Tag Archives: Home Sales

Reports may tout data pointing to a housing recovery, but nearly eight in 10 Americans are unconvinced, according to the How Housing Matters survey conducted by Hart Research Associates. In the survey, 58 percent of Americans said they believe we are still in the middle of the housing crisis, while another 19 percent said the worst is yet to come, which means 77 percent hold the belief that the crisis is still here. Just one in five, or 20 percent, believe the crisis is ""pretty much over.""

Interest from first-time homebuyers is steadily growing due to concerns over rising interest rates and prices, while investor interest remains strong, according to results from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The survey found first-time homebuyers accounted for 34.5 percent of home purchase transactions in February, leading to the second monthly increase. Meanwhile, investor purchases reached a four-month high after accounting for 34.5 percent of transactions in February, according to the survey results.

Investment-home sales in 2012 were down slightly from the year before but remain elevated, while the median price increased, according to a survey from National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales for investment homes fell 2.1 percent to 1.21 million, down from 1.23 million in 2011. Overall, investment sales accounted for 24 percent of sales in 2012, the second highest share since 2005, NAR data revealed. The median price paid for investment homes increased 15 percent to $115,000 in 2012 compared to $100,000 in 2011, NAR reported.

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.

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.

Although prices are improving and foreclosures are declining, there's still room for economic uncertainty to ""dampen"" housing activity, according to DataQuick's Property Intelligence Report (PIR) for February. For February, DataQuick found home prices grew in 34 of the 42 counties on a monthly and quarterly basis. DataQuick also noted four hard-hit states-Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada-saw double-digit price growth over the last year, while other markets are averaging growth at 2.5 percent.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell 0.4 percent to 104.8 in January, the third month-over-month decline in the last four months, the association reported. Economists had expected a 0.7 percent drop to 105.2 from January's originally reported 105.9 The January index reading was revised to 105.2. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun attributed the drop in the PHSI to weak inventory of existing homes for sale.

Radar Logic reports a seasonal price dip in January but a 12.7 percent increase year-over-year. The firm continues to find heavy investor influence in many markets, though investor activity may be shifting somewhat into new markets. Radar Logic's RPX Composite Index, which measures prices in 25 metros, posted a 2 percent decline in January. Prices remain 31 percent below their June 2007 peak. Institutional investors are playing an active role in many markets but appear to be shifting out of some markets where they previously played a major role and into some smaller markets previously largely ignored by the group.

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.