Tag Archives: Home Prices

The projected taxpayer cost to preserve the profitability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is lower now that the GSEs are not expected to draw from Treasury to pay dividends and home prices are increasing, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. So far, the GSEs have drawn $187.5 billion from Treasury. When assessing potential Treasury draws under three different scenarios, FHFA projects Treasury draws will range from $191 billion to $209 billion at the end of 2015, or an additional $3 to $22 billion in support.

Lender Processing Services' Home Price Index, which reflects transacted sales rather than recorded sales, revealed that the average U.S. home price increased to $205,000 in August, up 0.2 percent from July. The average home price in August 2011 was $199,000, or 2.6 percent less than this year's reading. The most recent price increase brings the HPI up 4.6 percent from January 2012. Minnesota and Michigan led all states in month-over-month price gains, reaching growth of more than one percent.

Summer's end may have led to the close of a strong home-buying season, but a decrease in distressed sales is helping prices maintain their yearly gain and some regions are still experiencing monthly price increases. As of August 23, 2012, prices fell 0.4 percent in 25 major U.S. metropolitan areas from July 23, 2012, according to Radar Logic. Year-over-year, prices were still up 4.5 percent, coinciding with a significant decrease in REO and foreclosure auction sales.

Instead of finding clever ways to chase shadow inventory, Zillow has decided to make things easy for thrill-seeking homebuyers and investors who are trying to track down unlisted, invisible inventory. The real estate data provider announced Thursday it is providing a listing of 1.2 million pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties at no cost. The homes provided through Zillow are not found on any Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) continued its upward crawl in August, rising 0.7 percent from July, according to a release from the agency. For the 12 months ending in August, home prices in the United States rose 4.7 percent. The August index is down 15.9 percent from its peak in April 2007 and is at roughly the same level as June 2004's index.

New home sales jumped 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted average annualized rate of 389,000, the highest rate since April 2010, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. The month-to-month sales improvement was the strongest since February, when sales improved 27,000, or 8.0 percent. While sales numbers improved, both the median and average sales price of a new home dropped month-to-month. Sales were still up 27.1 percent from September 2011, the strongest year-over-year gain since February.

The authenticity of this year's recovery may still be in question, but according to Freddie Mac's Economic and Housing Market Outlook for October, the housing sector is showing strength unmatched in previous years. Over the past several years, housing has either hurt or done little to help GDP. ""However, now we're seeing housing resuming its traditional role of leading the recovery charge and once again being the bright spot in the economy,"" said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac.

National home values in the third quarter experienced their biggest increase in more than half a decade, according to Zillow. Home values in the United States rose 1.3 percent from the second to the third quarter, marking the fourth straight quarter of increases, Zillow reported. In addition, the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) rose year-over-year, increasing 3.2 percent to $153,800. The recovery pace has been uneven across markets, however. As the summer buying season ended, many metro areas reported decreasing quarterly values.

Home prices reached a sustainable bottom during the first quarter of this year, according to Barclays' U.S. residential credit strategy team. In many markets, longer-term affordability measures point to equilibrium, the firm's analysts contend. While the floor appears to have materialized, they stress that home prices are likely to recover slowly over the next 4 to 5 years, increasing on average 3 to 4 percent annually. At that rate, Barclays' analysts explained, home prices will remain below their 2006 pre-crisis peaks until June 2021.

Florida's housing market was hot to end the summer, according to housing data released by Florida Realtors. As national home sales and prices showed mixed results for September, Florida's market posted higher sales, higher pending sales, higher median prices, and a slightly down inventory for the month.