Buying
March pending home sales rise, market recovering
POSITIVE ARTICLE!!!
March pending home sales rise, market recovering
WASHINGTON (April 26, 2012) – Pending home sales increased in March and are well above a year ago, another signal the housing market is recovering, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 4.1 percent to 101.4 in March from an upwardly revised 97.4 in February, and it’s 12.8 percent above March 2011 when it was 89.9. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
The index is now at the highest level since April 2010 when it reached 111.3.
“First quarter sales closings were the highest first quarter sales in five years,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The latest contract signing activity suggests the second quarter will be equally good. The housing market has clearly turned the corner. Rising sales are bringing down inventory and creating much more balanced conditions around the county, which means home prices will be rising in more areas as the year progresses.”
The PHSI in the Northeast slipped 0.8 percent to 78.2 in March but is 21.1 percent above March 2011. In the Midwest, the index declined 0.9 percent to 93.3 but is 16.9 percent higher than a year ago.
Pending home sales in the South rose 5.9 percent to an index of 114.1 in March and are 10.6 percent above March 2011. In the West, the index increased 8.7 percent in March to 108.0 and is 9.0 percent above a year ago.
© 2012 Florida Realtors®
Why $10k ABOVE list price wasn’t enough for a Foreclosure
One of my customers recently offered almost $10k ABOVE list price on a foreclosure, and they didn’t get it because they were out offered!
This article sheds some light on what many Buyer’s are starting to experience in this Buyer’s Market …
Low-ball offers don’t work anymore
WASHINGTON – April 23, 2012 – When the number of home sellers grossly outpaces the number of buyers, no offer can be ignored, even if it’s 25 percent or more off the asking price. But in today’s rebounding market, those low-ball offers don’t often work. Many times, the potential buyer finds that they don’t get a counter-offer. And, in many cases, another more realistic buyer gets the home.
A low-ball offer – generally 25 or more off the asking price – allows buyers to see if they can land a great deal, even if they’re willing to pay more. In a survey last year conducted by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), one in 10 respondents cited low-ball offers as a concern. According to real estate columnist Kenneth Harney, a NAR survey conducted in March and not yet released found that almost no one complained about low offers.
When the number of listings outpaced the number of buyers, many potential homeowners submitted a shockingly low offer on the theory that they had nothing to lose. If the seller balked, most would still counter with something below their asking price. Today, however, offers close to the asking price – or even beating it – will probably come in fairly quickly from someone else if a home is priced correctly in the first place.
Even buyers who still want to low-ball an offer on a home many times switch tactics after they lose a property or two to a more aggressive buyer.
Florida Realtor Marnie Matarese works with J Wood Realty in Sarasota. She told Harney that fewer buyers want to low-ball an offer in her area, but they still come in – mainly from out-of-state or out-of-the-country people who have read about the state’s foreclosures and short sales. That news, however, is old – it has not kept up with reality in many areas.
Matarese says some people still insist on making a low-ball offer, but that she doesn’t mind. “You can’t blame a buyer for trying to get a good deal,” she says.
In some cases, a seller isn’t offended by a low-ball offer, but their counter-offer shaves only a little bit off their original asking price. An Olympia, Wash., real estate agent had a $150,000 offer for a $250,000 listing, according to Harney. But after the dust settled and the seller shook off his irritation, he and the buyer agreed to $230,000.
Harney closed his column with this advice: “Rolling low-balls at sellers may have been an effective approach between 2008 and early 2011. But in 2012’s environment – at least in rebounding markets – it could be counterproductive if you truly want to buy.”
Source: Ken Harney. Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.
© 2012 Florida Realtors®
Builder mag: 8 Healthiest Housing Markets
Builder mag: 8 Healthiest Housing Markets
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nov. 8, 2011 – The construction industry thinks two Fla. metropolitan areas – Jacksonville and South Florida – are poised for a rebound, according to an analysis by Builder Magazine.
To find the cities with the greatest potential for growth, Builder Magazine as Hanley Wood Market Intelligence to consider local factors, such as major universities, military bases, and the strength of businesses in the private sector. The study also considered Economy.com’s housing projections, expected price appreciation, and estimated employment and income growth.
Under those criteria, two Florida cities made the top eight nationwide. Jacksonville came in at No. 4, and South Florida (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach) ranked No. 5.
In Jacksonville, surveyors expect the number of building permits to almost double between 2011 and 2012, rising from 2,284 to a forecast of 4,363. The number of jobs will grow, the financial businesses will grow, and a military base will continue to call Jacksonville home. The builders believe housing prices will rise 5 percent in 2012.
In South Florida, surveyors believe building permits will skyrocket 178 percent: from 2,708 in 2011 to 7,522 in 2012. Unemployment will, according to forecasts, stop declining and rise 2.7 percent next year. Builders say the rosy picture is driven in large part by two big projects that will add over 10,000 jobs: the CitiCentre and Resorts World Miami.
The complete list of cities in the top eight include:
1. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Minn.-Wis.
2. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Jacksonville, Fla.
5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.
6. Charlottesville, Va.
7. Colorado Springs, Colo.
8. Oklahoma City, Okla.Source: “Healthiest Housing Markets: Mid-2011 Update,” Builder Magazine, Boyce Thompson
Homeowners’ monthly mortgage down about 40%
WASHINGTON – Nov. 14, 2011 – Improving housing affordability mixed with low mortgage rates means that homeowners are paying a lot less for their monthly mortgage payment than they did just a few years ago. In fact, they’re paying nearly 40 percent less on their monthly mortgage payment than homeowners paid in 2006.
According to Fiserv, the monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced single-family home today is $700 – a drop of close to 40 percent from 2006, when it was $1,140.
“Housing affordability has improved dramatically because of declines in both prices and mortgage interest rates,” David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, said in a statement. “Nationally, purchase mortgage payments now account for only 13 percent of monthly median family income, the lowest percentage on record (since 1971), and compared to 23 percent in the first quarter of 2006.”
Source: “Monthly Mortgage Payment Almost 40% Cheaper Than 2006,” HousingWire (Nov. 9, 2011) and Fiserv
© Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Renters spend 5% more than homeowners
Check the facts!!!
NEW YORK – Oct. 27, 2011 –
Rising rents are forcing renters to outspend homeowners on housing costs, according to a new study.
Since 2005, homeowners’ housing expenses have climbed from 31.9 percent of their household budget to 33.2 percent. In that same time period, renters’ expenses have jumped from 35.6 percent to 38.4 percent, according to the October CoreLogic U.S. Housing and Mortgage Trends.
In the last 26 years, homeowners have increased the amount they spend on household expenses by 12 percent while renters have increased it by 22 percent, according to the study.
Earlier this month, Capital Economics economists noted that for the first time in 30 years the median monthly mortgage payment is about the same – or less – than the median rental payment.
Yet, with the bleak job market, homeownership rates continue to fall in many parts of the country, particularly among younger generations. CoreLogic found in its report that the homeownership rate for the 25-to-34 age group dropped from 51.6 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2010. For the 35-to-44 age group, homeownership rates fell from 71.2 percent to 62.3 percent over that period.
Source: “Renters Outspend Owners on Housing,” RISMedia (Oct. 25, 2011) and Capital Economics
© Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD
Growth picture enjoys uptick
Positive Article
WASHINGTON – Oct. 25, 2011 – Economists have significantly raised their estimates of third-quarter economic growth ahead of the government’s official report Thursday, easing near-term fears of another recession.
A consensus of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News estimates the economy grew at a still-modest 2.5 percent annual pace last quarter, up from their 1.8 percent projection less than two weeks ago. The brighter picture follows better-than-expected data on retail sales, manufacturing, jobs and business investment.
“We should take some comfort that the economy isn’t hurtling into recession,” says Capital Economics’ Paul Ashworth. Ashworth estimates third-quarter growth was 3.2 percent.
That’s not robust, but it beats the anemic expansion of less than 1 percent the first half of 2011. Amid last summer’s debt battle in Congress, the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and financial turmoil in Europe, many analysts thought the U.S. was on the verge of another downturn.
Since Oct. 3, 10-year Treasury yields have risen nearly half a percentage point, indicating growth prospects are prompting a shift of money to higher-risk assets, says market strategist Anthony Valeri of LPL Financial.
Many experts say the third-quarter upturn was due to temporary factors, particularly the end of supply disruptions after the Japanese earthquake, and the decline in oil prices. The Commerce Department said last week that retail sales jumped 1.1 percent in September, partly because of a 3.6 percent rise in auto sales as Japanese bottlenecks eased.
Meanwhile, manufacturing grew at a 4.3 percent annualized rate in the third quarter. And business investment in equipment and software has rebounded. Both measures were buoyed by the unclogging of Japanese supply channels and lower oil prices.
Many economists say growth will slow to a sluggish 2 percent rate over the next year. Unemployment, at 9.1 percent, is high and consumer confidence is shaken.
Yet a recession appears less likely. New jobless claims have been falling since summer. “You would be seeing claims shooting up” if a downturn were imminent, says chief economist James O’Sullivan of MF Global.
Some say growth could beat estimates. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.6 percent last month. Consumer stock prices, often a leading job indicator, are at a record premium relative to stocks overall, says economist James Paulsen of Wells Capital Management.
But Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group notes consumers have been borrowing more and saving less to finance their increased spending – which he says can’t continue.
© Copyright 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Paul Davidson
What’s it going to take to move the housing market forward?
October 13th, 2011 in CDPE by Alex CharfenRecently, I was asked by Logan Mohtashami, a columnist for Benzinga, which is an online news and financial analysis service, to respond to the question: “What do you think the main problems in the housing market are, and what ideas do you have to help the housing market out of its current malaise?”
Here’s an excerpt from the column in which my response appeared on Oct. 12:
The biggest problem in housing right now is that we are still dealing with the issues from the boom and too many people want to somehow find a magic bullet or program to fix everything. There is no such program, and while in many cases, the programs that have been launched are working, we need to allow this financial process to run its course.
The continued call for government stimulus or a jumpstart is troublesome, since many interventions have caused market anomalies or confusion. Also, the continued pressure to “provide a solution for the housing market” is tantamount to providing a single solution to the health care crisis—there isn’t one. What’s needed is a series of rational financial decisions that will eventually return us to a rational housing market.
The perception that a healthy market is a return to 2004-2007 is a dangerous one. We have seen first-hand just how unhealthy and unstable that market was.
Little by little, housing is coming back, and housing is more affordable than it has been in many consumers’ lifetimes. If we can cure the perception that housing is somehow damaged, we will see a return to primary home purchases. We are already seeing the return of both domestic and international investors. In some markets, this is actually driving an inventory shortage.
In summary, we are in a saw-tooth recovery and we will see housing indices go up and down at monthly or quarterly intervals for the forseeable future. This is predictable. As inventories swell, prices go down and sales increase. As inventories constrict, the opposite happens.
The challenge is that each fluctuation is seen by the media as either a recovery or a (double, triple, or quadruple) dip. The housing market traditionally runs in 7- to 12-year cycles, yet the media runs in 7- to 12-minute cycles.
The perception that housing is erratic is driving buyers away and providing investors with a major opportunity. An educated consumer today is one who is purchasing if they can.
Luxury home foreclosures a deal for well-heeled
Interesting article
“There are $4 million estates in Lutz and the Riverview area that are now less than $1 million,” said Keller Williams real estate agent Rande Friedman. “There’s a condo in Channelside that was $1.5 million, and now it’s $700,000.”
Most homeowners have seen values drop, but these prices are so low because the homes are owned by a bank. And the bank wants to get rid of them.
There are so many foreclosed luxury homes that Friedman created a website to list them. In three weeks, PoshForeclosures.com already has about 400 local listings.
The Tampa Bay area and Florida are among the hardest-hit by foreclosures in the country. Friedman has a theory on why the foreclosure crisis finally caught up to the rich.
“A lot of the people who got into the luxury market in 2005, 2006 were making their money from real estate,” he said. When the market crashed, so did their incomes.
Plus, just like the rest of the population, many luxury buyers took out adjustable-rate mortgages. Many of them have come due recently. That, combined with job loss and sinking home prices, led to an uptick in foreclosures of luxury homes.
That means hundreds of high-end homes sit abandoned. But that could be good news for those ready to buy. Homes and condos along the beaches and downtown condos are among the most popular luxury foreclosures, Friedman said.
Potential buyers of luxury foreclosures also don’t have to worry about trashed homes as much as buyers of lower-end houses. That’s because banks usually take better care of them, Friedman said.
“People are still living in them, maintaining them, so they’re not the deserted, desolate foreclosure feeling,” Friedman said. “They really are truly nice properties.”
That’s true, said Daren Blomquist, spokesman for RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure activity nationwide.
“It’s in the bank’s best interest to fix up the home and get in the best shape possible before trying to sell it,” Blomquist said. “That way, they may get a better price.”
Getting the best price matters even more, he said, when the homes are expensive. That’s why lenders often give owners of luxury homes more time to work something out.
“We find that with mortgages of more than $1 million, lenders wait longer to file for foreclosure,” he said. “By the time they foreclose, the mortgages are much deeper in default.”
That said, Blomquist said he’s noticed lenders of these million-dollar homes acting to foreclosure much more quickly this year.
“While this category of mortgages still has a low foreclosure rate, this category is also seeing the largest increase in initial foreclosure filings, compared to less expensive mortgages,” Blomquist said.
PoshForeclosure.com currently lists foreclosed homes that are for sale in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
On the website there are estates that were listed at $1.5 million in 2006 and are now being sold for $500,000.
“All buyers are expecting great deals these days, and upper-end buyers are especially savvy,” Friedman said.
Copyright © 2011 the Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Fla., Shannon Behnken. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Housing expected to improve over last year
WASHINGTON – July 19, 2011 –
The U.S. housing market, aided by a recovering rental sector, is unlikely to experience a “double-dip” setback, Freddie Mac said Monday.In its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said housing likely will follow the performance of the overall economy for the rest of 2011. Additionally, home sales are projected to be above last year’s numbers by 3- to 5 percent.
The report also indicated that despite record levels of homebuyer affordability and historically low mortgage rates, households were concerned about their financial futures and were holding off making major purchases, notably homes.
The rental housing market showed the clearest signs of a turnaround with the apartment property price index showing a 15.2 percent gain over the year through the first quarter of 2011.
“Following June’s labor market report, households are naturally concerned about their financial futures, which is being reflected in the housing market,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist. “Yet, the single-family market will likely improve over the balance of 2011, in keeping with positive [gross domestic product] forecasts for the United States.”
Copyright © 2011 United Press International Inc.