Morning Briefing: These states have the highest rates of homeownership

These states have the highest rates of homeownership… Commercial mortgage originations ended 2016 strong… RE/MAX named among fastest-growing franchises in the world…

Morning Briefing: These states have the highest rates of homeownership
These states have the highest rates of homeownership
West Virginia tops the list for the highest rate of homeownership according to new figures from the US Census Bureau.

The state’s rate was 74.8 per cent in 2016 while the national rate was 63.4 per cent. Delaware is second with a rate of 73 per cent with Michigan third on 72.8 per cent.

Homeownership is highest among those over 70 and has declined in all other age groups with the exception of those in their early 40’s where there was a slight increase.

Commercial mortgage originations ended 2016 strong
There was a 20 per cent rise in mortgage originations in the commercial sector in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the previous three months; year-over-year levels were down 7 per cent though.

The Mortgage Bankers’ Association says that preliminary data shows that overall commercial originations were down 1 per cent for the whole of 2016 compared to a year earlier.

"Commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending ended 2016 on a strong note, but not quite as strong as 2015," said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. "As a result, mortgage origination volumes for 2016 as a whole appear to have come in at roughly the same level as 2015. Preliminary numbers show that 2016 lending by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, bank portfolios and life insurance companies were all at or above previous record levels."

Hotels, health care and retail saw that largest decreases in mortgage originations in the last three months of the year compared to the same period of 2015.

Compared to the third quarter, there were strong gains for hotel properties (up 103 per cent), industrial properties (up 82 per cent), retail properties (up 21 per cent) and multifamily properties (up 16 per cent).

RE/MAX named among fastest-growing franchises in the world
Real estate brokerage RE/MAX has been named among the fastest-growing franchises in the world by Entrepreneur magazine.

The firm is the only real estate brand in the list and has moved to number 15 overall, up from 17 last year and 45 in 2015.

"Our unique business model revolutionized the housing industry over 44 years ago by putting real estate agents first," said Chris Pflueger, Vice President, Business Development, RE/MAX, LLC. "Today, RE/MAX has more offices, in more countries, than any other real estate brand. RE/MAX has continued growing because our franchisees are able to independently run their businesses while receiving leading-edge tools, on-demand education and the support they need from a global brand."