Tag Archives: Housing Supply

The nation's economy expanded gradually from early July through mid-August, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The description of the economy, drawn from reports from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, differed from the usual tone of Beige Books, which have recently described economic growth as ""modest"" or ""moderate."" Housing markets across most districts, the Beige Book said, showed ""signs of improvement, with sales and construction continuing to increase.""

According to Radar Logic's RPX Monthly Housing Market Report for June, sales of homes at foreclosure auctions and REO sales by financial institutions fell to their lowest share of sales since 2008. The fall in distressed sales led to an overall year-over-year gain in the RPX Composite price, which measures statistics in 25 metropolitan areas. However, Radar Logic warned that price gains made in the first half of the year may not last.

After seeing some of the worst of the housing crash, Florida is continuing its steady bounce back, Florida Realtors reported Wednesday. According to the group, the Sunshine State saw increases in pending sales, closed sales, and median prices in July, while inventory of homes and condos for sale dropped.

This year's second quarter saw the largest quarterly growth in home prices in nearly seven years, according to FHFA's purchase-only home price index (HPI). The agency reported house prices rose 1.8 percent from the year's first quarter to the second quarter-the largest growth since the fourth quarter of 2005. In addition, distressed sales in the market fell to 29.1 percent, a sharp drop from the first quarter's 38.3 percent share.

New home sales regained all the ground they lost in June, jumping by 13,000 to an annualized rate of 372,000 in July, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the report to show a sales pace of 362,000.

Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group issued its latest economic outlook, maintaining its expectations for modest growth in 2012. This news comes in spite of reports of strengthening retail sales and job growth in July. The group pointed to dismal news throughout the first half of the year as reasoning for its unchanging outlook. However, even with slowing job growth, global and domestic economic uncertainty, and a decline in consumer spending, things are not anticipated to get worse.

Zillow released on Tuesday its Real Estate Market Reports for July, revealing that the company's Home Value Index hit $151,600 for the month, a 0.5 percent gain from June and a 1.2 percent increase year-over-year. Of the metro areas covered in the reports, 62 percent saw home values climb during July, with only 49 of the 167 areas posting declines.

The real estate giant released its National Housing Report for August 2012 (covering July), showing that both sales and prices have posted year-over-year increases for most of 2012. Home sales appear to have peaked year-to-date in June, with July's sales falling 9.4 percent month-over-month. However, sales were up 10.3 percent from July 2011, marking the 13th consecutive month for year-over-year sales gains.

After surveying more than 1,800 active home sellers, Redfin found that some of its customers are holding back from selling now because they believe patience will pay off in the form of higher offers for their home. The survey revealed that 38 percent of respondents plan to wait more than a year before selling their home, while 25 percent said they plan on selling now. Homeowners also expressed optimism for future home prices, with 80 percent believing they are bound to get a higher price for their home after a year or two.

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) reported Friday that home sales and prices both showed strong gains in July, with the sales pace showing year-over-year growth for the fourth straight month and the median price reaching a four-year high. Leslie Appleton-Young, CAR VP and chief economist, said the gains in the last few months reflect a market shift toward higher-priced homes.