Positive News On Real Estate

Remax Predictions for 2012

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:56:47 +0000

More related Positive News

No Related Posts

Home Sales Up

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:33:08 +0000

Existing-Home Sales Continued to Climb in November

Existing-home sales rose again in November and remain above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors(R). Also released today were periodic benchmark revisions with downward adjustments to sales and inventory data since 2007, led by a decline in for-sale-by-owners.

Although rebenchmarking resulted in lower adjustments to several years of home sales data, the month-to-month characterization of market conditions did not change. There are no changes to home prices or month’s supply.

Huntsville November Real Estate Sales(tbrander.wordpress.com)
Home sales rise in Manatee
By JOSH SALMAN – jsalman@bradenton.com The Bradenton-Sarasota market recorded 816 existing home sales last month, a modest 2 percent jump from October and 17 percent increase from the same time last year, according to figures released Wednesday by …
www.bradenton.com

NWI home sales begin to march upward
Existing single-family home sales in Northwest Indiana increased 19.6 percent in November compared with one year ago, marking the fifth straight month of higher sales in the region, according to data from the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of …
www.nwitimes.com

Home sales rising. Is a new wave of home investors forming?
Existing home sales rise in November and are now 34 percent higher than the mid-2010 low. Low prices and interest rates are drawing some new investors to real estate. By Margaret Price, Correspondent / December 21, 2011 This photo taken Tuesday shows a …
www.csmonitor.com

Miami Real Estate Sales Continue Winning Streak in November, Prices Rise …
“Residential real estate sales have consistently risen in Miami-Dade since August 2008,” said Jack H. Levine, 2011 Chairman of the Board of the Miami Association of Realtors. “Now, after the relatively rapid absorption of excess housing inventory, …
www.worldpropertychannel.com

Rise in home building suggests industry turnaround
Short sales occur when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what’s owed on the mortgage. Few homes are selling. After previous recessions, housing accounted for at least 15 percent of US economic growth. Since the recession officially ended in …
www.foxnews.com

Images provided by:

www.flickr.com

The latest monthly data shows total existing-home sales(1), which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 4.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million in November from 4.25 million in October, and are 12.2 percent above the 3.94 million-unit pace in November 2010.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more people are taking advantage of the buyer’s market. “Sales reached the highest mark in 10 months and are 34 percent above the cyclical low point in mid-2010 — a genuine sustained sales recovery appears to be developing,” he said. “We’ve seen healthy gains in contract activity, so it looks like more people are realizing the great opportunity that exists in today’s market for buyers with long-term plans.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 3.99 percent in November from 4.07 percent in October; the rate was 4.30 percent in November 2010; records date back to 1971.

NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami, said housing affordability conditions have set a new record high. “With record low mortgage interest rates and bargain home prices, NAR’s housing affordability index shows that a median-income family can easily afford a median-priced home,” he said.

“With consumer price inflation rising by more than 3 percent this year, consumers are looking to lock-in steady payments by taking out long-term fixed-rate mortgages. However, the problem remains that some financially qualified families who are willing to stay well within their means are being denied the opportunity to buy in today’s market by the overly restrictive mortgage underwriting situation,” Veissi said.

An elevated level of contract failures continues to hold back a broader sales recovery. Contract failures(2) were reported by 33 percent of NAR members in November, unchanged from October but notably above a year ago when it was 9 percent.

Contract failures are cancellations caused by declined mortgage applications, failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price, or other problems including lower conforming mortgage loan limits, home inspections and employment losses.

Also released today are benchmark revisions(3) to historic existing-home sales. The 2010 benchmark shows there were 4,190,000 existing-home sales last year, a 14.6 percent revision from the previously projected 4,908,000 sales. For the total period of 2007 through 2010, sales and inventory were downwardly revised by 14.3 percent. The revisions are expected to have a minor impact on future revisions to Gross Domestic Product.

“From a consumer’s perspective, only the local market information matters and there are no changes to local multiple listing service (MLS) data or local supply-and-demand balance, or to local home prices,” Yun explained.

A divergence developed over time between sales reported by MLSs and sales determined by a U.S. Census benchmark; the variance began in 2007. Reasons include growth in MLS coverage areas from which sales data is collected, and geographic population shifts. “It appears that about half of the revisions result solely from a decline in for-sale-by-owners (FSBOs), with more sellers turning to Realtors(R) to market their homes when the market softened. The FSBO market was overwhelmed during the housing downturn, and since most FSBOs are not reported in MLSs, national estimates of existing-home sales began to diverge based on previous assumptions,” Yun said.

NAR consumer survey data in 2000 showed FSBOs accounted for a 16 percent market share, which fell to a record low 9 percent in 2010.

“In essence, Realtors(R) began to capture a greater market share. In addition to a decline in FSBO transactions, more builders began marketing new properties through real estate brokers that weren’t completely filtered from the existing-home data,” Yun said. “Some property listings on more than one MLS, and issues related to house flipping, also contributed to the downward revisions.” The new independent benchmark was discussed with government agencies and outside housing market experts, and will allow for annual revisions in the future.

Total housing inventory at the end of November fell 5.8 percent to 2.58 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.0-month supply(4) at the current sales pace, down from a 7.7-month supply in October. “Since setting a record of 4.04 million in July 2007, inventories have trended down and supplies are moving close to price stabilization levels,” Yun said.

The national median existing-home price(5) for all housing types was $164,200 in November, down 3.5 percent from a year ago. Distressed homes — foreclosures and short sales typically sold at deep discounts — accounted for 29 percent of sales in November (19 percent were foreclosures and 10 percent were short sales), compared with 28 percent in October and 33 percent in November 2010.

All-cash sales accounted for 28 percent of purchases in November; they were 29 percent in October and 31 percent in November 2010. Investors make up the bulk of cash transactions.

Investors purchased 19 percent of homes in November, little changed from 18 percent in October and 19 percent in November 2010. First-time buyers accounted for 35 percent of transactions in November, up from 34 percent in October and 32 percent in November 2010.

Single-family home sales rose 4.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million in November from 3.78 million in October, and are 12.9 percent above the 3.50 million-unit level in November 2010. The median existing single-family home price was $164,100 in November, down 4.0 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 470,000 in November and are 6.8 percent higher than the 440,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price(6) was $164,600 in November, which is 0.2 percent below November 2010.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 9.8 percent to an annual pace of 560,000 in November and are 7.7 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $240,200, which is 0.1 percent below November 2010.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 4.3 percent in November to a level of 960,000 and are 15.7 percent higher than November 2010. The median price in the Midwest was $133,400, down 4.0 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 2.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in November and are 12.3 percent above a year ago. The median price in the South was $143,300, which is 2.1 percent below November 2010.

Existing-home sales in the West rose 3.6 percent to an annual level of 1.16 million in November and are 11.5 percent higher than November 2010. The median price in the West was $195,300, down 8.4 percent below a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors(R), “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

NOTE: NAR also tracks monthly comparisons of existing single-family home sales and median prices for select metropolitan statistical areas, which is posted with other tables at: www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata . For information on areas not included in the report, please contact the local association of Realtors(R).

(1)Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 to 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample — more than 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month — and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.

The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.

Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.

(2) Contract failures, all-cash transactions, investors, first-time buyers, and distressed sales are from a monthly survey for the Realtors(R) Confidence Index, posted at Realtor.org.

(3)Periodic benchmark revisions have been made to historic data back through 2007. Although there are downward revisions for total sales, there is little change to previously reported monthly comparisons or characterizations based on percentage change. There are comparable downward revisions to unsold inventory, so there is no change to relative month’s supply. Also, there is no change to median home prices.

A divergence in sales projections developed over time between the fixed model for calculating annualized sales rates and the actual marketplace, including a decline in for-sale-by-owner transactions, growth in multiple listing service coverage areas, geographic population shifts, some new-home sales trickling into MLS data and some individual sales being recorded in more than one MLS. Divergence of the data with other housing data metrics began in 2007.

NAR began to capture a larger share of actual transactions than was assumed in the calculation model based on the 2000 Census; resolving these issues has taking longer than anticipated in the absence of decennial data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which are no longer collected. Other major statistical series such as Gross Domestic Product and employment figures go through comparable periodic benchmark revisions to produce the most accurate data possible; the new benchmark process will permit annual revisions.

NAR began its normally scheduled process for benchmarking sales at the beginning of 2011 in consultation with outside housing market experts. Data for the new benchmark was discussed with representatives of organizations including the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Home Builders, CoreLogic, etc.; and some individual economists.

The data and background are posted at http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehs_benchmarking .

(4)Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982 (prior to 1999, condos were measured quarterly while single-family sales accounted for more than 90 percent of transactions).

(5)The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if more data is received than was originally reported.

(6)Because there is a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas, the national median condo price often is higher than the median single-family price. In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes.

The Pending Home Sales Index for November will be released December 29, and existing-home sales for December is scheduled for January 20; release times are 10:00 a.m. EST.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org . This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section. Statistical data in this release, other tables and surveys also may be found by clicking on Research.

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

October Homes Sales Jump

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:35:34 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

October pending home sales bounced 10.4 percent compared to September, according to the National Association of Realtors Midwest, up 24 percent.

The Northeast also saw sizeable gains, as did the South. Only out West did buyers stay on the sidelines, with pending home sales there basically flat month to month.

The boune more than recovered the loss through declines over the past three months. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced a 10.4% increase in the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) in October, rising to 93.3. This follows a decrease of 4.6% in September and modest declines in July.

Pending Home Sales Jump in October
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, surged 10.4 percent to 93.3 in October from 84.5 in September and is 9.2 percent above October 2010 when it stood at 85.5. The data …
http://www.realtor.org/press_room

Greater Ft. Lauderdale Area Pending Home Sales Rise 25% in …
Total October cumulative pending home sales – including single-family homes and condominiums – in Broward County were 0.7 percent below what they were a year earlier, down from 7653 to 7704, and were down 0.1 …
http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/

Miami Pending Home Sales in October Rise 10% Over Last Year …
(MIAMI, FL) — According to the Miami Association of Realtors, October cumulative pending home sales – including single-family homes and condominiums – in Miami-Dade County were 10 percent above what they were a year …
http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/

Behind the Numbers: Pending Home Sales Rise – Developments …
After slipping for three consecutive months, an index that tracks the number of U.S. home buyers signing contracts to purchase previously occupied homes jumped in October, reaching the highest level of this year.
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/

Strong showing for October pending sales | New Jersey Real Estate …
Pending home sales soared more than 10% in October and remain above year-ago levels, in a hopeful sign for the nation’s housing market, according to the National Association of Realtors. NAR’s pending home sales index, …
http://njrereport.com/?s=make+money+online&q=http://www.etoro.com/B503_A25509_TClick.aspx

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

A Bottom in Housing

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:08:24 +0000

Reasons we may be at Zero.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The National Association of Home Builders’ sentiment index jumped three points this month to 20, its highest reading in over a year. The Commerce Department reports building permits and construction of single-family homes rose in October. The Federal Reserve’s fourth-quarter loan survey showed a pickup in demand for mortgage loans.

As an example of perhaps a turnaround, the inventories of houses for sale fell 41% to 21,304 in October, compared to 35,732 at the same time a year ago for Greater Phoenix, according to the Cromford Report, a market research firm in Mesa, Ariz. While the # of housing units sold is rising—to 6,428 in October from 5,443 in same month a year ago.

Meanwhile the National Association of Realtors or NAR, said sales rose 1.4% in October from a month earlier and were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million units. That puts sales on track to beat last year’s level of 4.91 million units, which was the lowest level in 13 years.

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

Illinois Real Estate Improves

admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Illinois Association of Realtors’ (IAR) reports that statewide home sales (including single-family and condominiums) in October 2011 totaled 8,536 homes sold, up 15.3 percent from 7,402 home sales in October 2010.

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

Cities in Fla on the Rise

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:34:10 +0000

NAR recently highlighted the turnarounds of many cities in the Sunshine State.

Miami, FL: The number one town on the report, Miami has gone from being one of the first victims of the subprime crash to having a healthy inventory that is only half the size from a year ago. Today, Miami is only reporting one foreclosure for every 407 homes, compared to the national rate of one per every 213. And, condo sales have increased 79 percent in the first five months of this year, largely due to an influx of foreign investors.

Orlando, FL: Ranked second on the report, Orlando leads the nation in the ratio of Realtor.com searches to listings. Inventory has also obtained a balance with demand. Foreclosures hurt the market in 2007-08, but foreclosures in Orlando were down 58 percent in September, compared to last year.

Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL: Median prices in Fort Myers-Cape Coral have increased almost 33% year-over-year, according to Realtor.com’s October 2011 Real Estate Trend Data. In addition, foreclosures are down–only one in 313 homes in September–while inventory has been reduced and foreign buyers have been attracted to the area’s real estate prices. The metro ranked third on the turnaround report.

Fort Lauderdale: FL: A decrease in inventory coupled with an uptick in prices earns Fort Lauderdale the number five spot on the report. Inventory decreased almost 38 percent year-over-year, according to Realtor.com’s October data report. Prices have fallen about 46 percent since 2006, but are now going up.

Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: A total of 11 percent of all foreign buyers in Florida are in Sarasota-Bradenton specifically. Number six on the turnaround report, the market has seen a list prices increase of more than 17 percent year-0ver-year and a decrease of inventory of 32 percent according to the Realtor.com October data. The market still has a long way to go, after losing more than 55 percent of home values from 2006 to the second quarter of 2011 due to foreclosures.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL: A year ago, Lakeland-Winter Haven topped national foreclosure filing lists, but now the area’s distressed sale market share has decreased 46 percent. The area–ranked 7th on the turnaround list–has seen total listings decreased more than 36 percent year-over-year and median age of inventory decrease more than 17 percent, according to Realtor.com’s October data. Prices are also up 12 percent compared to last October.

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

NAR says housing bumps up year over year

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:14:35 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has reported that residential real estate sales showed positive gains in every U.S. state in the third quarter of 2011 when compared to last year (year over year).

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

Mass Home Sales Up 7%

admin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:34:27 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Bay State home sales rose 7 percent last month, with single-family home sales totaled 3,847 in July, up from 3,590 in the same month a year ago

In a separate report today, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors tallied a 14 percent increase in single-family home sales, based on a different set of data.

Broward Home Sales Rise, Prices Stabilize (prweb.com)
Miami Condominium Prices Rise in July (prweb.com)
August home sales show signs of improvement (lansner.ocregister.com)
10 Cities Where You Can Buy a House for Under $150,000 (usnews.com)
Illinois Home Sales Up 18.4 Percent From a Year Ago: North Shore & Glencoe Real Estate News-July (glo360.wordpress.com)

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

Commercial Real Estate Better than Stocks

admin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:21:43 +0000

Image by brizzle born and bred via Flickr

From http://www.theage.com.au/business/property/us-real-estate-to-outshine-risky-stockmarket-20110814-1isxt.html

US COMMERCIAL real estate will perform better than the country’s volatile sharemarket during the current economic downturn because investors value its intrinsic quality, according to a new CB Richard Ellis report.

The study analyzed the effect on commercial real estate of the US economic slowdown, the S&P downgrade of the US credit rating and turmoil in the global financial markets.

”While we anticipate continued stockmarket volatility, commercial real estate will not fare as poorly because it remains a preferred asset class, within a well diversified multi-asset institutional portfolio,” said Asieh Mansour, CBRE’s head of Americas Research…”Investors with higher risk tolerance will look for opportunities in volatile markets while more risk-averse investors may delay new transactions.”..”Lending rates should stay relatively low, with loans conservatively underwritten with stricter covenants. The more risk-averse capital will look for core, income-producing assets in primary markets to satisfy demand,” the authors said.

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

Foreclosures Delinquencies Drop Like a Rock

admin — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:53:53 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The mortgage delinquency rate across the United States (measured by the # borrowers 60 or more days past due) decreased for the 6th consecutive quarter.

The delinquency rate dropped at 5.82 percent at the end quarter 2 and the 2nd quarter also shows mortgage delinquency rates improved quarter over last quarter at 5.98 percent. This marks the best improvement since the recession officially ended two years ago.

While relatively low home prices and high unemployment continue to exert upward pressure on delinquency rates, they are more than offset by the impact of more conservative lending policies reflecting consumers with higher credit scores,” says Tim Martin, group vice president of the U.S. Housing Market in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “Not only are these consumers less likely to default if house prices continue to edge downward throughout the year, but their willingness to repay their debt obligations in the face of high unemployment rates is greater. It is because of these dynamics that lenders today take a much closer look at the borrower’s income history and overall debt situation than before the recession began in 2007.

Mortgage rates fall again; 30-year near record low (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Foreclosures slow to trickle as lenders adapt (msnbc.msn.com)
Are we really seeing fewer foreclosures? (hsh.com)
Tax Relief for Cancelled Mortgage Debt (turbotax.intuit.com)
Housing crisis: A sign that the worst is over (money.cnn.com)

More related Positive News

Tweet This Post

Positive News On Real Estate

Remax Predictions for 2012

More related Positive News

Home Sales Up

Related articles

More related Positive News

October Homes Sales Jump

More related Positive News

A Bottom in Housing

More related Positive News

Illinois Real Estate Improves

More related Positive News

Cities in Fla on the Rise

More related Positive News

NAR says housing bumps up year over year

More related Positive News

Mass Home Sales Up 7%

Related articles

More related Positive News

Commercial Real Estate Better than Stocks

More related Positive News

Foreclosures Delinquencies Drop Like a Rock

Related articles

More related Positive News