Tag Archives: Home Prices

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Survey of Consumer Expectations for May 2014. The survey found that home price change expectations fell slightly for the fourth straight month, reaching a new low of 3.77 percent.

Nationally, asking prices rose 0.8 percent month-over-month in March and 2.8 percent quarter-over-quarter in April. Yet asking prices rose a mere 9.0 percent year-over-year, the smallest gain in 11 months according to an analysis of data from Trulia’s Price Monitor and Rent Monitor. With monthly and quarterly increases holding steady, why are yearly increases slipping?

The share of all-cash sales reached a new high in the first quarter of 2014, even as the total share of institutional investor purchases dropped to near-record lows. All-cash sales made up 42.7 percent of all U.S. residential property sales for Q1, up from 37.8 percent from the previous quarter, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Institutional Investor and Cash Sales Report.

Despite a lackluster Spring that went against analyst's projections, CoreLogic's Home Price Index reported that home prices, including distressed and non-distressed sales, still rose from February to March by 1.4 percent. Without distressed sales, the HPI still reflected positive gains for the month, up 0.9 percent month-over-month.

The Wells Fargo Economics Group released a recent report outlining consumer confidence in the Sunshine State. The data from April suggests consumer sentiment slipped in Florida one point to 79 for the month, largely due to increased concerns about current economic conditions.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, considered one of the preeminent measures among home price indicators, shows prices among 20 of the nation's biggest markets grew 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, matching January's rate of growth. Unadjusted, the index was unchanged month-over-month, though even that was an improvement over a 0.1 percent drop to start the year.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) announced during its 16th annual Building Michigan Communities Conference that it projects increases in new housing starts, rising home price, and a decline in foreclosures. "The economic and housing outlook in Michigan for 2014 is decidedly brighter than what we've seen at any time over the previous five years," said MSHDA Executive Director Scott Woosley.

Black Knight Financial Services released its Home Price Index (HPI), noting that home prices in the U.S. rose .7 percent for the month of February to an average of $233,000. The slight increase for the month reflects an overall yearly increase of 7.6 percent, according to the financial company.

Market analysts are dialing back on their expectations for the housing sector this year following reports of continued sluggishness in what should have been the start of a busier season. Sales of both new and existing homes in March fell short of expectations, dashing optimistic projections of a rebound following the end of an unusually harsh winter.

For four out of the last five months, single-family home sales have decreased in the Bay State. This trend is seen by some as a simple problem in availability. Timothy J. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group said, "The low inventory of single-family homes in the market is the primary cause of the decreasing sales activity."