Another Sign That Home Prices Have Hit Bottom.

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, September 10, 2012

Economists are increasingly confident that home prices have bottomed out.
For the last three years, home prices have usually risen in the spring and summer to only then lose all of those increases—plus more—in the fall and winter months. However, economists expect this year to be different and do not foresee such a big drop to occur to home prices in the colder months ahead, The Wall Street Journal reports.
While the fall months likely will bring out some sort of decrease in recent home price increases, “we have a much better supply and demand dynamic” than in previous years, Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist, told The Wall Street Journal.
Home prices have posted some of their largest year-over-year jumps compared to the last six years. According to CoreLogic, home prices have risen 9.6 percent from February, which was the month prices reached their lowest levels since the housing slowdown. Economists say it’s unlikely that, given recent indicators, home prices will reverse course steeply and fall 9.6 percent or even more in the coming months. Home prices haven’t dropped by that type of percentage since the economy was in a recession.
Source: “Here’s More Evidence That Home Prices Have Hit Bottom,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 4, 2012)

U.S. homes prices post first 12-month gain since 2010

U.S. home prices post first 12-month gain since ‘10

WASHINGTON (AP) – Aug. 28, 2012 – U.S. home prices rose in June from the same month last year, the first year-over-year increase since the summer of 2010. The increase is the latest evidence of a nascent recovery in the housing market.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday showed a gain of 0.5 percent from June 2011.

The last time the year-over-year index increased was in September 2010. For much of that 12-month period, the government was offering a home-buying tax credit.

The report also showed that all 20 cities tracked by the index rose in June from May, the second consecutive time in which every city posted month-over-month gains. And all but two cities posted stronger gains in June than May.

Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago and Atlanta recorded the biggest one-month gains.

“The combined positive news coming from both monthly and annual rates of change in home prices bode well for the housing market,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P’s index committee.

Jonathan Basile, an economist with Credit Suisse, said improving home prices should boost home sales further in the coming months.

“Persistent news of rising house prices should start convincing prospective home sellers that it’s not just a buyers’ market,” Basile said. “And when Americans become more comfortable with selling their home, they also become more comfortable with buying another one.”

The S&P/Case-Shiller monthly index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The June figures are the latest available.

The increases partly reflect the impact of seasonal buying. The month-to-month prices aren’t adjusted for seasonal factors.

Still, a measure of national prices rose for the third straight month. Home prices jumped nearly 7 percent in the April-June quarter compared to the previous quarter.

The housing market is making a modest but steady recovery in part because homes are more affordable: Mortgage rates have fallen to near-record lows. Housing prices are about one-third lower than at the peak of the housing bubble in 2006. Those trends have helped lift sales of both new and previously occupied homes.

Sales of previously occupied homes increased in July from June, the National Association of Realtors said last week. Sales have jumped 10 percent in the past year.

Builders are growing more confident after seeing more traffic from potential buyers. Last month they applied for the largest number of building permits in nearly four years.

The housing market has a long way to go to reach a full recovery. Some economists forecast that sales of previously occupied homes will rise 8 percent this year to about 4.6 million. That’s still well below the 5.5 million annual sales pace that is considered healthy.

Sales have been held back by a low supply of homes on the market and tight credit standards, economists said. Many would-be buyers are having trouble qualifying for loans or can’t afford larger down payments being required by banks. A Federal Reserve report last month showed that many banks tightened their mortgage credit standards this summer.

Still, the housing market is steadily improving and is poised to contribute to economic growth this year. Modest economic growth and job gains are encouraging more Americans to buy homes.
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press, Martin Crutsinger, AP economics writer

Home asking prices up 2.3% in Aug. over year ago, claims Trulia

Home asking prices up 2.3% in Aug. over year ago, claims Trulia

SAN FRANCISCO – Sept. 6, 2012 – Nationally, asking prices on for-sale homes increased 2.3 percent in August compared to the previous year, according to data compiled for the Trulia Price Monitor.

According to Trulia, asking prices on for-sale homes in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area rose 16.5 percent year-over-year; in the West Palm Beach metro area, 10.4 percent; in the Miami metro area, 9.6 percent; and in the Orlando metro area, 8.6 percent.

In 68 of the 100 largest metros, asking prices on for-sale homes rose year-over-year in August. Excluding foreclosures, asking prices rose 3.8 percent year-over-year. These are the largest year-over-year gains since the recession, according to Trulia.

Meanwhile, asking prices rose nationally 1.8 percent quarter-over-quarter, seasonally adjusted. Looking month-over-month, asking prices rose by 0.8 percent – the seventh consecutive month of increases, according to Trulia.

Nationally, rents rose 4.7 percent year-over-year in August, compared to 5.8 percent year-over-year in May – making it the slowest rise since March, according to Trulia.

The Trulia Price Monitor and Trulia Rent Monitor are based on the for-sale homes and rentals listed on Trulia. The monitors take into account changes in the mix of listed homes and reflect trends in prices and rents for similar homes in similar neighborhoods through Aug. 31, 2012.

Homes selling quickly, time on market down

WASHINGTON – Sept. 5, 2012 – A new measure shows the typical amount of time it takes to sell a home is shrinking.

The time it takes to sell a home currently – 69 days in July, down 29.6 percent from 98 days in July 2011 – is in the range of historic norms for a balanced market, according to NAR. It’s also well below the cyclical peak reached in 2009.

The median reflects a wide spectrum; one-third of homes purchased in July were on the market for less than a month, while one in five was on the market for at least six months.

“As inventory has tightened, homes have been selling more quickly,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “A notable shortening of time on market began this spring, and this has created a general balance between home buyers and sellers in much of the country. This equilibrium is supporting sustained price growth, and homes that are correctly priced tend to sell quickly, while those that aren’t often languish on the market.”

At the end July, there was a 6.4-month supply of homes on the market at the current sales pace, which is 31.2 percent below a year ago when there was a 9.3-month supply.

NAR says that its research has determined that a balanced market generally has a median selling time of slightly more than six weeks, making the current market appear balanced.

In balanced market conditions, home prices generally rise 1 to 2 percentage points above the overall rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

“Our current forecast is for the median existing home price to rise 4.5 to 5 percent this year, and about 5 percent in 2013, which is somewhat stronger than historic norms because of the inventory shortfall most pronounced in the low price ranges,” Yun says.

Inflation (CPI growth) is projected at 2.1 percent for 2012 and 2.3 percent next year.

From 1987 through 2011, analysis of the NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers series showed the typical time on market was 6.9 weeks, while the existing-home sales series showed an average supply of 7.0 months – just above the high end for a balanced market.

NAR’s new measure of days on market shows a longer selling time than earlier findings that measured traditional sellers of non-distressed homes. The new series includes short sales that typically took three months or longer to sell.

“Factoring out short sales, the median time on market for traditional sellers appears to be in the balanced range of six to seven weeks,” Yun says.

During the peak of the housing boom in 2004 and 2005, when inventory supplies were historically low at an average 4.3 months, the median selling time was 4 weeks. Prices in that time rose at an annual rate of 10.3 percent.

In the economic downturn, time on market for non-distressed sellers peaked at 10 weeks in 2009 with a 10-month annualized supply. The median price fell 12.9 percent that year, the biggest annual decline on record.

“Ironically, if housing construction doesn’t pick up to normal levels within two years, supply shortages could be sustained for an extended period and lead to above average appreciation,” Yun says. “Therefore, any unnecessary hindrance to housing starts, such as excessive local zoning regulations or stringent bank capital rules for construction loans, should be carefully re-examined.”

NAR’s new days-on-market figures will be included in future existing-home sales releases. It’s derived from a monthly survey for the Realtors Confidence Index.

The median time on market can be misleading at times, however. If an abundance of fresh listings enters the market, it could skew the average downward.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

July home price index up 3.8% year-over-year

 Sept. 4, 2012 – Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 3.8 percent in July 2012 compared to July 2011, according to CoreLogic’s monthly Home Price Index (HPI) for July. It was the biggest year-over-year increase since August 2006.

On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 1.3 percent in July 2012 compared to June 2012. The July 2012 figures mark the fifth consecutive increase in home prices nationally on both a year-over-year and month-over-month basis.

When distressed home sales are backed out of the statistics, home prices nationwide increased on a year-over-year basis by 4.3 percent. On a month-over-month basis excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 1.7 percent. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

The CoreLogic Pending HPI measures homes under contract but not yet sold. CoreLogic says that it predicts August home prices, including distressed sales, will rise by 4.6 percent on a year-over-year basis and at least 0.6 percent on a month-over-month basis. Excluding distressed sales, August house prices are also poised to rise 6.0 percent year-over-year and 1.3 percent month-over-month.

“The housing market continues its positive trajectory with significant price gains in July, and our expectation of a further increase in August,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “While the pace of growth is moderating as we transition to the off-season for home buying, we expect a positive gain in price levels for the full year.”

“Although we expect some slowing in price gains over the balance of 2012, we are clearly seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel,” adds Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

Florida has 26% of all U.S. international sales

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Aug. 27, 2012 – Florida Realtors® released its “Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida 2012” today. The survey, conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), found that almost one in five Florida sales in the 12-month period ending in June involved an out-of-country buyer.

Researchers say that the 2012 results closely resemble those in 2011. It’s based on a survey taken by over 1,500 members of Florida Realtors.

The international real estate market – defined as non-resident foreigners who buy residential real estate in the U.S. – is important to Florida. Nationwide, 51 percent of all foreign sales take place in only four states – Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. Of those four states, Florida has the largest share: 26 percent of national sales to foreign buyers closed in the Sunshine State.

Overall, 19 percent of Florida home sales (by dollar volume) went to foreign buyers.

Report highlights

• Nearly all international sales were cash – 82 percent of transactions.

• The median price paid by international buyers was $194,700 compared to an overall Florida median price of $125,100 and a U.S. median price of $167,758.

• Canadian buyers tended to buy in the lower price range; European and Latin American buyers bought at a higher price range.

• Foreign buyers see the U.S. residential housing market as a good value, thanks, in part, to favorable international exchange rates.

• In the 2012 survey, Canadians led the way as United Kingdom buyers faded a bit. Brazil and Venezuela have increased as sources.

• Condos account for 45 percent of properties, townhouses 10 percent and detached single-family homes 36 percent.

• 61 percent of surveyed Realtors said that they worked with an international client in the past 12 months, down from 77 percent.

Coldwell Banker's annouces the top Luxury agents in Florida

Hughes Shelton Realtors was recently recognized by Coldwell Banker Previews International as one of the top 30 agents in the state of Florida for Luxury Home sales.  Hughes Shelton Realtors was the number one real estate team for Hillsborough County, Florida in dollar volume and units sold.