Tag Archives: Home Prices

Despite an increase in new and existing home sales, home prices in 2010 slumped to their lowest point in December, according to a recent report by mortgage technology company FNC. The FNC Residential Price Index (RPI) attributes the decline in part to increased sales of foreclosed properties, and higher distressed-property discounts. According to the index, home prices declined for the seventh straight month in December, ending the year with the biggest one-month drop of 2010.

TransUnion reports that for the fourth quarter of 2010, the national mortgage delinquency rate dropped to 6.41 percent, down 0.47 percent from the company's third-quarter reading. These new findings confirm consecutive quarterly drops for U.S. mortgage loan delinquency in 2010, and almost a 7 percent decline year-over-year. On the surface, ""[t]his is great news...but not so fast,"" says a TransUnion spokesperson. The final quarter in 2010 marked the smallest decline in mortgage delinquency since the recession ended in the summer of 2009.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that home sales increased in 49 states during the fourth quarter of 2010, with 78 markets experiencing gains from the fourth quarter of 2009. The national average of home sales rose 15.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.80 million in Q4 from 4.16 million in the third quarter. Distressed homes accounted for 34 percent of sales last quarter. Even with foreclosures continuing to enter the inventory pipeline, NAR says they've been selling well and housing supplies have trended down.

According to statistics released by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR), 51 percent of all existing homes sold in southern Nevada are now purchased with cash. GLVAR president, Paul Bell, said this represents a first for the area housing market. Bell says his organization has been checking with counterparts around the country and has yet to find another major metropolitan area where so many buyers are paying cash for homes.

Two separate industry gauges released Tuesday indicate that despite the ups and downs seen in monthly reports on home prices over the last year, residential property values ended 2010 relatively unchanged from 2009 levels. Reports from both Integrated Asset Services and CoreLogic point to level ground over the 12-month period, although consecutive month-to-month declines were the dominant pattern during the latter part of the year without the homebuyer tax credit incentives.

Clear Capital has released new home price data, with an encouraging, albeit cautious, analysis. The company reports that through the end of January, national home prices are down 1.6 percent on a rolling quarter-over-quarter basis. But despite the negative quarterly price change, Clear Capital says U.S. home prices stopped declining in early January and have posted their first uptick since mid-August 2010. The company says the likely explanation for the sudden increase is the slowing of the rate of REO sales.

According to data from Movoto.com, a real estate site based in California, more than half of American families can afford to buy a new home based on income levels and listing prices. But while the site's user search statistics show high interest in affordable price ranges, the company says buyers find it difficult to purchase short sales and foreclosures and banks are still reluctant to lend.

The ups and downs seen in home price data over the past few years indicate a slow recovery in home prices with many false starts, especially in markets riddled with foreclosed properties, according to Fiserv, Inc. But the company's analysts say that while the ebb and flow is not over, they expect 75 percent of U.S. metro areas to see stable prices by the end of 2011. Fiserv says home prices have already leveled out in one of four metro areas.

The latest Case-Shiller figures released by S&P Tuesday signal home prices across the United States continue to weaken. Based on data through November 2010, the 10-city composite of the closely watched gauge was down 0.4 percent and the 20-city composite fell 1.6 percent from their November 2009 levels. Home prices fell in 19 of 20 major metros on a month-to-month basis. S&P's analysts say a double-dip in home prices could be confirmed before spring.

Sales of previously owned homes surged 12.3 percent in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales have increased five of the last six months and have now hit a seven-month high, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million units. That's up from a rate of 4.70 million in November, but remains 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009. Distressed homes accounted for 36 percent of December's sales.