A Brighter Forecast for Housing in 2011

The National Association of Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun says the housing market has regained stability and expects further gains in 2011. Pointing to positive trends in the overall economy, as well as housing prices, sales, and affordability, Yun predicted existing-home sales will reach 5.5 million units next year, home prices will rise 1.0 percent, and GDP will be up 2.5 percent. Consumer confidence, business spending, and job growth are the keys to continued economic growth and recovery according to Yun. Also, NAR’s U.S. Economic Outlook for October forecasts a significant increase in sales in 2011 and continued improvements for residential construction. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Housing Starts, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Views

The Foreclosure Market Forecast

Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, says uncertainty in the foreclosure market will lead to slower sales this quarter, followed by an accelerated rate of activity in the first quarter of 2011.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Video, Views

ZipRealty Ranks The Nation’s Hottest ZIP Codes

ZipRealty’s 3rd Quarter Home Hunter Report tracked data from 5,400 cities within 33 markets to identify which ZIP codes had an average sale price most above the average list price and most below the average list price. According to the report, homes in the hottest ZIP codes were selling about 5 percent above asking price. ZipRealty’s John Oldham said it was an encouraging sign that prices may be stabilizing and buyers and sellers were adjusting to the new market reality. The country’s hottest ZIP code was the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood in Chicago, where homes were selling an average of 9 percent higher than asking price. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, News, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Trends

Home Prices and The Slow Recovery

Robert Shiller, Yale University economics professor and co-founder of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, expects home prices to continue to grow over the next four years, but at a slow pace.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Inventory, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Trends, Video, Views

New Home Sales Increase 6.6 Percent In September

September sales of new single-family homes rose 6.6 percent above August’s rate, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nicholas Tenev, an economist with Barclays Capital, said it looks as though new-home sales have stabilized and he expects a gradual recovery over the coming months. Despite the unexpected jump, sales of new homes are still 21.5 percent below last year’s levels. The median sales price of new houses sold in September was $223,800; the average sales price was $257,500. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, Inventory, New Home Sales, News, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Trends

Home Prices Gain From A Year Ago

Home prices in August rose from a year earlier but weakened from the month before. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices shows the 10-City Composite up 2.6 percent and the 20-City Composite up 1.7 percent from August 2009. The 20-city index has gained 6.7 percent from its bottom in April 2009 but is down 28 percent from its July 2006 peak. Month-over-month, the 10-City Composite was down 0.1 percent and the 20-City Composite was down 0.2 percent. David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, said it was a disappointing report that indicates slowing growth after consistent gains since prices hit their bottom in the spring of last year. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, News, Prices, Real Estate, Trends

Survey Says Housing Market On The Mend

After a slow summer for home sales, the housing market is attempting to return to traditional seasonal trends, according to RE/MAX’s National Housing Report for September. The spring rush to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit caused a summer sales slump but, despite the lull in activity, the month of September saw an increase in signed contracts, stabilizing prices, and a drop in inventory. Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX, said slow summer sales were anticipated and increases in signed contracts should translate into sales gains in the months ahead. Also in the report, home prices were up 0.9 percent from 2009 and 33 of the 54 metro areas surveyed showed year-over-year price increases. Inventory of homes on the market fell 2.8 percent in September. More here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, Inventory, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Tax Credit, Trends, Views

Foreclosures and The Housing Recovery

Mark Zandi, co-founder of Moody’s Economy, says growing issues in the foreclosure market may put the housing recovery on hold, but he believes the delay will be weeks rather than years.

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Home Prices Appreciating in Some Markets

Recent home price data shows that, despite the housing crisis, some markets have appreciated over the last seven years. According to the FNC Residential Price Index, which ranks each major metropolitan market according to long-term price appreciation prospects, the 10 cities with the greatest annual appreciation in home prices since 2003 are: Baltimore (up 7 percent), Seattle (up 5.7 percent), Washington D.C. (up 4.5 percent), Los Angeles (up 3.8 percent), Portland (up 3.8 percent), San Antonio (up 3.2 percent), New York (up 3.1 percent), Nashville (up 2.8 percent), St. Louis (up 2.4 percent), and Columbus, OH (up 1.3 percent). The Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report shows the U.S. average for surveyed listings was approximately $353,000. According to the report, the most expensive real-estate market was Newport Beach, Calif.and the most affordable was Detroit, Mich. Jim Gillespie, chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, said homeownership is generally affordable and home buyers have a unique opportunity to take advantage of low mortgage rates and comparatively lower prices. Coldwell data here. More here and here.

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Majority Of Americans Say It’s Time To Buy

According to a recent national housing survey conducted by Fannie Mae, 70 percent of Americans believe it’s a good time to buy a house, up from 64 percent in January. Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist for Fannie Mae, said consumers have mixed views on the housing market. While most Americans believe home prices have bottomed, they’ve adopted a more cautious approach to entering the housing market. The survey, conducted between June 12 and July 14, is meant to assess Americans’ confidence in homeownership as an investment, the current state of their household finances, views of the housing finance system, and overall confidence in the economy. The survey found that 78 percent of Americans believe home prices will either remain flat or go up over the next year and 64 percent believe buying a home is a safe investment. More here, here, and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Fannie Mae, Housing Market, News, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Trends, Views