The found several interesting results:

• (44% of individuals whose homes lost value said they expect to recoup their equity losses in three to five years.
• 81% of adults believe buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make.

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Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This is the biggest drop ever in history!

Meanwhile New home sales is driving much of the current home sales and helping to end the housing slump.

“Existing home sales produce some economic activity but it pales in comparison with new home sales,” said David Crowe, the chief economist for the national Association of Home Builders. “We calculate that for every 100,000 homes built, it creates 150,000 construction jobs but another 150,000 manufacturing jobs building refrigerators, furniture and other products.”

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/10/real_estate/february_foreclosure_realtytrac/index.htm

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Image by New America Foundation via Flickr

“Based on incomes, this is as affordable as it gets,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “If you can get a loan, these are pretty good times to buy.”

Moody’s Analytics track the ratio of median home prices to annual household incomes in 74 markets. By that measure, housing affordability at the end of September had returned to or surpassed the average reached between 1989-2003 in 47 of those markets. Most economists believe the housing boom took off in 2003.

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The report shows that the spread between the sales-to-list price ratio lessened significantly in most markets, but high-end housing markets in many areas continued to offer great bargains for buyers.

The 10 hottest ZIP codes in the ZipRealty markets where the selling prices was greater than the asking price were:
1. Greater Grand Crossing – Chicago, Ill. (60619)
2. Oakland, Calif. (94603)
3. The Loop – Chicago, Ill. (60603)
4. Excelsior – San Francisco, Calif. (94112)
5. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (33309)
6. San Bernardino, Calif. (92411)
7. Oakland, Calif. (94621)
8. Covington, Wash. (98042)
9. Berkeley, Calif. (94702)
10. North Las Vegas, Nev. (89030).

The coldest ZIPs, where selling prices were below asking, were:

1. Statesville, N.C. (28677)
2. Singer Island, Fla. (33404)
3. Philadelphia, Pa. (19140)
4. Boca Raton, Fla. (33434)
5. Jacksonville, Fla. (32206)
6. Chester, Pa. (19013)
7. Naples, Fla. (34102)
8. Palm Beach, Fla. (33480)
9. Reading, Pa. (19602)
10. Durham, N.C. (27703)

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In western Connecticut, Danbury developer and real estate professional Mark Nolan, of Nolan Enterprises Inc., said there has been an evolving market adjustment in housing prices that reflects the current economy.

Although there are still towns in the area where houses are priced beyond the reach of most young families, Nolan said he sees more and more sellers dropping prices so they can find buyers able to take advantage of lower mortgage rates.

Nolan said one couple he started working with a year ago was interested in a house that was originally priced at $450,000. With no takers, the house price dropped to $399,000 and then again to $365,000.

At that price, Nolan said, his clients were able to afford it and the seller still made a profit.

“There’s always going to be a demand for housing,” said Nolan, who has built rental and single-family housing developments for multiple income levels throughout the area.

Nolan is also chairman of the Danbury Housing Partnership, a public/private partnership whose aim is to provide housing to elderly, low-income, disabled and workforce families. http://www.newstimes.com/default/article/Housing-market-slowly-rebounding-in-Greater-711937.php

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From the John Burns Real Estate Consulting Letter

Seattle is starting to show some signs of recovery. JT Schwartz and I recently visited nearly 50 residential projects, including regional master planned communities like Issaquah Highlands and Snoqualmie Ridge, as well as stand-alone projects in Southeast King County.

• Despite slower market conditions, new home prices are on the rise in Seattle’s King and Snohomish Counties:
  
• Builders who have adopted smaller floorplans and achieving more attainable absolute prices are performing better than others. There is some evidence that price per square foot actually increased on a year-over-year basis in King County.
• Destination master planned communities appear to be garnering the best sales rates because consumers value the amenities and lifestyle.
• Plats that have been on hold for the last few years are being restarted, as some public builders and larger regional builders are finding opportunities to purchase distressed projects or re-launch mothballed projects.
• We anticipate job growth to return to Seattle in 2011 and will continue to strengthen in 2012.

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Home prices in Manhattan could very well be on the rise. Condominium  and coop prices increased between 7.5% and 14% in the last quarter, compared to the same period a year ago.

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Miami, FL

The Miami real estate market continues to strengthen as a result of increased sales and stabilizing home prices. In the Miami MSA, there was a 43 percent increase in condominium sales in July compared to July 2009 and a 112 percent increase compared to two years ago, when homes sales began climbing, according to the MIAMI REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS).

The sales of existing single-family homes in the Miami MSA dropped eight percent in July compared to July 2009 but were 51.3 percent higher than they were in July 2008. The Miami real estate market experienced rising residential sales since August 2008, posting increases for 23 consecutive months. Condominium sales continue to increase. Statewide sales increased 11 percent for condominiums and dropped 14 percent for single-family homes.

Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops decreased 27.2 percent from the previous month, and are 25.5 percent below July 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The median sales price for single-family homes in the Miami metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in July increased three percent to $199,300 compared to a year ago. The median sales price for condominiums in July was $110,500 down 20 percent from a year ago. Statewide median sales prices decreased seven percent to $138,000 for single-family homes and 20 percent to $87,200 for condominiums.

“While sales of single-family homes have slowed down after nearly two years of significant increases, sales of condominiums continue to rise and at a considerable pace,” said Jack H. Levine, 2010 Chairman of the Board of the MIAMI REALTORS. “This shows that there is demand for local properties, which should result in further strengthening into the future. We are encouraged by the performance of the local market and expect continued stabilization.”

Average Home Sales Price Increases
The average sales prices, which have increased consistently over the last few months, for residential properties rose again in July for single-family homes but dropped slightly for condominiums. According to the SEFMLS, the average sales price for residential properties that sold in Miami-Dade County in July increased 8.3 percent from the previous year to $294,479 for single-family homes and decreased 5.8 percent to $212,156 for condominiums.

Days on the Market and Inventory Levels Decrease
The inventory of residential listings in Miami-Dade County according to the SEFMLS has dropped 11.4 percent from 28,956 to 25,659 since July 2009. The number of active single-family home listings is 13 percent lower compared to a year ago, while active condominium listings have dropped 11 percent.    Compared to last month, the total inventory of homes increased 1.9 percent. The average days a property stays on the market decreased 10.3 percent to 100 for single-family homes and 11.9 percent to 114 for condominiums.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of July rose 2.5 percent from the previous month.

“Demand for local properties, including multiple bidding reminiscent of the boom during the last decade, is driving values,” said 2010 MIAMI REALTORS Residential President Oliver Ruiz. “Median and average sales prices are rising, while condominium prices are expected to follow due to the considerable increase in sales.”

MIAMI REALTORS
The MIAMI Association was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating its 90th year of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of four organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward County Board of Governors, and the International Council, it represents 23,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local association in the National Association of Realtors, and has partnerships with more than 60 international organizations worldwide. MIAMI’s official website is www.miamire.com.

Note: MIAMI REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service are the sources for statistics reported by the National Association of Realtors and Florida Realtors. MIAMI reports average sales price as well as median sales price.

CONTACT:
Lynda Fernandez, 305-468-7040 Office or 305.903.7922 Cell or
Teresa King Kinney, 305-468-7010

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New home sales jumped 23.6% in June to an annual rate of 330k compared to market expectations for a somewhat smaller increase to a rate of 320k. Also, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 0.5% in May from April and 4.6% from May one year ago. This was the second monthly increase and the fourth year-over-year gain in home prices. 15 of the 20 metro areas tracked by this index showed monthly price gains.

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More than 48 percent of first-time buyers expect home prices to increase by this time next year, according to a survey by Century 21 Real Estate.

Sixty percent of first-time home buyers say they didn’t understand the process of buying a home, and more than 85 percent of both first-time buyers and sellers said that using a real estate professional was important.

The top three skills valued in a real estate professional by both buyers and sellers were knowledge of the area, trustworthiness, and responsiveness.

More than 80 percent of buyers believe now is a good time to buy a home. First-time home buyers rated these three factors as the most influential in their decision:

• Current housing prices: 66 percent
• Home Buyer tax credit: 63 percent
• Low loan rates: 60 percent

In choosing a home, 95 percent of first-time home buyers thought price was the most important consideration, but 90 percent were also very concerned about neighborhood safety.

About 54 percent of first-time sellers think home prices are more affordable now than they were this time last year, and 50 percent were selling because they were purchasing a property they saw as more attractive and better suited to their needs.

Source: Century 21 Real Estate LLC (04/21/2010)

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