Tag Archives: Home Prices

Home prices across the country slipped in August, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday. The agency's closely-watched gauge of residential property values recorded a 0.1 percent drop in the composite reading of 10 cities tracked, while the 20-city composite posted a 0.2 percent decline. Home prices decreased in 15 of the survey's 20 metropolitan statistical areas on a month-to-month basis. Only Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York, and Washington D.C. posted what S&P called ""marginal improvements.""

Home prices in the U.S. declined 1.5 percent in August compared to a year earlier, CoreLogic reported Monday. It's the first time this year the company's index has recorded an annual drop. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, warned that price declines are expanding geographically. Seventy-eight of the largest 100 metros included in the firm's study posted lower prices in August. CoreLogic's assessment is in line with what's expected to be a downward trajectory for home prices in the months ahead.

Sales of previously owned homes rose in September for the second straight month. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Monday reported a 10 percent jump. The month-to-month gain was more than analysts were expecting, and NAR says the latest numbers ""affirm a sales recovery has begun."" Some market observers, though, suggest such an assertion is premature. The median sales price of existing homes dropped 2.4 percent in September. Distressed homes accounted for 35 percent of the month's transactions.

Clear Capital issued a market alert Friday after identifying what the company called a ""dramatic change"" in U.S. home prices. The valuation firm's index is showing a 5.9 percent two-month drop in home prices through September and October, representing a magnitude and speed of decline not seen since March 2009, the height of the housing downturn. The company says this significant drop in prices, in advance of the typical winter housing market slowdowns, paints an ominous picture that will likely persist through the first quarter of 2011.

The Federal Reserve's popular Beige Book released this week suggests economic activity across most of the nation is showing signs of ""modest"" growth, but it's not enough to improve the anemic jobs picture. Housing markets remained weak with most of the 12 regional districts reporting sales below year-ago levels. But the central bank says its seeing stability in home prices. Conditions in the commercial real estate sector were soft, while overall lending activity was described as stable in most districts.

According to RE/MAX's monthly report, the housing market is attempting to return to traditional seasonal trends after a slow summer following the spring rush to qualify for the government's homebuyer tax credit. September sales were 6.4 percent below those in August and 20.6 percent below sales in September 2009, but RE/MAX officials say they are encouraged by reports of signed contracts in the field, which should translate into increased home sales in the months ahead.

Home prices in the United States found their floor during the early part of 2010 and are expected to begin trending upward next year, according to a panel of elite economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics. They are projecting gains in home prices of 1.2 percent over the course of 2011. ""The housing recovery is intact, but tepid overall. Home prices have hit bottom,"" according to the group of economists.

Home value depreciation remained steady in August after improvement stalled in July, according to a new report released by Zillow Friday. The company's market data shows that nationally, home values fell 0.3 percent between July and August and declined 3.8 percent from their year-ago levels. According to Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist, the data clearly illustrates that a bottom in national home values has not yet been hit and will come later this year or in the beginning of 2011 at the earliest.

Data released by Clear Capital Thursday shows that quarter-over-quarter home prices were down 0.2 percent in September compared to the previous month's reading. It's the first time in months the company has seen national home prices slip into negative territory. Clear Capital says signs of a slowdown are apparent and likely mark an early onset of the typically weaker winter season. However, the company says home prices are still 10 percent above their 2009 lows, so the risk of carving out a new trough this year remains small.

According to recently released reports from the Nevada Title Company, the closing price for homes in Las Vegas Valley was $135,000 in September, down $5,000 from the closing price in August and down $3,000 from September 2009. Last month, 984 REO homes and 734 short sales were closed, making up 40 percent and 31 percent of all closings in the Valley, respectively. The latest figures from Nevada Title suggest that REO inventory, although high, may begin to steady in coming months.