Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Recovery Broadens as More Markets See Price Increases

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JULY 07, 2014
Home prices were on the rise again last month, but in a stark contrast to last year, price increases were more generalized and less concentrated to just a few metro pockets, according to realtor.com’s May 2014 National Housing Trend Report.
In May, the median list price of homes was $214,900 nationwide, an 8 percent increase year-over-year. All but eight of the 146 markets that realtor.com tracks reported year-over-year price increases in May. “This broad increase in price suggests a more evenly distributed recovery and a healthier national housing market,” reads a realtor.com statement on the findings.
Home inventories in May were down 5.8 percent compared to year ago levels. A limited number of homes for-sale across the country is credited with lifting home prices.
“Home prices are as high as they are because of low inventory spread across the nation,” says Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move Inc., which operates realtor.com. “But we are not seeing the runaway pricing of last year. Nor is the situation exclusive to the hotbed markets of recent years.”
The following 10 metro areas saw the greatest increases in median list prices year-over-year, according to realtor.com’s May report:
  1. Stockton-Lodi, Calif.
    • Median list price: $285,000
    • Year-over-year increase: 42.7%
  2. Las Vegas
    • Median list price: $186,085
    • Year-over-year increase: 24.1%
  3. Houston
    • Median list price: $245,000
    • Year-over-year increase: 23.1%
  4. Reno, Nev.
    • Median list price: $289,900
    • Year-over-year increase: 22.9%
  5. Denver, Colo.
    • Median list price: $349,900
    • Year-over-year increase: 20.7%
  6. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.
    • Median list price: $309,900
    • Year-over-year increase: 19.7%
  7. West-AZ-RSA
    • Median list price: $328,950
    • Year-over-year increase: 19.6%
  8. Sacramento, Calif.
    • Median list price: $340,000
    • Year-over-year increase: 19.3%
  9. Boulder-Longmont, Colo.
    • Median list price: $465,000
    • Year-over-year increase: 19.3%
  10. San Diego
    • Median list price: $500,250
    • Year-over-year increase: 17.7%
Source: realtor.com



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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

More Home Owners Getting Bit by Selling Bug?

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 02, 2014
Reports of rising home prices are making selling more attractive to the largest share of home owners in eight years, according to a gauge from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters. Few of the home owners surveyed said they expected to lose money if they decided to sell their home now.
The findings could signal the beginnings of a major shift for the housing market, which has been haunted by the low number of homes for sale across the country.
Inventory Issues Improve
Home price increases over the past two years may give more families confidence to sell their homes, alleviating low inventories and giving home buyers who were sitting on the sidelines because of fewer housing choice more incentive to make a move too, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Rising confidence among consumers could also translate into more sales in new homes. Last week, a report by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that new-home sales surged nearly 19 percent last month, reaching the highest rate since May 2008. 
Two home-building giants reported a steady turnaround in new orders and price rises too in the second quarter. Lennar reported that new orders were up 8 percent, with average sales prices of its homes blooming 14 percent year over year. KB Homes, meanwhile, reported that orders increased 5 percent and its average selling price increased 10 percent in the past year.
Source: “More Would-be Home Sellers Say Prices Are Attractive,” The Wall Street Journal (June 27, 2014)


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Pending Home Sales Surge 6.1%

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, JULY 01, 2014
Pending home sales posted a sharp 6.1 percent rise in May, as lower mortgage rates and rising inventories helped propel the market into the summer season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings. It was the largest month-over-month gain on the index since April 2010, when first-time home buyers were rushing to sign purchase contracts before a popular tax credit program ended.
Guess what? Existing-home sales are getting a lift, too.
All four regions across the country posted increases in pending home sales in May, led by the Northeast and West.
“The flourishing stock market the last few years has propelled sales in the higher price brackets, while sales for homes under $250,000 are 10 percent behind last year’s pace,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Meanwhile, apartment rents are expected to rise 8 percent cumulatively over the next two years because of tight availability. Solid income growth and a slight easing in underwriting standards are needed to encourage first-time buyer participation, especially as renting becomes less affordable.” 
Yun says home sales will likely rise the second half of the year but “won’t be enough to compensate for the sluggish first quarter and will likely fall below last year’s total.”
Despite the rise in May, pending home sales remained 5.2 percent below their levels a year ago.

By Region

The following is a breakdown by region of the latest Pending Home Sales Index reading:
  • Northeast: contracts rose 8.8 percent month-over-month in May and are 0.2 percent above year-ago levels.
  • Midwest: contracts rose 6.3 percent month-over-month in May but remain 6.6 percent below May 2013 levels.
  • South: contracts increased 4.4 percent month-over-month in May but are 2.9 percent below year-ago levels.
  • West: contracts increased 7.6 percent month-over-month in May but remain 11.1 percent below May 2013 levels.




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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

4 Reasons Why Buyers Should Be Happy

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014
Home shoppers may find there’s good reason to breathe a sigh of relief this summer, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin. They pointed to higher inventories, fewer bidding wars, and slowing home prices as welcoming signs for home buyers this year.
In particular, home buyers this summer are finding:
  1. More options: Inventories of existing-homes are 6 percent higher than year-ago levels—currently representing a 5.6-month supply at the current sales pace, according to May housing data from the National Association of REALTORS®. The higher inventory levels of homes for-sale means that buyers have more choices this summer.
  2. Less competition: As inventories rise, buyers also are facing fewer bidding wars. Bidding wars are down by double-digit margins in many markets this year, according to Redfin, which conducts anannual bidding war report. In March, 63.4 percent of offers written by Redfin agents across 19 markets faced competition from other buyers, down from a bidding war peak of 73.4 percent a year prior, according to Redfin’s report.
  3. Price rises are slowing: The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $213,400—a 5.1 percent rise above May 2013, NAR reports. Home prices rose by double-digits last year. In 2013, home prices rose 11.5 percent over 2012, according to NAR. “Home buyers are benefiting from slower price growth due to the much-needed, rising inventory levels seen since the beginning of the year,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
  4. Low borrowing costs: Mortgage rates are averaging about 4.1 percent, less than half the historical average of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is 8.7 percent, Redfin reports. “For a $500,000 house, this is worth more than $500 a month in mortgage payments,” savings, Redfin notes on its blog.
Source: “4 Reasons Why Homebuyers Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief,” Redfin blog (June 27, 2014)



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Monday, June 30, 2014

'Zombies' Make Up 21% of Foreclosures

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014
Zombie foreclosures are still haunting the housing market, representing one in every five foreclosures nationally, according to RealtyTrac, a housing data firm. “Zombie foreclosure” is a term coined to describe properties where the foreclosure process has been started and the home owner vacates, but the foreclosure has never been completed. As such, the distressed home owners who vacate eventually find they still own the home, and are often unaware they are still responsible for it.
The vacated properties can become eyesores in neighborhoods and drive down nearby property values. They also take a big chunk out of local government revenue in the form of unpaid property taxes. RealtyTrac estimates that more than $400 million in property tax revenue is likely delinquent due to zombie foreclosures. Still, the zombie foreclosure rate has shown some improvement, falling 7 percent compared to the first quarter of this year and dropping 16 percent from year-ago levels.
Florida has the highest number of zombie foreclosures, accounting for more than one-third of all zombie foreclosures nationwide. New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Ohio also have some of the highest numbers of zombie foreclosures across the country.
“Most of these states have seen an increase in new foreclosure activity over the past year, creating a more fertile breeding ground for zombie foreclosures,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.
Some states, such as Florida and Illinois, are looking to combat zombie foreclosures by weighing legislation that could help “fast track” foreclosures and move the abandoned properties through the system more quickly, RealtyTrac reports. New York is also considering legislation that would make lenders responsible for the upkeep of zombie foreclosures. Some local governments—such as in Cleveland and Detroit—also are creating land banks that would include zombie foreclosures, allowing city officials to rehab properties or demolish them.

Where Zombie Foreclosures Are Highest

On a metro level, the seven markets with the highest number of zombie foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac’s second quarter report, are:
  1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.
  2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
  4. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
  5. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
  6. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
  7. Jacksonville, Fla.
Meanwhile, California posted the largest drop in zombie foreclosures, down 57 percent in the past year. Other states posting large decreases are Arizona, Nevada, and Washington.
Source: RealtyTrac




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Friday, June 27, 2014

Sparking Buyer Urgency? Redfin Debuts ‘Hot Home’ Tool

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014
The brokerage Redfin has launched “Hot Homes,” a feature that identifies the homes that are likely to sell within two weeks. The homes will be highlighted throughout Redfin.com and on a map so that home shoppers get an idea of which homes they particularly need to act fast.
The most desirable homes are selling in two weeks or less, according to Redfin Fastest Markets Report, which means buyers need to be prepared to move fast.
More on market momentum:
So, what makes a home “hot”? Redfin says a home will be added to its “hot homes” list when it identifies that there is an 80 percent of chance that the home will have an accepted offer within two weeks of it being listed. Redfin’s algorithm analyzes numerous attributes about the homes, including square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot sizes, views, and location, as well as buyer preferences for those attributes.
“It’s hard to tell when you have to jump,” says Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, about the new website feature. “Which home will get three offers this weekend, and which will still be for sale in September? … Redfin crunches more than 500 different attributes of the house, the neighborhood – and what home buyers are looking for in that neighborhood. Our goal as Redfin agents is to make sure you never miss a shot at your dream home.”
Source: Redfin



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Thursday, June 26, 2014

10 Biggest Rebound Cities Since the Recession

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014
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)




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