Feb 17, 2011 by MichaelS.Dunn.

Data provided by: NAR 

Metropolitan Area Existing-Home Prices and State Existing-Home Sales 

The Quarterly Reports

NAR releases statistics on state-by-state existing-home sales and metropolitan area median home prices each quarter. The state existing-home sales report includes single-family houses, condos and co-ops. The price report reflects sales prices of existing single-family homes by metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Beginning on February 15, 2005, this quarterly report includes a breakdown of condo and co-op prices by metro market. MSAs are as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and include the specified city or cities and surrounding suburban areas.

Metropolitan Area Prices

• Current Report: Single-Family 4th Quarter 2010 (PDF: 27K)
• Also available in spreadsheet (MS Excel: 53K)

• Current Report: Condo 4th Quarter 2010 (PDF: 13K)
• Also available in spreadsheet (MS Excel: 53K)

• See the latest news release >
• Read about 2005 Revisions using latest MSA Definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau.

State Existing-Home Sales

• Current Release: 4th Quarter 2010 (PDF: 10K)
• Also available in spreadsheet  (MS Excel: 20K)

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Aug 16, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

Home owners are more active in their communities, benefit from improved education opportunities, and report higher levels of self-esteem and happiness when compared to renters, according to leading research. A new report from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing, explores the impact of stable housing and the positive social outcomes resulting from homeownership.

“Homeownership is in investment in your future – home is where we make memories, build our lives and feel comfortable and secure,” said Vicki Cox Golder. “Owning a home has long-standing government support in this country because homeownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our communities, and is integral to our nation’s economy.”

NAR’s study identifies research from government, industry, and academia that identified the relationship between homeownership and stable communities. Home owners move far less frequently than renters, and therefore are embedded into the same neighborhood and community for a longer amount of time. This allows for social cohesion, ultimately resulting in social benefits and stronger communities.

“REALTORS® care as much about keeping families in their homes as they do about helping them find the home of their dreams,” said Golder. “Social benefits do not arise solely from ownership, but also from greater housing stability and social ties associated with less frequent moves among home owners.”

Several research studies cited in the NAR report have found that homeownership has a significant impact on educational achievement. For instance, the decision by teenage students to stay in school is higher for those raised by parents who are homeowners compared to those whose parents are renters. Access to economic and educational opportunities are also more prevalent in neighborhoods with high rates of homeownership. Furthermore, studies have shown that changing schools frequently due to moving impacts negatively a child’s educational outcome.

Civic participation is another social benefit resulting from homeownership and stable housing. Home owners are proven to be more politically active and are more likely to vote in local elections compared to renters. In addition, homeowners have a higher membership in voluntary organizations.

Studies have shown that home owners are more likely to believe that they can do things as well as anyone else, and they self-report higher ratings on their physical health. “The research shows that home owners report higher self-esteem and happiness than renters, resulting in better overall health, both physically and psychologically,” said Golder.

When it comes to property, home owners have more invested both financially and emotionally. Property crimes affect home owners directly, but nonviolent property crimes can impact the property values of the entire neighborhood. Therefore, home owners are more motivated to deter crime by forming and implementing voluntary crime-prevention programs. In addition, it is easier for home owners to recognize perpetrators in stable neighborhoods because of extensive social ties. Unstable neighborhoods often display social disorganization which can lead to higher levels of crime.

Along with protecting their home and neighborhood from crime, home owners spend more time and money maintaining their home than renters. Neighbors also influence other home owners to improve their property, resulting in a better overall quality of the community.

“Homeownership certainly contributes to positive social outcomes, but those outcomes are truly a result of stable housing communities,” said Golder. “With strong social ties and a cohesive community, home owners can enjoy not only the long-term financial benefit of owning a home, but also a more satisfying life – which is what’s really at the heart of the American Dream.”

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Jun 07, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

Pending home sales have risen for three consecutive months, reflecting the broad impact of the home buyer tax credit and favorable housing affordability conditions, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 6.0 percent to 110.9 based on contracts signed in April, from an upwardly revised 104.6 in March, and is 22.4 percent higher than April 2009 when it was 90.6. That follows gains of 7.1 percent in March and 8.3 percent in February.

Pending home sales are at the highest level since last October when the index reached 112.4 and first-time buyers were rushing to beat the initial deadline for the tax credit. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said this second round of surging sales from the tax credit extension looks as strong as the original tax credit. “There were concerns that only a small pool of buyers were left to take advantage of the tax credit extension. But evidently the tax stimulus, combined with improved consumer confidence and low mortgage interest rates, are contributing to surging sales,” he said. “The housing market has to get back on its own feet and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs.”

NAR expects a net of 1 million additional jobs in the second half of this year and about 2 million in 2011.

“The home buyer tax credit brought close to 1 million additional buyers into the market, which is now helping the trade-up market and has significantly improved the inventory situation. This stabilized home prices more quickly and has preserved about $900 billion in home equity; in turn, that is keeping additional households from going underwater and risking foreclosure,” Yun said.

Pending Home Sales Index by region:

• Northeast: jumped 29.5 percent to 97.9 in April and is 24.5 percent above a year ago.
• Midwest: rose 4.1 percent to 104.2 and is 17.9 percent above April 2009.
• South: slipped 0.6 percent to an index of 123.9, but is 31.3 percent higher than a year ago.
• West: increased 7.5 percent to 107.9 and is 12.0 percent higher than April 2009.

“A big concern surfacing recently is insufficient time to close the deal at the settlement table. Under normal circumstances, two months would be enough time from contract signing to settlement date,” Yun said. “However, the recent housing cycle has brought long delays related to the short sales approval process by banks, and from ongoing appraisal issues.”

He added that there could be a sizable number of home buyers who responded to tax credit incentives, but may encounter problems meeting the settlement deadline by June 30. Because of these market challenges, NAR has asked Congress to provide flexibility on the deadline for closing.

Source: NAR

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May 17, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

RISMEDIA, May 5, 2010—Pending home sales increased again in March 2010, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3% to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1% above March 2009 when it was 85.0; this follows an 8.3% increase in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable affordability conditions have been working with the tax credit. “Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales,” he said. “Later in the second half of the year, and into 2011, home sales will likely become self-sustaining if the economy can add jobs at a respectable pace, and from a return of buyer demand as they see home values stabilizing.”

The PHSI in the Northeast declined 3.3% to 75.1 in March but remains 27.2% higher than March 2009. In the Midwest the index increased 1.2% to 98.9 and is 18.5% above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South jumped 12.7% to an index of 121.2, which is 28.3% higher than March 2009. In the West the index rose 1.9% to 99.9 and is 8.8% above a year ago.

“Another encouraging sign is the improvement in the availability for jumbo and second-home mortgages,” Yun said. “As bank balance sheets strengthen, it is just a matter of time before lending of non-government-backed mortgages steadily opens up.”

The National Association of Realtors, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is one of America’s largest trade associations, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20% of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.

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Apr 01, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

It seems a strange rule of thumb to say that our little valley will follow the national real estate trend, just at a 6 month delay. I mean, that just sounds like tooo much of a generalization to me. but it has happened that way for every major movement in the real estate market for the past 10 years.

What this means for us, is that we are probably at the bottom of the market. Yes, you heard me. I am going out on a limb and making the call. We’re at the bottom.

What’s the bottom mean you ask? The bottom is the best time to buy! Time to take action. If you have been a bit nervous about taking on debt and dumping all your hard earned money into real estate over the last couple of years, I can’t say a blame you. But I believe that the danger has passed and that it is now time to go for it.

Real Estate has historically been one of the best places to put your money over the long term, and for those that buy in the current market, it is likely that will be true for the future as well. Let’s take a look at all the reasons to buy NOW:

1. Tax credit still applies until the end of this month. That means $8000 for first timers and $6500 for those buyers that have lived in their current residence for 5 years or more and are now making a move.

2. Mortgage rates are rediculously low. This is one of the primary factors that determine whether a loan will be affordable for you.

3. HUGE, and I mean HUGE, selection of homes to choose from. A few years ago, the average buyer that I worked with would have one or two homes to choose from that were in their price range. This didn’t give them alot of options when it came to all the features that they would have liked to have in their home. Now, I typically narrow down a list of 30-40 homes by asking my clients to be more and more picky! Then we go and look at 10 - 20 homes and I again ask them to be MORE picky. This is the market to find your TRUE dream home.

4. If you don’t buy now, you’ll be paying rent right? That is money out the window.

5. Many sellers are anxious to sell and are open to negotiation.

6. Tax benifits, financial stability, pride of ownership, freedom to do what you like with your own property, and all the traditional reasons why it has always been a good idea to buy your own home. All of these things are still true, despite what you may have heard in the media!

In closing I’ll say it one more time, just in case you missed it. We’re at the bottom…BUY, BUY, BUY! (And of course buy what you can afford. Don’t over extend yourself because there is no need to in this buyers market.)

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Apr 01, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

By Alan Zibel

updated 9:28 a.m. MT, Tues., March. 30, 2010

NEW YORK - A surprisingly strong rebound in California’s real estate market helped lift a key home price index for the eighth month in a row.

That’s good news for people who plan to sell their homes this spring. Prices are now up almost 4 percent from the bottom in May 2009, but still almost 30 percent below the May 2006 peak.

Prices rose 0.3 percent from December to January on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday. Prices increased in 12 cities in the index.

The biggest monthly gain was in Los Angeles, where prices rose 1.8 percent from December. And real estate agents say there’s a distinct sense the worst of the downturn is over.

Buyers are “seeing that prices are creeping up,” said Tony Middleton, a real estate agent with ZIP Realty who concentrates on the San Fernando Valley. “They’re losing bids on homes and they have to bid again.”

Prices in San Diego, meanwhile, rose by almost 0.9 percent. Phoenix had the third-largest gain at 0.8 percent.

Compared with the same month last year, the 20-city index was off just 0.7 percent from last year at a reading of 146.32. That was the smallest decline in almost three years and in line with analysts’ expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.

Rising home prices also could boost consumer optimism. For most Americans, their home is their largest asset, so as values climb from the depths of the housing bust, homeowners feel wealthier and more comfortable spending. And, for homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, rising prices rebuild equity.

Consumer confidence rebounded in March after a February plunge, according to a survey released Tuesday. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.5 in March, recovering about half of the nearly 11 points it lost in February.

Still, shoppers remain cautious and there are signs that last year’s housing rebound won’t last. Home sales sank during the winter, and government incentives that have propped up the market are ending.

Another reason for the positive news is simply that the Case-Shiller index measures a three-month average of home prices. So January’s report includes November’s strong home sales.

Many analysts expect that the Case-Shiller number will eventually turn downward.

“It is only a matter of time before the index records a double-dip in prices,” wrote Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, who forecasts a 5 percent drop. The market will be tested in the second half of the year, he wrote, when a tax credit that has boosted sales is gone.

The Case-Shiller index measures home price increases and decreases relative to prices in January 2000. The base reading is 100; so a reading of 150 would mean that home prices increased 50 percent since the beginning of the index.

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Mar 26, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

Monday, 08 March 2010  by Property Wire

Residential property prices in the US increased 5% in February from a year ago despite an incoming wave of real estate owned property that lenders are dumping on the market.The increase in prices comes on top of a 2.3% yearly increase in January but prices are unchanged on a quarterly basis, according to the figures from the Clear Capital Home Data Index.‘If the increase in demand that preceded the end of the last tax credit is any indication, home prices may dip only slightly into negative territory before getting an added boost before the April tax credit deadline,’ said Alex Villacorta, senior statistician at Clear Capital.

Among the best performing areas is Providence, Rhode Island, where they increased 6.1% from the previous three months, the highest increase of any metropolitan statistical area (MSA). California had five of the 15 highest performing markets as Los Angeles prices gained 2.2% over the rolling quarter.In 11 of the top 15 markets REO saturation increased by an average of 1.3% but Villacorta said they do not seem to be harming the market. ‘We observed an expected increase in REO saturation this month as the flow of foreclosures continued to come into the market, while traditional non-distressed sales wait to be listed in the spring and summer months,’ he explained.

The price gains in the early months of 2010 contrast sharply with 2009, when credit lines were cinched, investments dropped in value and financial institutions facing failure dumped REOs onto the market, according to the report.Meanwhile the March edition of the Beige Book from the Federal Reserve shows that residential estate markets showed improvement but like many economic sectors, the unusually harsh winter weather across America this year slowed growth.

Improvement in the residential real estate market has been primarily in the low-end and starter home sector, the result of the extended homebuyer tax credit. The Philadelphia, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Dallas Federal Reserve Districts reported that sales were strongest in that sector, both due to the tax credit and the difficulty obtaining financing for higher-end homes. The St Louis and Richmond districts reported mixed results, but in Richmond, the district noted better weather might have created residential housing improvement.

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Mar 21, 2010 by MichaelS.Dunn.

I just wanted to remind everyone that the free $ from the tax credits are going to expire on April 30, 2010.  For first time homebuyers, that means $8000 less towards your first purchase if you don’t get something under contract by the 30th.

This also applise to the $6,500 offered for folks who have lived in their current house for 5 years and want to buy a different home to be their primary residence.

If your on the fence about buying…take advantage of this free money while you still can!

-Mike

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