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Tag Archives: Housing Supply

New Home Sales Post Strongest Increase in 20 Years

New home sales jumped 15.6 percent in January--the strongest gain in 20 years--to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000, the highest since July 2008, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the report to show a much smaller sales pace: 381,000. January's rate of sales was the highest since July 2008. At the same time, the months' supply of new homes for sale dropped to its lowest level since March 2005.

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Lack of Inventory, Not Shadow Inventory, Is the Real Concern

DS News took some time to chat with Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac, to get a reading on the current state of the foreclosure market and what is expected to come. Although foreclosures served to strip homes of their value during the housing crisis, Blomquist says foreclosures will be seen as a welcome sign this year and act as a stimulus. While this may seem counterintuitive, Blomquist said, ""because of the severe lack of inventory available for sale, foreclosures could actually fill that inventory and provide more fuel to the fire that's been slowly building over the past year as more sales occur.""

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Commentary: Minimal Minimum

President Obama unleashed a predictable firestorm when he proposed during the State of the Union address that the minimum wage be increased to $9.00 an hour from the current $7.25. The reactions were expected: conservative economists criticizing the suggestion while progressives either endorsed it outright or noted the proposal was less than the $9.50 minimum wage proposed by then-candidate Obama.

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Fannie Mae Projects Slow Economic Growth Amid Fiscal Policy Concerns

Even with tax hikes and spending cuts creating a significant headwind to the economy, Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group is maintaining its outlook for slow and steady growth in 2013. On the housing front, continued lean inventory and the increase in rate of household formation bode well for homebuilding activity and residential construction employment, the outlook says, giving housing an opportunity to contribute more to economic growth. However, one unknown variable on the supply side is how many underwater borrowers are waiting to list their homes.

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Housing Starts Impacted by Distressed Inventory

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 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.

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Starts Plunge in January; Permits at 4 1/2-Year High

Housing starts plunged 8.5 percent in January--the steepest drop in two years--to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Wednesday. Applications for residential permits rose 1.8 percent to a rate of 925,000, the highest level since June 2008. Economists had expected start activity to drop to 914,000 in January from the initial report for December of 954,000 starts. Permits, according to the consensus forecast, were expected to increase to 920,000 from the original report of 903,000 in December.

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Redfin: New Short Sale Listings Down 54% from 2012

In a blog post Friday, Redfin revealed new conventional listings have actually gone up 2 percent compared to last year, while listings for distressed properties have been reduced in half. Redfin conducted an analysis of new property listings in the first five weeks of 2013 (January 1 to February 11) compared to the same period in 2012. The Seattle-based brokerage found short sale listings decreased 54 percent from 2012, while REO listings are down by 46 percent. Overall, new listings declined 18 percent from 2012.

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Report: Price Recovery Appears Unsustainable in Arizona, Nevada

Certain states are seeing above average gains in home prices, but concerns have been raised that some states are seeing ""unsustainable, investor-fueled"" increases, Capital Economics pointed out in a recent report. In response to those uncertainties, the research firm conducted an analysis of seven states plus the District of Columbia to see if price gains are merely investor led or truly sustainable. Out of the 8 places covered, the firm concluded five states appear to be sustainable based on factors such as income and employment growth.

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RE/MAX: Prices Up 8% from Year Ago; Inventory Falls Again

Median home prices in January continued to stay above year ago levels while falling month-over-month, according to a recent report from RE/MAX. At the same time, inventory remained low, causing a shortage in supply while pushing up home prices, RE/MAX explained. At $155,000, the median sales price in January sat 6.6 percent below December’s sales price, but was still 8 percent higher compared to January 2012. Inventory trended downward month-over-month for 31 consecutive months in January after falling 5.1 percent from December.

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NAR Reports Strong Finish for National, Metro Area Home Prices

At the end of 2012, the national median price saw the biggest annual gain in seven years, more metros reported price improvements, and housing affordability managed to finish the year at a record level despite rising values, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. In Q4 2012, median prices for existing single-family homes increased in 133 out of 152 metro areas compared to the same quarter in 2011. The NAR also found the national median price for an existing single-family home rose to $178,900 in Q4, up 10 percent from $162,600 in the fourth quarter of 2011.

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