Housing Market

Seattle home prices up 10.6 percent in 12 months

May 29, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Home prices in Seattle rose faster between February and March than in 18 of the 19 other cities tracked in a national index, but the region’s 12-month increase was in line with the national average.

Seattle prices rose 3.0 percent for the month, and 10.6 for the year, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday. The monthly increase was the biggest since April 1990, and the 12-month increase the biggest since January 2007.

U.S. home prices jumped 10.9 percent in March compared with a year ago, the highest annual increase since April 2006. A growing number of buyers are bidding on a tight supply of homes, driving prices higher and helping the housing market recover.

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, Real Estate Updates

Home Check for VA Buyers and Sellers

May 16, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

To finance a home with a VA loan, a property must pass the VA’s set of Minimum Property Requirements. The VA sets these standards to ensure that veterans are purchasing high-quality, move-in ready homes. Find out what to look for to ensure homes you’re interested in buying will meet the requirements. And if you’re trying to sell your home, find out some quick fixes that will increase your curb appeal and your sale price.

Filed Under: Blog, Housing Market, real estate financing

Buy or Rent: Which Makes More Sense Financially?

May 14, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Every potential home buyer has to stop for at least a moment and consider this question. Today, we want to look at one of the many financial reasons to buy instead of rent: the housing expense moving forward.

According to the latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors, the median sales price of a home in the U.S. is $184,300. The mortgage payment (principal & interest) on that purchase would be $661.89 assuming a 20% down payment and a 3.5% mortgage interest rate. Currently, the median asking rent in the U.S. according to the Census Bureau is $717 a month.

We realize that the two payments do not necessarily reflect the housing cost on a similar residence. However, that is not the point of the post. All we are saying is that the monthly housing expense on a median price home is $661.89 and the median rent is $717. We now want to discuss what will happen to these costs over time.

The principal and interest portion of the mortgage payment is locked in for the next 30 years. We know real estate taxes may be included in the payment and will increase to some degree over that time. We also acknowledge that the homeowner will have occasion to spend money on repairs. They also receive many tax advantages as a homeowner.

However, the actual monthly housing expense remains the same for the next 30 years.

Now, let’s look at what happens to a rent payment. The best thing to do to predict the future is to study the past. Here is a graph of the median asking rent since 1988 based on Census Bureau data:

We believe rents will follow their historically pattern and increase dramatically over the next 30 years. Buyers have a choice: either lock in your housing expense or deal with the uncertainty of rental increases.

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, real estate financing, Real Estate Investment

Foreclosure Activity Drops to 6-Year Low

May 10, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Foreclosure filings dropped 5 percent in April from March, with foreclosure filings down 23 percent in April from year ago levels, RealtyTrac reports. Nationwide foreclosure activity has reached a 74-month low or the lowest point since February 2007.

“The April numbers indicate that the pig is moving through the python when it comes to deferred foreclosures in judicial foreclosure states,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Foreclosure starts have been increasing for several months in many of the judicial states, and now that increased volume is showing up in the second stage of the process: the public foreclosure auction.”

Judicial foreclosure auctions rose 22 percent from March to April and were up 31 percent from year-ago levels, RealtyTrac reports. On the other hand, scheduled, non-judicial foreclosure auctions dropped 7 percent in March and are down 43 percent from last year.

Foreclosure starts are rising in several non-judicial states, Blomquist notes. While foreclosure starts have fallen nationwide, 22 states are still seeing a rise in foreclosures over the previous month, RealtyTrac reports. Some of those states include: New Jersey (138 percent increase), Connecticut (46 percent increase), Texas (37 percent increase), Georgia (35 percent increase), Oregon (16 percent increase), and California (13 percent increase).

Source: RealtyTrac and “RealtyTrac: April foreclosure filings drop 23%,” HousingWire

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, Real Estate Updates

What Happens to the Housing Market When the Investors Leave?

May 7, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Investors and all-cash home buyers accounted for about 19 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of all sales in March, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. That represents a significant share of the market, and some analysts are concerned that as home prices rise, investor and all-cash demand will start to shrink.

Who will step up in their place?

Robert Dietz, an economist with the National Association of Home Builders, notes in a recent article for U.S. News & World Report that “missing households” in today’s market who have delayed home ownership will eventually play catch up.

Notably, recent college grads who delayed home ownership by moving in with their parents or renting are expected to increase their homebuying activity. Also, surveys show a growth in the number of Americans living together as roommates who are not relatives. Americans have doubled or even tripled up in rental residences to help cut costs. But as more people get married and start families and jobs stabilize, household formation will likely grow, Dietz notes.

The nation’s population has grown, but the number of independent households of renters and owners has not kept pace. The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows that the population from 2006 to 2011 grew by more than 4 percent, but there was only about a 3 percent growth in the number of households.

Dietz expects that homebuying demand will come strongly from rental households that were created over the last seven years. In that time, the number of rental households in single-family homes grew by 2.5 million, or 22 percent. Traditional renting households in multifamily units increased by nearly 7 percent, Dietz notes.

Dietz says the “real demand for housing is on the sidelines, particularly among younger Americans. … For these younger prospective homebuyers, policy debates concerning the future of the housing finance system and home ownership programs like the mortgage interest deduction will have real impacts on their housing and wealth status in the years to come.”

Source: “What Happens to the Housing Market When the Investors Leave?” U.S. News & World

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, Real Estate Updates

Housing Market: Looking Up

May 3, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, real estate financing, Real Estate Updates

How’s The Market? In Some Areas: VERY Fast

May 2, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

The Eastside is fast! Look at the numbers for properties that sell within the first 30 days. Another by-product of the inventory shortage. If you tried selling a couple of years ago and couldn’t. Now may be the time for you. Here is the complete report Percent of Listings Sold by Day Range _ by Month (Resale Only)

Filed Under: Blog, Housing Market

House Prices Are Back To Late 2003 Levels

May 1, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Case-Shiller housing report came in stronger than expected, with average home prices across 20 metropolitan areas rising 9.3% from last year. That’s better than the 9% gain that had been expected.

Housing has a way to go in the recovery.

With the current reading, house prices are now just back to Autumn 2003 levels.

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, Real Estate, real estate financing, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Updates

Pending Home Sales Index Up 7% Over 2012

April 29, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Pending home sales increased in March and remain above year-ago levels. However, contract activity in recent months shows only modest movement, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 1.5 percent in March, over a downwardly revised figure in February. The index is 7 percent above year-ago numbers, reflecting the fact that pending sales have been above year-ago levels for the past 23 months.

“Contract activity has been in a narrow range in recent months, not from a pause in demand but because of limited supply. Little movement is expected in near-term sales closings, but they should edge up modestly as the year progresses,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Job additions and rising household wealth will continue to support housing demand.”

In the Northeast, the index was unchanged in March, but is 6.3 percent higher than in March 2012. In the Midwest the index increased 0.3 percent, 13.7 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South rose 2.7 percent, which is 10.4 percent higher than March 2012. In the West the index increased 1.5 percent, but is 4.3 percent below a year ago.

Source: National Association of REALTORS®

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, real estate financing