Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts

Thursday, June 26, 2014

10 Biggest Rebound Cities Since the Recession

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the economy.
Eight of the top 10 cities in the country that have rebounded the most since the recession are in the Lone Star State, according to a new analysis by financial site NerdWallet. Texas has seen large economic growth, and its housing market has been following the upward trend.
What Does a Recovery Look Like?
With the recession officially coming to an end in June 2009, NerdWallet looked at data over the last five years to see which cities improved the most since then. In its analysis of the 510 largest U.S. cities, the site considered factors such as the performance of the labor market, median household income, and median home values.
The following cities were ranked in the top 10 for largest recoveries since the recession. (Each city is listed below with the change in median home values since the recession.) 
  1. McAllen, Texas: 15.61%
  2. Midland, Texas: 21.67%
  3. San Angelo, Texas: 20.92%
  4. Fargo, N.D.: 13.30%
  5. Bryan, Texas: 10.81%
  6. Chattanooga, Tenn.: 14.04%
  7. College Station, Texas: 3.67%
  8. Odessa, Texas: 5.87%
  9. Edinburg, Texas: 6.50%
  10. Amarillo, Texas: 11.87%
Source: “Recession Recovery: Cities That Have Improved the Most,” NerdWallet Finance (June 23, 2014)




Monday, June 17, 2013

Where Asking Prices Are Rising the Most

Median list prices in May edged up 2.10 percent month-over-month, as housing inventories also were on the rise, creating a greater balance between supply and demand, according to realtor.com’s latest Real Estate Health Report. 
The nationwide median list price was $199,000 for May, and up 4.79 percent year-over-year. 
"We are seeing large regional markets across the country leading the way to national recovery. These regions are acting as a microcosm for what's slowly happening in the larger real estate market," says Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move. "Overall, we're seeing seller confidence beginning to respond to consumer demand. Nationally, there are more homes going on the market for a shorter amount of time.  And this is happening in our hot markets on a much larger scale."
California housing markets are seeing some of the highest median price gains. The following 10 markets have seen the highest year-over-year list price gains: 
1. Sacramento, Calif.: up 42.45%
  • Median list price: $284,900
2. Oakland, Calif.: up 38.27%
  • Median list price: $495,000
3. Detroit, Mich.: up 31.73%
  • Median list price: $125,000
4. San Jose, Calif.: up 30.58%
  • Median list price: $679,000
5. Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.: up 27.80%
  • Median list price: $428,000
6. Fresno, Calif.: up 27.48%
  • Median list price: $219,900
7. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: up 27.03%
  • Median list price: $235,000
8. Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: up 25.63%
  • Median list price: $199,750
9. Reno, Nev.: up 24.23%
  • Median list price: $235,900
10. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif.: up 24%
  • Median list price: $775,000
Source: realtor.com®
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Friday, May 31, 2013

Mortgage Rates Climb to Highest Level in Year

Fixed-rate mortgages soared higher this week, reaching their highest averages in a year, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. 
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage -- the most popular choice among home buyers -- has climbed nearly half a percentage point since the beginning of this month -- from 3.35 percent to 3.81 percent this week.
"Fixed mortgage rates followed long-term government bond yields higher, following a growing market sentiment that the Federal Reserve may lessen its accommodative policy stance,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Improving economic data may have encouraged those views.”
Despite the uptick, mortgage rates remain low by historical standards, Freddie Mac reports.
The mortgage giant reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending May 30:
  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.81 percent, with an average 0.8 point, rising from last week’s 3.59 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.75 percent. 
  • 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.98 percent, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 2.77 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 2.97 percent. 
  • 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.66 percent, with an average 0.5 point, also up from last week’s average of 2.63 percent. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.84 percent. 
  • 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.54 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 2.55 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.75 percent. 
Source: Freddie Mac
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Rising Housing Market Likely to Lift Job Mobility


Home owners are starting to feel freer to move where the jobs are, Reuters reports, as worries about homes that won't sell or will sell at a loss begin to fade.  
Since early 2012, home prices in the major metro areas have been rising. Homes are also selling faster: It took 62 days, on average, to sell a home, compared with 91 days one year prior, according to March data from the National Association of REALTORS®.
The increase in mobility from the recovering housing market is expected to have a hand in lowering the jobless rate.
"Until the real estate market picked up, people wouldn't even consider a move without the certainty that they could sell their homes," Jerry Funaro, vice president of global marketing for TRC Global Solutions, a Milwaukee-based relocation service, told Reuters. "Companies are now more inclined to make offers since we're seeing real estate markets across the country coming back.” 
The number of people who moved last year increased to 35.6 million, with the mover rate climbing to 12 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That marked an increase over the 11.6 percent low set in 2011. 
"It's not a huge gain, but when you consider that for two years, we've had the lowest migration rates since World War II, any move up is good news," William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, in April, the jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in more than four years, reaching 7.5 percent, due to an increase in hiring among employers. 
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Friday, May 10, 2013

Fannie Pays Back Taxpayers From Housing Gains


Fannie Mae announced on Thursday that it will pay $59.4 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury, helping to reduce the net cost of its taxpayer bailout to $21.1 billion, Reuters report. 
A strengthening housing market has helped the mortgage giant to record a record profit in the first quarter this year. This also marks the fifth-consecutive quarter for profits for the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE). 
In the first quarter of this year, Fannie said it had a pretax income of $8.1 billion, as well as an additional gain of $50.6 billion by reversing a write-down on certain tax assets, Reuters reports. A year earlier, Fannie had reported a $2.7 billion profit. 
Since government regulators took over Fannie in September 2008, the GSE has received $116.1 billion in taxpayer funds. 
Freddie Mac, which was also placed into FHFA conservatorship in 2008, has received about $71 billion in taxpayer aid since that time. By the end of June, it will have paid $36.6 billion of that back to the Treasury. 
Source: “Fannie Mae to Send $59.4 Billion to U.S. Treasury,” Reuters (May 9, 2013)
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Are Banks Easing Up on Mortgage Standards?


A very tight mortgage lending environment “promises improvements this year as the drivers of tough credit standards reverse,” according to Moody’s Analytics ResiLandscape Report. Still, lending will remain tight by historical standards, the report notes.
Tight underwriting conditions have been one of the main obstacles for the housing market recovery. But the credit agency says that those conditions began to ease somewhat this year and likely will continue to. 
"Rising house prices give lenders more breathing room to extend credit," the analysts at Moody’s noted.
Over the past year and a half, large lenders have loosened up or held standards stable on prime loans for mortgage originations, according to the Survey of Senior Lending Officers. 
Aiding lenders’ confidence is that mortgage delinquencies have fallen to pre-recession rates. 
"Being right-side up on the mortgage improves a borrower’s credit profile. It also lowers the risk of default and increases the likelihood of trade-up buying," according to the Moody’s report. 
Mortgage supply will remain constrained, but “improved consumer credit quality combined with steady growth in jobs, low mortgage interest rates and modestly rising house prices makes it clear that more households will be able to qualify for a mortgage," Moody's said. "Greater credit availability will in turn help drive stronger home sales and stronger price appreciation and help keep the housing market and the larger economy on an upward path."
Source: “Slight opening of credit spigot aids housing outlook,” HousingWire (March 4, 2013)
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