Tag Archives: Home Prices

According to Fannie Mae's latest National Housing Survey, 57 percent of consumers expect prices will continue to rise in the next 12 months--a survey high. The average price change expectation was 3.8 percent, a slight drop from May's high of 3.9 percent. More notable was the pickup in mortgage rate expectations. The number of consumers expecting rates will rise over the next 12 months spiked 11 percentage points to 57 percent, another survey high. Only 4 percent said they expect rates will drop.

Delinquencies saw the steepest year-to-date drop since 2002 in May as new problem loan rates inched toward pre-crisis lows, according to Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Mortgage Monitor report released Monday. Since the end of December 2012, the delinquency rate has fallen by more than 15 percent to 6.08 percent in May. ""In large part, this is due to the continuing decline in new problem loans -- as fewer problem loans are coming into the system, the existing inventories are working their way through the pipeline,"" he added. LPS also reported the national equity rate is at 14.7 percent, which translates into 7.3 million loans and represents a 47 percent annual decrease.

May was a strong month for home sales in Connecticut, the Warren Group reported. According to the group, sales in the state rose 2.9 percent year-over-year to 2,356.

National monetary policy alone cannot reliably prevent or reverse housing bubbles, according to a recent report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The downfall lies in the fact that housing prices and housing markets vary widely across the country, stated the researchers in the report. Monetary policy and large national programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) may help some markets while hurting others, according to the report.

First-time buyers might have more of a reason to seek out discounted properties since they are working with a smaller budget, according to a blog from Doorsteps.com. On average, first-time homebuyers spend $154,100 on a home, which is $65,900 less than repeat buyers, who spend an average of $220,000.

Low inventories driven by reluctant sellers, high levels of underwater homeowners, and meager rates of new construction have all played a role in driving home prices upward of late, Radar Logic explains in its RPX Monthly Housing Market Report for April. As of April 2013, the analytics firm's 25-metropolitan-area composite averaged $205.46 per square foot, up 13.1 percent year-over-year and up 2.7 percent month-over-month. This translates into a gain of 23.7 percent from the January 2012 low of $169.62. Prices though are still 26.2 percent below the June 2007 peak.

Although Florida is often recognized for its high foreclosure rate, the state also holds a handful of cities that are ""retirement hot spots"" due to their real estate opportunities, according to RealtyTrac. On Thursday, RealtyTrac released a list of the top 15 markets for retiring. In order to be considered, at least one-third of the population in the markets had to be aged 65 or older. Out of the top 15 markets, seven were in Florida.

Asking home prices took off in June, soaring 10.7 percent year-over-year, Trulia reported Wednesday. Month-over-month, asking prices inched up by 1.5 percent and rose 4.1 percent on a quarterly basis. Rents rose at a slower pace of 2.8 percent year-over-year, though it was still the biggest increase since January. Trulia also tracked the 100 largest metro areas and revealed 99 markets experienced an increase in asking prices over the last year.

At a national level, Clear Capital revised its 2.6 percent projected price gain over the year this year up to 6 percent. While lower than the current yearly gain of 8.6 percent, this forecast is still greater than historical norms, which rank between 4 and 5 percent. Meanwhile, 45 of the top 50 metropolitan markets will experience yearly price increases during the second half of the year, according to Clear Capital's forecast.

National home prices in May posted their biggest annual gain since February 2006, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. When including distressed sales, home prices shot up by 12.2 percent year-over-year in May, marking the 15th straight month of increases. From April to May, home prices climbed 2.6 percent. CoreLogic's pending home price index points to further improvements in June, with prices projected to exceed May's increase with a 13.2 percent gain.