Market Studies

Repeat sales in the commercial real estate market in January came to just one-third of their December volume, according to CoStar's monthly Commercial Repeat Sale Indices. However, the Washington-based analytics and marketing firm said this drop was to be expected and pointed to several positive signs in the sector. January's repeat sales volume was $3.1 billion, about a third of the previous month's volume. The decline was ""expected as the flurry of year-end 2012 deal making subsided,"" CoStar said in its report.

Foreclosures are declining in most of the Western states tracked by ForeclosureRadar, but some experienced anomalous upticks in February. For example, in California notices of default and notices of trustee sale together increased 10 percent--a sharp about-face from the previous month's 43.3 percent decline. ForeclosureRadar anticipates a return to the recent trend of declining foreclosure activity in the state. While positive for homeowners, ForeclosureRadar points out an unintended consequence of such market conditions: decreased REO inventory, which is ""still very much a part of the California real estate landscape,"" the firm said.

The rental market may be flourishing, but finding decent, affordable housing is still a challenge for many renters, especially among the lower-income households, the National Low Income Housing Coalition revealed in a recent report titled Out of Reach 2013. A person working full-time would need to make about $18.79 an hour to afford a decent apartment, yet the hourly wage earned by the average renter is $14.32, according to the report. Among extremely low income (ELI) renter households, affordable housing is an even greater issue. The report estimates there are 10.1 million ELI renters in the country, and 76 percent of the ELI rental segment spends over half of their income on housing costs.

According to ZipRealty, the coveted title of ""Most Affordable Market of 2013"" goes to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the median sales price is 5.27 times the median household income. In fact, metro areas in Texas and in non-coastal regions are the best places to find a real estate bargain, according to ZipRealty. Meanwhile, metros located on or close to the coasts make up the list of least affordable areas. Washington, D.C., takes the top spot, with the average median price costing 16.78 times the average household income.

Unexpectedly positive employment and spending data drove mortgage rates to their highest level since August in the last week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rose to 3.63 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending March 14, up from 3.52 percent last week. Bankrate reported even more dramatic shifts this week, with the 30-year fixed average climbing 12 basis points to 3.85 percent.

In January, servicers completed about 78,400 modifications, bringing the total since 2007 to 6.15 million, according to data from HOPE NOW. The number of completed short sales in January slowed to 29,244, down from 34,909 in December 2012. As of December 2009, the industry has completed 1.18 million short sales. When combining foreclosure prevention solutions through loan modifications and short sales, the cumulative total is about 7.33 million.

Foreclosure starts in February showed some pick-up in activity month-over-month, while REOs fell to their lowest level since September 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s foreclosure market report for February. RealtyTrac reported a 10 percent increase in foreclosure starts from January after three straight months of declines. Year-over-year, foreclosure starts were still down 25 percent. Bank repossessions, or REOs, hit a 65-month low in February, according to RealtyTrac, and were 11 percent lower from the previous month and down 29 percent from February 2012.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 10,000 to 332,000 for the week ending March 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 350,000 initial unemployment claims. The drop in filings--the third in the last four weeks--resumed a downward trend in layoffs.

While every homebuyer is different, certain features in residential properties tend to be of greater value to consumers. To find out what some of those features are, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveyed over 2,000 households that purchased a home between 2010 and 2012. Out of the 33 home features presented in the survey, NAR reported central air conditioning was the most important feature to buyers, with 65 percent stating this was very important. A walk-in closet in the master bedroom was said to be of great value among 39 percent of buyers, making it the second most important feature.

About 4.2 million eligible borrowers should expect to receive a check ranging from hundreds of dollars to $125,000 in the next few months as part of the new agreement that replaced the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR), regulators announced during a call Wednesday. Suzanne Killian of the Federal Reserve and Ted Wartell of the OCC explained Rust Consulting, the paying agent, will send the 4.2 million borrowers a postcard notifying them of eligibility at the end of this month, and then additional correspondence and a check should follow in 4-8 weeks.