Baltimore Sales Rise For First Time Since 2005

Falling home prices have transformed many properties from asset to albatross, but there’s hope yet for those looking to sell: Nearly two-thirds of the Baltimore region’s ZIP codes saw sales increases last year, the first time since 2005 that buying didn’t slump across the board.

Sales are on the upswing as first-time homebuyers jump in - enticed by a temporary $8,000 tax credit - and investors snap up foreclosed properties. And some homeowners who can’t wait any longer for prices to rise are finding ways to move on.   Baltimore Sun

Home Sales Up in the OC

Home Sales Up in the OC by 7%

10 Most Undervalued Housing

10 most undervalued areas, according to the study:

1. Las Vegas, -41.4 percent
2. Vero Beach, Fla., -39.8 percent
3. Merced, Calif., -37.7 percent
4. Cape Coral, Fla., -36.8 percent
5. Houma, La., -34.6 percent
6. Port St. Lucie, Fla., -33.3 percent
7. Warren, Mich., -32.3 percent
8. Vallejo, Calif., -31.9 percent
9. Modesto, Calif. -31.8 percent
10. Stockton, Calif., -31.8 percent

Source: CNNMoney, Les Christie (01/27/2010)

Pending home sales rise for 9th month in a row

The pending home sales index rose a seasonally adjusted 3.7% in October from September, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. The index is up 31.8% compared with last October. The index rose 6% in September.

Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, said the increase in pending home sales wasn’t entirely due to the tax credit.

“Based on the demographics of our growing population, existing-home sales should be in the range of 5.5 million to 6.0 million annually,” he said.

NAR projects 2010 existing homes sales to rise 10.8% to 5.7 million compared with 5.15 million in 2009. New-home sales are forcasted to rise 42% in 2010 to 561,000 from 394,000 in 2009. Home prices are expected to rise about 4%, according to Yun’s forecast

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Bright Times Ahead

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke “Housing in the coming year is going to be a relative bright spot - a helpful driver of national economic growth, rather than the wet blanket it’s been for the past couple of years.”

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20091124_realestateoutlook.htm

Home Sales Jump 2nd Month

Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2½ years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 37% from their bottom in January, data Monday showed, though they are still 16% below the peak in autumn 2005. At the current sales pace, there is only a 7-month supply of homes on the market and in some areas there are bidding wars.

The Foreigners are Coming

Wong, president of Optimus U.S. Real Estate Fund, has bought 60 condos at heavy discounts from developers in financial trouble. Wong paid about $62,500 each for 18 Las Vegas condos that once were priced at about $250,000 apiece.

“This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for real estate investment,” said Wong, whose Calgary, Alberta-based fund has already invested $5 million cash and will spend millions more in the U.S. Southwest over the next several months.

International investors bought 154,000 homes and condos in the 12-month period ending in May, down nearly 10 percent from 170,000 for the same period a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reports.

Much of this activity is thought to be because of the weak dollar and low interest rates that are even attracting buyers from all over the world seeking 2nd homes.

So Cal Home Sales Rise

Southern California home sales rose in October. Shrinking inventory of homes for sale and government and industry efforts to stoke demand and curtail foreclosures helped prices stabilize. Last month 22,132 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was up 2.8% from 21,539 in September and also up 2.8% from 21,532 a year earlier, according to MDA DataQuick.

NAR’s Yun on Foreclosures

Record Home Resales in Canada

“Low interest rates and upbeat consumer confidence continue to release the pent-up demand that built late last year and earlier this year,” CREA President Dale Ripplinger said in the statement.

Sales records were set in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Sales rose 5.1 percent to 45,818 units in October on a seasonally adjusted basis,says the Canadian Real Estate Association . The average nationwide price also rose to a record C$341,079 ($326,500), 21 percent higher than a year earlier.

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