Jobs and The Housing Recovery

Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, says job creation numbers are headed in the right direction and that, along with low mortgage rates, will be the key to bringing buyers back to the housing market.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Interest Rates, Real Estate, Tax Credit, Trends, Video, Views

Survey Says Housing Market On The Mend

After a slow summer for home sales, the housing market is attempting to return to traditional seasonal trends, according to RE/MAX’s National Housing Report for September. The spring rush to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit caused a summer sales slump but, despite the lull in activity, the month of September saw an increase in signed contracts, stabilizing prices, and a drop in inventory. Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX, said slow summer sales were anticipated and increases in signed contracts should translate into sales gains in the months ahead. Also in the report, home prices were up 0.9 percent from 2009 and 33 of the 54 metro areas surveyed showed year-over-year price increases. Inventory of homes on the market fell 2.8 percent in September. More here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, Inventory, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Tax Credit, Trends, Views

Mortgage Rates Up For 1st Time In Six Weeks

According to The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.34 percent last week from 4.21 percent the week before. It was the first rate increase in six weeks. The Refinance Index dropped 11.2 percent from the previous week and the Purchase Index fell 6.7 percent. The four week moving average for the Market Composite Index, which measures total loan application volume, is up 0.4 percent. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, Interest Rates, MBA, News, Real Estate, Sales, Trends

Housing Starts Up Unexpectedly In September

Housing starts hit a five-month high in September, despite expectations that they’d fall. According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, housing starts were up 0.3 percent from August and 4.1 percent above last September’s levels. But despite the unexpected jump, building permits for future construction fell 5.6 percent because of a 20.2 percent drop in permits for multi-family units. Permits for single-family homes rose 0.5 percent. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Building Permits, Housing Market, Housing Starts, News, Real Estate, Trends

Builder Confidence Up For 1st Time In 5 Months

Builder confidence rose for the first time in five months, a sign that builders are starting to see interest from potential buyers. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for October shows builder confidence rose three points to 16. The index gauges builders’ perception of the market for newly built, single-family homes. A number below 50 indicates negative sentiment about market conditions. David Crowe, NAHB’s chief economist, said the new-homes market is finally moving past the lull that occurred after the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Builder Confidence, Housing Market, New Home Sales, News, Real Estate, Sales, Tax Credit, Trends

Foreclosures and The Housing Recovery

Mark Zandi, co-founder of Moody’s Economy, says growing issues in the foreclosure market may put the housing recovery on hold, but he believes the delay will be weeks rather than years.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Prices, Real Estate, Video, Views

Foreclosures Up 4 Percent In Q3

One in every 139 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the third quarter. According to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, filings were reported on 930,437 properties, up nearly 4 percent from the previous quarter but down 1 percent from the third quarter of 2009. Scheduled auctions and bank repossessions hit record highs while new default notices were down one percent from the second quarter and 21 percent from last year. James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said the record number of foreclosures in the third quarter takes a bite out of the backlog of distressed properties. Foreclosure filings rose nearly 3 percent in September from a month earlier. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Inventory, News, Real Estate, Repossessions, Trends

Refinance Activity Surges As Rates Fall

According to The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the Refinance Index increased 21 percent last week after the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.21 percent from 4.25 percent the week before. The Market Composite Index, which measures total loan application volume, was up 14.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said refinance applications are close to their highest level this year and, despite purchase activity remaining weak, demand for conventional purchase mortgages are at their highest level since the beginning of May. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, Interest Rates, MBA, News, Real Estate, Sales, Trends

Home Prices Appreciating in Some Markets

Recent home price data shows that, despite the housing crisis, some markets have appreciated over the last seven years. According to the FNC Residential Price Index, which ranks each major metropolitan market according to long-term price appreciation prospects, the 10 cities with the greatest annual appreciation in home prices since 2003 are: Baltimore (up 7 percent), Seattle (up 5.7 percent), Washington D.C. (up 4.5 percent), Los Angeles (up 3.8 percent), Portland (up 3.8 percent), San Antonio (up 3.2 percent), New York (up 3.1 percent), Nashville (up 2.8 percent), St. Louis (up 2.4 percent), and Columbus, OH (up 1.3 percent). The Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report shows the U.S. average for surveyed listings was approximately $353,000. According to the report, the most expensive real-estate market was Newport Beach, Calif.and the most affordable was Detroit, Mich. Jim Gillespie, chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, said homeownership is generally affordable and home buyers have a unique opportunity to take advantage of low mortgage rates and comparatively lower prices. Coldwell data here. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, News, Prices, Real Estae, Trends, Views

Majority Of Americans Say It’s Time To Buy

According to a recent national housing survey conducted by Fannie Mae, 70 percent of Americans believe it’s a good time to buy a house, up from 64 percent in January. Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist for Fannie Mae, said consumers have mixed views on the housing market. While most Americans believe home prices have bottomed, they’ve adopted a more cautious approach to entering the housing market. The survey, conducted between June 12 and July 14, is meant to assess Americans’ confidence in homeownership as an investment, the current state of their household finances, views of the housing finance system, and overall confidence in the economy. The survey found that 78 percent of Americans believe home prices will either remain flat or go up over the next year and 64 percent believe buying a home is a safe investment. More here, here, and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Fannie Mae, Housing Market, News, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Trends, Views