Tag Archives: Home Prices

Nearly two-thirds of millennials expressed an increased interest in buying, and it's not because they are tired of apartment living, according to a survey from Pulte Group, Inc., a national homebuilder. The PulteGroup Home Index Survey (PGHI) showed 65 percent of renters between ages 18 to 34 with an annual income of at least $50,000 said their intention to buy has increased significantly or somewhat over the past year. The majority of millennials, or 52 percent, are interested in buying because they view a home as an investment and have a desire to own and build equity.

The explanation from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for the drop in the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for February has to be viewed with a jaundiced eye. According to the NAR, the PHSI dropped because of the low inventory of homes for sale. Of course, that wasn't offered as an explanation one month earlier, when the inventory of homes for sale dropped to its lowest level since December 1999 and the PHSI increased. But when the PHSI fell in February, and the inventory of homes for sale increased, the still-low inventory became a convenient excuse.

After showing disappointing preliminary numbers, the final Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey Index of Consumer Sentiment jumped to end March, according to the Surveys of Consumers group. The monthly index reached 78.6, coming in above February's reading of 77.6 and March 2012's reading of 76.2. Preliminary figures released mid-March showed an index reading of 71.8, and economists surveyed by Bloomberg came out with a median forecast of 72.6 for the month.

Lower rental yields might cause investors to lose interest in the housing market, but according to Capital Economics, that scenario is unlikely to play out this year. Currently, the increase in home prices is outpacing the rise in rents, which ""is weighing on rental yields,"" the firm noted in a report authored by the property economist Paul Diggle. However, Capital Economics stated the reduction in rental yields is actually ""very gradual"" and the ""the total return from housing remains attractive."" Thus, investors, who analysts say are driving the recovery, are not expected to exit the market just yet.

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts were down year-over-year in February after 13 consecutive months of increases, The Warren Group reported. Home sales for February stood at 2,246, down 5 percent from 2,366 sales in February 2012. According to the real estate data provider, February marked the first decrease since December 2011.

New home sales fell 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000 in February, the sharpest drop in two years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. At the same time, the months' supply of new homes for sale rose to the highest level since December 2011. The median price of a new home, according to the Census/HUD report, rose $7,200 in February after falling $20,500 in January. The median price is up 2.9 percent in the last year, the weakest year-over-year gain in eight months.

Home prices posted their strongest year-year gain in almost seven years in January according to the Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city Home Price Indexes released Tuesday. Home prices rose year-year in all 20 of the cities in the Case-Shiller survey. Month-over-month, the 10-city index improved 0.2 percent in January, while the 20-city index was up 0.1 percent. Year-over-year, the 10-city index was up 7.3 percent, and the 20-city index rose 8.1 percent. Prices rose in nine cities in January over December while falling in eight.

Veros released Monday its VeroFORECAST update for the next 12 months, predicting price appreciation in 75 percent of markets. Veros' future home price index (HPI) forecast projects significant strengthening and improvement across most markets. On average, Veros expects 2.2 percent price appreciation over the next year. This is the third consecutive quarter in which the index has shown forecast appreciation. As of the March update, 75 percent of U.S. markets are expected to see appreciation, while the remaining 25 percent are expected to experience declining home prices.

National home prices continued to recover in January, but prices were still far below their peak, according to the Home Price Index (HPI) report from Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS). In January, national home prices averaged $208,000, up 0.3 percent from December and 6.7 percent year-over-year. However, prices were still 21.4 percent below their June 2006 peak. The state that led with the biggest monthly price increase was Georgia, where prices were up 1.6 percent. Three hard-hit states--Arizona, California, and Florida--saw respective price gains of 1 percent, 0.7 percent, and 0.4 percent.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Improving Markets Index (IMI) showed no signs of slowing down in March, rising for its seventh consecutive month. According to NAHB, 274 metros are now on the mend, a net gain of 15 since February. While 19 markets were dropped, 34 new areas were added, including Birmingham, Alabama; Santa Barbara, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Bloomington, Indiana. For the second straight month, metros in all 50 states are represented on the list.