Time On Market Falls As Inventory Tightens

The amount of time it takes to sell a home has fallen dramatically over the past year, according to new estimates. In July, the median amount of time a home was on the market was 69 days, which is 29.6 percent below last year when it was 98 days. The data, released by the National Association of Realtors, shows that one third of the homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said tightening inventory has caused homes to sell more quickly. Yun says the trend began in the spring and is supporting sustained price growth in markets around the country. At the current sales pace, there was a 6.4-month supply of homes for sale on the market in July, a 31.2 percent drop from last year. More here and here.

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August Asking Prices Rise At Fastest Pace Since Recession

Trulia’s Price Monitor measures asking price, rather than sales price, in order to provide the most current information on housing market trends and home values. In August, prices posted their seventh straight monthly increase and a 2.3 percent year-over-year gain. The improvement over last year was the biggest since the recession and, excluding foreclosures, equaled a nearly 4.0 percent increase in home prices. According to the report, prices rose in 68 of the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, with the largest increases occurring in Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas. Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, said asking prices rose faster than at any time since the recession in August and, excluding foreclosures, are now rising faster than wages. More here and here.

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Average Mortgage Rates Fall In Latest Survey

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from the week before. But, despite decreasing rates, mortgage application volume also decreased last week. The Market Composite Index, which measures total mortgage loan application volume, dropped 2.5 percent due to a 3.0 percent decline in the Refinance Index and a 0.8 percent slide in purchase activity. The slowdown came as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.78 percent from 3.80 percent the previous week. Average mortgage rates also fell for jumbo and FHA loans. The refinance share of total mortgage activity held steady from the week before at 79 percent. More here and here.

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Economic Outlook Calls For Housing Growth And Improvement

The latest 2012 Economic and Housing Outlook from National Association of Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun calls for modest economic growth and continued improvement for the housing market. Yun’s forecast says, though real GDP growth was 1.5 percent in the second quarter, it will grow at near 2.0 percent for the rest of the year. And though that is still below the historical norm of 3.0 percent a year, it is an improvement over 2011. Housing starts are forecast to rise by 27 percent this year, with a jump of nearly 50 percent in 2013. Yun also expects continued gains for both new and existing home sales. So far this year, existing home sales have been nearly 8.0 percent above last year, while new home sales are up nearly 20 percent. According to the NAR’s expectations, new home sales will hit 600,000 by 2013 and existing home sales will rise to nearly 5 million next year. The forecast also calls for a continued decline in distressed properties and increasing median home prices. More here.

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Foreclosure Sales Fall, Prices Climb In Second Quarter

RealtyTrac’s Q2 2012 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report found foreclosure-related sales fell in the second quarter. Sales of homes in some stage of foreclosure accounted for 23 percent of all residential sales, up from 22 percent in the first quarter. But though they increased as a share of total sales, the number of foreclosure-related sales was actually down, falling 12 percent from the previous quarter and 22 percent from the year before. It was the first annual decrease in foreclosure sales following five quarters of increases. Prices, on the other hand, rose 6.0 percent from the previous quarter and 7.0 percent from year-before levels due to fewer foreclosures on the market. It was the first annual increase in average price since 2010 and the largest increase since 2006. Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac’s vice president, said given the shortage of supply and strong buyer demand in the second quarter, it’s no surprise that the average price rose on both a quarterly and annual basis. More here.

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