Market Studies

Apartment markets improved in April in all categories, according to the National Multi Housing Council's (NMHC) April Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. All four of the survey's indexes--Market Tightness, Sales Volume, Equity Financing, and Debt Financing--came in above 50, which marks the point between improving and deteriorating conditions. April's gains reverse findings made in January, when Market Tightness and Sales Volume dropped below 50 for the first time since 2010.

Overall Bay Area home sales were up month-over-month but down from a year ago, according to DataQuick's March home sales report for the region. Home sales-which include new and resale houses and condos-totaled 7,263 in the nine county Bay Area in March. The figure represents a 34.4 percent increase from the month before, but sales were still down 6 percent March 2012, according to the San Diego-based company.

Real estate sales have been weakening in California, but ForeclosureRadar found flipping activity in the state reached its highest level since September 2005. In March 2013, sales for distressed and non-distressed transactions decreased 12.9 percent from a year ago, according to a property report from the analytics firm. On the other hand, flipping activity, which ForeclosureRadar defined as reselling a property within six months, nearly tripled over a one year period ending in March after accounting for 5.2 percent of total sales.

While some might be rejoicing at the recent rising home prices and rising home sales seen across the nation, Fitch Ratings ""still views these gains cautiously."" In fact, the agency predicts price gains will slow and perhaps even reverse over the next year. Fitch expects a price ""trough in the middle of 2014"" but suggests inflation will keep prices from falling more than 3.5 percent.

As the rise in single-family rents slows and operating costs increase, Radar Logic stressed the need for institutional investors to focus on properties sold at steep discounts in order to yield a profit from rentals. While institutional investors tend to pay less for single-family homes compared to individual homebuyers since they buy in bulk, the discounts offered for properties vary widely, depending on the market, Radar Logic explained. In order to pinpoint markets where investors are finding the biggest discounts, Radar Logic tracked prices paid by large-scale investors in some 300 metro areas.

The American Dream is still alive, and a recent survey from Gallup provided the data to support this conclusion. According to the survey, more than half of Americans (56 percent) own and plan to continue owning, while 25 percent say they don't own but plan to in the next 10 years, which means 81 percent of Americans either own or have the intention to. The research company, however, noted that the current share of overall homeownership found is actually the lowest since the question was first posed in 2001.

Despite a drop in new listings, home sales in Colorado continued to trend upward, the Colorado Association of Realtors (CAR) reported. Home sales, which include single-family residents, condos, and town homes, jumped 16 percent to 18,343 in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Slightly more than half of Americans harbor at least one regret about their current home, according to Trulia's Real Estate Regrets survey. The top regret listed among homeowners is not choosing a larger home. Thirty-four percent of homeowners cited this regret in Trulia's survey. The second most common regret among homeowners is not remodeling more when they purchased their current homes.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.41 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending April 18, down from last week, when it averaged 3.43 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed averaged 3.90 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate.com's weekly survey showed yet another three-month low for fixed rates. According to the site, the benchmark 30-year FRM average retreated to 3.61 percent from 3.64 percent previously.

While the March jobs report delivered disappointing numbers, the strength in construction employment offers encouragement, Freddie Mac explained in its economic and housing outlook report for April. Construction jobs have been ""accelerating"" in recent months, with net construction job growth representing 15 percent of all job gains over the last six months, the report stated. ""Construction employment is showing signs of life, which should help to improve the overall macroeconomic picture,"" said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist.