terms of the volume of deals and our win rate on the deals.”
In most years, the best time to list a home for sale is May. But last year, the optimal time to put your house on the market came a little later, in June. And the housing market could be on track for a similar peak in 2024.
Homes listed last year during the first half of June typically sold for $7,700 higher prices, according to a new report from Zillow. If you’re a homeowner thinking about selling this spring, you may want to wait, as June could be a seller-friendly month once again in 2024, the report says.
Spring and early summer are usually the most active times for the housing market, and sellers can benefit from higher buyer demand. Home sales rise during this time of year because the school year is winding down and warmer weather makes it easier for households to move, among other factors.
The best time to sell a home
Before the real estate market was shaken up in 2020, May had “consistently” been the best month for sellers to list their homes, according to the report. Now, the best time to put a home up for sale appears to be getting later.
“The shift to June suggests mortgage rates are strongly influencing demand on top of the usual seasonality that brings buyers to the market in the spring,” Zillow said in the report. “This home-shopping season is poised to follow a similar pattern as that in 2023.”
Last spring, the market was experiencing the highest mortgage rates that had been seen in many years. A slight drop in rates in June, however, brought buyers into the market. According to Freddie Mac data, the 30-year fixed-rate loan was 6.79% for the week ending June 1, 2023, but had dipped to 6.67% three weeks later.
Current mortgage rates are higher than a year ago at 6.88%. If mortgage rates fall again during this year’s spring homebuying season, sale prices could get a boost, according to Zillow.
Some analysts are forecasting an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in mid-June, and if that materializes it would likely lead to a drop in mortgage rates, favoring more home sales. Zillow’s chief economist Skylar Olsen said in the report that a midyear rate cut could trigger a “second wave” of the spring homebuying season.
“The old logic was that sellers could earn a premium by listing in late spring when their home would be on the top of the pile of listings when search activity was at its peak,” Zillow’s chief economist Skylar Olsen said in the report. “Now, with persistently low inventory, mortgage rate fluctuations make their own seasonality.”
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