Tag Archives: Home Sales

Existing-home sales rose in January for the third time in the last four months, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). January sales completed transactions were up 4.3 percent from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million. January sales – completed transactions – were up 4.3 percent from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million. December's total was revised downward to 4.38 million from 4.61 million. The January 2012 sales pace was up 0.7 percent from January 2011.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is still at an all-time low of 3.87 percent and it's been there since the first week of February, according to the weekly market survey published by Freddie Mac. The 30-year average has managed to remain below 4 percent for the past 11 weeks, and below 5 percent for the past 52 weeks, dating back to February 17, 2011. The 15-year rate was also unchanged in the GSE's study, while the 5-year adjustable rate posted a slight decline and the 1-year adjustable rate increased.

Zillow forecasts home values will be on the decline through December 2012, but the decrease will be smaller than in 2011. Home values in the U.S. fell in the fourth quarter, with the Zillow Home Value Index sinking 1.1 percent after a less significant decline for the two previous quarters. Zillow's report also shows that the rate of homes foreclosed on increased slightly to 8.2 out of every 10,000 in December, compared to 8 out of every 10,000 homes in November.

Fannie Mae announced Tuesday that it has expanded its online system to accept purchase offers for all its REOs listed for sale. Real estate agents will now submit offers online on behalf of clients, receive receipt confirmation, and track the status of submitted offers through the HomePath.com website. In November 2010, Fannie Mae launched the HomePath Online Offers pilot in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; and Detroit, Michigan. Now, the Online Offers feature is available for all Fannie Mae-owned properties across the nation.

Average mortgage interest rates have reversed from the upward blip reported last week. Declines this week completely erased the previous week's increases, as the average rate attached to the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, and 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage all settled in at new record lows, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The GSE attributed the about-face to the fact that recent data on economic growth fell short of market projections.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Wednesday issued a notice to investors interested in buying government-owned REOs in bulk for use as rental properties, encouraging them to register with Fannie Mae in order to pre-qualify as an eligible bidder. FHFA says the first pilot transaction will be announced in the ""near-term."" During the pilot phase, Fannie Mae will sell off pools of various types of assets, including rental properties, vacant properties, and nonperforming loans, with a focus on the hardest-hit areas.

The percentage of single-family homes sitting empty fell to 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That's down from 2.7 percent at the beginning of last year, and the lowest homeowner vacancy rate since early 2006. Analysts say it's a sign that excess inventory - at least the visible inventory - is slowly but surely beginning to clear. The Census Bureau also reported that the nation's homeownership rate dropped to 66.0 percent - its lowest level in nearly 14 years.

The analysts at Capital Economics are holding fast to their forecast that the downturn in the housing market is drawing to a close. As a result, they say housing should soon start to boost economic growth, but as it now makes up only a small share of the economy, the sector is unlikely to add much more than 0.2 percentage points to annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year. In the fourth quarter of 2011, residential investment accounted for just 2.5 percent of overall GDP. That's down from the 2005 peak of 6.3 percent and the 1946 to 2008 average of 4.8 percent.

Seventy-two percent of homeowners say they are satisfied with homeownership, according to a recent HomeGain survey of more than 1,400 homeowners. Among the 28 percent who said they were dissatisfied, nearly two-thirds cited price depreciation as the main reason for their dissatisfaction. HomeGain also assessed satisfaction levels by sales type and found that homeowners who purchased a home through a short sale were the most likely to be pleased with their choice, followed by those who purchased a foreclosed home.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that mortgage interest rates have done a 180 and are now starting to climb, buoyed by positive housing data over recent weeks which show the market ended 2011 on a high note. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 10 basis points in one week's time and is now averaging 3.98 percent, reversing its previous three-week trend of setting all-time record lows. Despite the jump, this marks the eighth consecutive week the 30-year fixed rate has remained below 4.00 percent.