Tag Archives: Home Prices

Eighty-six percent of agents believe prices will rise over the next few months. The same percentage of agents say now is a good time to sell a home. Both of these categories have increased from the first quarter of the year to the second. However, while a majority of agents expect price gains, a minority expect prices to ""rise a lot."" The percent of agents who anticipate prices rising ""a lot"" in coming months fell from 44 percent in the first quarter to just 16 percent in the second quarter, according to Redfin's survey.

Home sales in the Las Vegas-area rose year-over-year for the second straight month in May after 10 months of declines, while the median price made its 14th consecutive annual gain, DataQuick reported.

When it comes to price appreciation, California markets are expected to continue leading growth over the next year, while certain markets concentrated in the Northeast should see a decline in home values, according to Veros Real Estate Solutions' most recent forecast ending June 1, 2014. The company's forecast covers 969 counties, 324 metro areas, and 13,502 zip codes.

The housing recovery is undeniable and widespread, according to Homes.com's Local Market Index and Rebound Reports. The index detected rising prices in all the nation's top 100 markets for the first time on record in April. Not only is progress being made, but according to Homes.com, 14 of the top 100 markets are ""fully recovered,"" and 35 markets are at least halfway to ""recovered"" status.

Mortgages with higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios are not only riskier in terms of the likelihood to default, but they can also impact markets by triggering greater losses in home values, according to the Home Value Forecast report from Pro Teck Valuation Services and Collateral Analytics. ""We have found that as home prices decline, homeowners with high LTVs are much less inclined to stay in their homes since they have little or no equity to protect. This leads to more price declines, which has a cascading effect on other high LTV owners and a further depreciation in home values,"" the report authors explained.

April home sales in Connecticut dropped on a yearly basis for the third straight month as prices continued to ascend, the Warren Group reported.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 0.7 percent increase in its House Price Index (HPI) from March to April. Year-over-year, the HPI was up 7.4 percent. The latest increase marks the 15th straight monthly price improvement in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index.

The price of a new single-family home dropped 3.2 percent in May, but sales increased 2.1 percent to 476,000, the highest level in almost five years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected April sales to increase to 460,000 from April's originally reported 454,000. April sales were revised to 466,000.

Home prices posted their strongest monthly gain on record in April, increasing more than 2.5 percent, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. The monthly 20-city index rose 2.5 percent in April, while the companion 10-city index increased 2.6 percent. Year-over-year, the 20-city index was up 12.1 percent, and the 10-city index was up 11.6 percent, each being the strongest yearly gain since March 2006.

With strong price gains continuing to make headlines, industry analysts are quick to assure us we are not in the midst of another bubble. The current pace of price appreciation will not endure much longer, they say. CoreLogic, Zillow, and other industry observers concur prices appreciation is set to slow, and Monday's report from Capital Economics reinforces this prediction. What is unique about Capital Economics' viewpoint is the firm anticipates ""a more marked slowdown in the pace of house price gains over the next year than other commentators.""