Tag Archives: Home Prices

Housing conditions continued to show signs of stabilizing during the second quarter, following a downward trend that began to reverse itself in mid-2009, HUD says in a new report. The federal agency immediately follows that assessment, though, with ""the housing market's recovery remains fragile."" HUD's quarterly commentary on the state of housing in the U.S. sums up a dichotomy of positives and negatives in market indicators. For example, sales and prices of existing homes rose in Q2, but fell for new homes.

Steve Archambault, Democratic candidate for attorney general in the state of Rhode Island, recently released details of his plan to combat mortgage fraud and protect consumers in his state. According to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, Rhode Island led the nation in mortgage fraud in 2008. Archambault says he also plans to target current banking practices that contributed to historically low home values.

For the first time in five months, fewer sellers cut the asking price of their home in August, according to the online real estate marketplace Zillow. As of the end of last month, the company says just over one-fourth, 28.8 percent, of all listings on Zillow had at least one price reduction. That's a decrease from the 30.1 percent of listings that had a price reduction as of the end of July. Zillow says nationally, the median price cut amounts to 7 percent.

A study released by Clear Capital Thursday shows that quarter-over-quarter home prices were up 5.7 percent in August, compared to the previous month's reading. It's a gain, but the company says price increases are beginning to narrow and appear to be poised for a descent. Even with the slowdown, Clear Capital's assessment is that home prices won't fall below the lows seen in 2009 and bring about that dreaded double dip...at least not until next spring.

Economic growth is still grinding along, but has slowed considerably since earlier in the year, according to the Federal Reserve's popular Beige Book report released Wednesday. Reports from the 12 Fed districts on their local economies painted a picture of ""widespread signs of a deceleration."" Real estate remains a drag on economic growth in regions across the country, with major trouble spots identified in poor home sales and weak demand for commercial space.

According to a report from the American Land Title Association (ALTA), title insurance premiums written during the second quarter of 2010 decreased 8.5 percent to an industry total of $2.3 billion. That's down from $2.5 billion in Q2 2009. The industry reported $4.4 billion in title insurance in the first half of 2010, a decline of 2.9 percent from the period a year prior. ALTA says the numbers reflect an on-going recession in the housing market with further downward pressure on home prices.

That ominous shadow inventory of distressed homes that's been hanging over the industry was trimmed in July, according to Barclays Capital. It marked the fifth straight month the company has recorded a decline in the shadow supply. Barclays says it shrank 1.2 percent, to 3.92 million homes. At the same time, the firm's assessment of the nation's REO inventory ticked up 0.2 percent to 538,000 properties. The distressed share of home sales rose sharply in July, and Barclays says this will likely drive prices down 2 percent over the next three months.

In the first quarter of 2010, state housing finance agencies' (HFAs) delinquencies declined for the first time since overall performance of loans began to deteriorate in the second quarter of 2008, according to Standard & Poor's. But the agency's analysts say the slowdown could be only temporary. S&P's study shows delinquency rates for HFA loans remain high relative to a year ago. However, the percentage of HFA loans at least 60 days past due or in foreclosure decreased to 6.05 percent in Q1, down from 6.57 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Home prices rose in June for the third consecutive month - a precipitate of the homebuyer tax credit that sparked a flurry of purchase activity in the spring. Buyer demand, though, has now dropped off substantially, and it's a trend that will likely rob the market of the recent rebound in home prices. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday, home prices rose 1.0 percent in June compared to May. While June itself was positive, growth rates have already decelerated in 14 of the 20 metros included in S&P's study.

Moody's Investors Service says it expects home price appreciation to be ""soft"" for the next couple of years. The company says there were 1.8 million more vacant homes sitting on the market than what is considered the norm at the end of the second quarter, reflecting a rise in the number of homes that lenders are repossessing. According to Moody's, it will not be until 2012 that demand and supply conditions are balanced enough to drive price appreciation that matches the pace of inflation.