Distressed Houses Thinning 'Seller Shortage'

Distressed Houses Thinning 'Seller Shortage'
The low inventory of for-sale homes is creating a seller’s market throughout the country.
The supply of existing homes for sale reached nearly an eight-year low in January, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Nationwide, there is a 4.2-month supply of existing homes for sale.
YouTube video.

Home Values Post Biggest Annual Increase

Home Values Post Biggest Annual Increase

Rent Gains Slow: 60% of Single-Family Renters Plan to Buy Within 5 Years Sixty percent of single-family renters and 44 percent of apartment renters say they plan to become home owners within the next five years

Since 2006; Home values in January posted their biggest annual increase since July 2006, beating national gains in rent, according to a recent report from Zillow.

The Zillow Home Value Index rose for the 15th straight month to $158,100 in January 2013. According to Zillow, national home values have not been that high since June 2004. The improvement represents a 6.2 percent year-over-year gain and a 0.7 percent increase from December 2012.
The winter season, however, slowed gains for the Zillow Rent Index, which was down 0.2 percent from December, but still 4.3 percent higher compared to a year ago. Read more..

Mortgage Rates this week Mostly Hold Steady

Mortgage Rates this week Mostly Hold Steady

Mortgage rates mostly remained unchanged this week, continuing a month long track of keeping at their historical lows, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

'Mortgage rates have been relatively stable, hovering near record lows, for the past four weeks, which is helping to spur new home construction,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Here’s a closer look at national averages for mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 21, according to Freddie Mac:

Read what Fannie Mae economists projections for this year: 

Home Ownership Is Within More Americans' Reach

Home Ownership Is Within More Americans' Reach

'The most recent housing affordability data should be encouraging to many prospective home buyers, because it shows that home ownership remains within reach of median-income consumers even as most local markets appear to be on a recovery path,' says NAHB Chairman Rick Judson.

The median price of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $188,000.  
'It is noteworthy that affordability remains historically high thanks to favorable mortgage rates even as national home price indexes show some rise in values,' says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. 

The nation’s most affordable major housing market? For the second-consecutive quarter, it's Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, according to the index. Read More..

Seller’s Market Developing in Much of the U.S.

Seller’s Market Developing in Much of the U.S.

Existing-home sales edged up in January, while a seller’s market is developing and home prices continue to rise steadily above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales rose in every region but the West, which is the region most constrained by limited inventory.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said tight inventory is a major factor in the market. “Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady,” he said. “In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much of the country.”

Listed inventory is 25.3 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is at the lowest level since December 1999 when there were 1.71 million homes on the market.
“We expect a seasonal rise of inventory this spring, but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequent incidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth,” Yun explained. See Video 

Homeowners Released from Negative Equity in 2012

Homeowners Released from Negative Equity in 2012

Over the course of last year, nearly 2 million homeowners were released from negative equity, Zillow reported Thursday.

Data from Zillow revealed 1.9 million homeowners came out of negative equity due to two main reasons: sustained high foreclosure rates and rising home values, which increased by 5.9 percent year-over-year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
Zillow further projects at least 999,601 homeowners will be released from negative equity in 2013.
“As home values continue to rise and more homeowners are pulled out of negative equity in 2013, the positive effects on the housing market will be numerous,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. Read more.

Foreclosure Discounts Are Fading Away!

Foreclosure Discounts Are Fading Away!
Housing starts declined 8.5 percent from December to January but remain 24 percent above last year’s rates, according to recent data from the Census Bureau and HUD.

Capital Economics points out in a report that the recent decline is largely driven by the multifamily sector, while single-family starts actually rose 0.8 percent over the month.
The general upward trend in housing starts is tied to recent declines in distressed inventory, according to Capital Economics.
“[H]omebuilders are starting to benefit from the dwindling supplies of deeply discounted distressed homes, which for a while were next to impossible for builders to compete with,” the analytics firm stated.See more...