Tag Archives: RealtyTrac

With housing markets improving in several capacities across the country, RealtyTrac set out to find which markets are doing best in terms of both real estate wealth and the health of their residents. States with markets performing well, according to RealtyTrac's Health and Wealth report, include Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, North Carolina, California, Tennessee, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, and Arkansas. To determine the health of a market, RealtyTrac considered factors such as the level of activeness among residents, chronic disease incidence rates, and fast food per capita.

RealtyTrac observed 100 large metro areas across the country for evidence of recovery based on seven indicators, including unemployment rate, the rate of underwater homeowners, the change in foreclosure activity from its peak, the change in median home price from its trough, the percentage of distressed sales, the share of sales to institutional investors, and the share of cash sales. Rochester, New York, topped the index with several positive indicators, including low unemployment, low underwater rates, low distressed sales, rising home prices, and a large drop in foreclosures.

The positive indicators seen in housing markets across the country are not a mirage but a true recovery, according to RealtyTrac VP Daren Blomquist and a panel of six real estate professionals who spoke during a roundtable discussion Friday. RealtyTrac ranked 100 markets in terms of recovery and found a smattering of markets from all regions in the top 20. Blomquist said the defining factors for where a market landed on the ranks were location and employment.

Is it possible that we have turned the corner on the real estate crisis? Some economic indicators seem to be pointing in that direction. Inasmuch as there are tangible measurements, which have evolved into positive forecast discussions, we are not out of the woods just yet. The foreclosure process remains in the spotlight. Shortly after the 2010 robo-signing issue materialized and was reported on every news channel imaginable, REO sales throughout the country began a downward spiral. Although the robo-signing issue seems to have been addressed, there are many states that still have a cumbersome foreclosure process.

Foreclosure filings increased 2 percent in July, rising from a reported 78-month low in June, according to RealtyTrac's latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The worst foreclosure rates continue to take place in judicial states, according to the report. In fact, six of the top 10 foreclosure rates took place in judicial states in July, RealtyTrac found. Blomquist also pointed out that July's foreclosure filings are 64 percent below the peak reached in March 2010 but 54 percent above the historical average prior to the housing crisis.

RealtyTrac announced the newest member to its RealtyTrac Network (RTN), a network of leading independent and franchised brokerage companies. Prudential Utah Real Estate, with 15 offices and more than 400 agents covering nine counties in northern Utah, was selected to join the exclusive network.

RealtyTrac brought on three industry professionals to strengthen its growing RealtyTrac Network (RTN), a licensed network available to leading independent and franchised brokerage companies.

With the exception of short sales, activity for distressed sales was relatively calm in June, according to data from RealtyTrac. Last month, institutional investors accounted for 9 percent of residential sales. The share represents a slight increase from 8 percent in May, and a small decrease from 10 percent in June 2012. Meanwhile, short sales saw a significant increase over the last year, representing 14 percent of all sales in June, up from 8 percent a year ago.

Single-family home flipping is on the rise as flippers see growing profits from their endeavors in most markets, according to a report released by RealtyTrac. The volume of house flipping increased 19 percent from the first half of this year to the first half of last year, according to RealtyTrac. At the same time, profits from flipping increased 246 percent. Over the first half of this year, investors earned an average gross profit of $18,391 per home flipped, up from $5,321 in the first half of last year and a vast improvement from the first half of 2011 when flippers lost an average of $13,206 on flips.

Foreclosure activity was sluggish in June, dipping 14 percent from May and falling 35 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac's most recent foreclosure report. With 127,790 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in June, RealtyTrac also revealed foreclosure activity is down to the lowest level since December 2006. Foreclosure starts also experienced a dramatic fall, decreasing 45 percent year-over-year in June to the lowest level since December 2005. While foreclosure activity dropped, foreclosure auctions in judicial states jumped 34 percent compared to a year ago.