Housing First Monthly Gain in Three Years

Home prices in major U.S. cities registered the first monthly gain in nearly three years, according to a new report that provided fresh evidence that the severe U.S. housing downturn could be easing.

Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index, which tracks home prices in 20 metropolitan areas, rose 0.5% for the three-month period ending in May, compared with the three months ending in April. It marked the index’s first increase after 34 straight months of decline, and came after a variety of housing indicators has shown glimmers of hope for the past several months.

source: WSJ

Multiple Offers and Sales Abound

Just got off the phone with one of my Realtor buddies and this twenty year vet tells me he has more in escrow since 2005. Multiple offers are cropping up all over Southern California as first time home buyers are snapping up deals.

Home sales went up in May in several States. Ground zero of the real estate recession is California which ncreased 35.2% in May  California, compared with the same period a year ago.

“With affordability for first-time buyers at a record high, sales of existing, single-family homes continued to remain above the 500,000 level for the ninth consecutive month,” said C.A.R. President James Liptak. “Buyers are beginning to realize that the combination of favorable home prices, historically low mortgage rates, and first-time home buyer tax credits, may not align again for many years.

Forbes Calls L.A. 5th Best City to Buy a Home

Los Angeles is the fifth-best American city to buy a house, Forbes magazine said in a new ranking of U.S. metro areas.

“While the majority of the nation’s housing markets are still working toward a bottom, some cities are boasting fundamentals that make them good places to buy a home now,” Forbes reported this week.

Denver is the best city to buy a home. Phoenix was ranked No. 2, followed by Boston, San Diego and Los Angeles.

Best Affordability In 18 Years

Wow-Housing Affordability Highest in 18 Years!
Nationwide housing affordability jumped 10 percentage points during the first quarter of 2009 to its highest level since the series began 18 years ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).

The HOI showed that 72.5 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, up from 62.4 percent during the previous quarter and up from 53.8 percent during the first quarter of 2008.

From http://charrissacawley.com/

Related articles:

• Most affordable city in the nation (money.cnn.com)

Florida Housing Rebounds First

Housing Predictor says Florida is turning itself out of the Housing doldrums first instead of California.

In previous real estate depressions California has been the first state in the nation to signal a turn around in the housing market. But higher home and condo sales in Florida that have lasted for more than a half year and increasing buyer inquiries signal the Sunshine State is making a turn for the better in real estate.

Record population growth in Florida may contribute to the more promising market after nearly a four year slow down in home sales, which started after the state was battered by a series of hurricanes and the financial crisis. As a result home sales turned sluggish in Florida before any where else in the country.

However, nearly two-thirds of all sales are foreclosures and short sale properties, many of which are not counted by real estate agents since they are sold at auction or by banks directly to home buyers. The new trend demonstrates better times are on the horizon for housing markets troubled by the credit crisis.

More banks in many Florida housing markets are beginning to make mortgages, especially locally based lenders, and nearly a fifth of all sales are owner financed.

Housing Predictor forecasts more than 250 local housing markets in all 50 states, and regularly tracks markets from coast to coast. Search foreclosures, check your market forecast and other real estate news at http://www.housingpredictor.com

Spring Forward More Sales

Well the bad news is we still see some foreclosures popping up all over the place. But, the prices are the best they have ever been in many a moon. The news I get from the streets is that agents are busier than they have been in a while. Real estate consultant John Burns reminds us that there has never been a better time to buy a home.

Since we began tracking the data for the major MSAs in 1981, there has never been a better time to buy a home. The median income household needs only 27% of their income (an all-time low) to qualify for the median-priced home, and that household is also only paying 3.3 times their income for the house (3.1 is the all-time low).

He asks if there is ever going to be a time when the moon and stars were so aligned. Sure you have to take a long term view but will interest rates stay this tempting for long? (I will answer that one. Let me recall my econ 101 .ummm print lots of money is inflationary. Slow inflation by raising rates OUCH!)

By the way his newsletter is a must in my email box every week. He offers incite that few are willing to share so openly.

Housing “Affordability” at an All Time High

NAR President Charles McMillan:

“Housing affordability is at a record high (13.6 percentage points in January to 166.8, a new record high)– the buying power of a typical family has risen significantly,” McMillan says. “With the drop in interest rates, a median-income family can afford a home costing $20,000 more than a year ago for the same monthly mortgage payment. With the strong housing stimulus, we are hopeful inventory will get trimmed and help prices to stabilize in many areas by the end of this year.”

So what this means is that a median-income family, earning $59,800, could afford a home costing $283,400. This assumes a 20 percent downpayment, and a 25 percent of gross income for mortgage PI. Compered to last year where the typical family could afford a home costing $263,300.

A Letter on Housing From the President

Not THE President. Dave Liniger of Remax.

Urgent Message from Dave Liniger

If you have been watching the news this week, you may have noticed that the debate in Washington has finally turned toward real stimulus for the housing industry. As a result, I believe that we could be on the brink of a substantial turn around in the real estate market. Now, it’s critical that we all join together and deliver a powerful message to our legislators that we support this stimulus.

Last night, the Lieberman/Isakson Amendment was included in the senate version of the Economic Stimulus Bill by a unanimous voice vote. This amendment would provide a Tax Credit to all home buyers at the rate of 10% of the sales price up to a limit of $15,000. The credit would be available for a one year period to all purchasers of primary residences.

Today, the senate expects to debate Amendment 353, a proposal by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) that would provide 30 year fixed financing at a rate of about 4%, for anyone purchasing a primary residence.

If these two provisions survive in the final passage of a stimulus bill they could have a tremendous impact on our industry. If they are coupled together with provisions to ease the flow of credit and reduce foreclosures, we could see an immediate and dramatic turn-around in real estate.

I feel that these provisions represent real economic stimulus. They will put money in the hands of millions of homeowners, increase sales, stabilize home values and add more revenues to local communities in the form of property taxes.

I urge each of you to contact your senators and representatives to let them know that you believe these provisions are essential components of any stimulus bill. You can go to the official Senate and House web sites to locate the email and phone number of your legislators.

This may be one of the most critical moments for the real estate industry in our time. Please pass this information on to anyone you might do business with. The outcome of this legislation will have a lasting impact on us all. I appreciate your assistance on this urgent matter.