Market News December 6

Market Updates

Social Media Ideas for December


Creating content this month may seem difficult, especially as business can be slow. However, you have plenty of opportunities for spreading cheer and increasing your Likes and followers, such as these.

  • Begin a holiday countdown. In addition to Christmas, you can mention other holidays, such as Kwanzaa (which begins the 26th) and Hanukkah (which begins the 25th).
  • Will your business be closed over the holidays? Be sure to let prospects and clients know, especially if their home purchase will close this month.
  • Are you giving to any charitable causes? Explain why you are giving and invite followers to join you in supporting them.
  • If you're listening to seasonal music, you can incorporate songs into a fun video or Reel.
  • If you've ever closed a home sale during late December that meant a lot to you, like one that made holiday celebrations extra special, ask the buyers if you can share their story.
No matter what you choose, don't forget to thank your audiences for visiting you online during 2024.1

Pending Home Sales on the Rise


Pending home sales said "Boo!" in October, hitting their highest level since March 2024. A brief dip in mortgage rates moved some homebuyers off the sidelines, which translated into a 2% increase in contract signings.

While inventory supply across the country is now at a four-year high, it's still well below the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

First American deputy chief economist Odeta Kushi said that although the improving home supply had encouraged some buyers, there were still problems to address, especially where prices were concerned.

Kushi remarked: "While increased inventory provides buyers with more options, the reality remains—you can't buy what you can't afford."2

Keep Buyers Interested with a Possible Bargain


While most potential clients are busy with holiday activities, there are always a few who need to sell their home quickly, and a few who need to buy. This can translate into your managing to assist a buyer with getting a better deal this month, or in January.

Listing prices are often lowest at the very beginning of the year, according to a historical analysis by Realtor.com. That's particularly true for January, according to trends for the five years from 2018 through 2023, excluding the pandemic year of 2020.

According to data from ATTOM, the day of this year that's expected to see the cheapest home prices is December 4th. Previously, December 26th was the day for buyers' biggest bargains.3

YouTube Shorts Expand to Three Minutes


Earlier this year, YouTube announced that all vertical videos up to three minutes long would now qualify as Shorts and be classified as such within YouTube's system. This changes the site's original, 60-second time limit for videos classified as Shorts.

As per YouTube:

"To be explicitly clear, vertical videos of 3 minutes or less uploaded before October 15th 2024 will remain as VODs or long form videos. No videos uploaded prior to today will be converted to Shorts, only videos of 0 to 3 minutes in length filmed in square or taller aspect ratio that are uploaded to YouTube starting today will be considered Shorts."

This means that any video content you uploaded before October 15th shouldn't be affected, no matter what the length. Only future video uploads that are three minutes or shorter will be classified as Shorts.

YouTube also says that you're now able to change the custom frame used as your Shorts thumbnail within the main YouTube app.4

Buyer Demand for Mortgages Rises

Mortgage rates dropped in late November, and even though the drop wasn't that big, some homebuyers still responded. They drove total mortgage demand up 6.3% compared with the previous week that ended November 21st.

Rates weren't the only incentive for many buyers. Some were waiting until after the election, and others were holding out for more properties to tour.

"With the growth in for-sale inventory and signs that the economy remains strong, buyers have remained in the market even though rates have increased recently. The increase in conventional purchase applications helped push the average purchase loan size to $439,200, its highest level in almost a month," Joel Kan, an MBA economist, said in a release.

However, one thing to remember is that annual comparisons between 2023 and 2024 have a glitch. While loan applications were higher than a year ago by most measures, this was compared to the week of Thanksgiving 2023, which was a week earlier than this year's holiday.5

Sources: 1fayestrangedigital.com, 2mpamag.com, 3finance.yahoo.com, 4socialmediatoday.com, 5cnbc.com