by Gagner | Aug 14, 2013 | Real Estate News, Sellers
Asking Home Prices Cool Most in Hottest Housing Markets: Las Vegas, Oakland, and San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO, August 6, 2013 – Trulia, a leading online marketplace for home buyers, sellers, renters, and real estate professionals, today released the latest findings from the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor. Based on the for-sale homes and rentals listed on Trulia, these monitors take into account changes in the mix of listed homes and reflect trends in prices and rents for similar homes in similar neighborhoods through July 31, 2013. Asking Home Prices Fall 0.3 Percent Month-Over-Month Asking home prices are now starting to lose steam as mortgage rates rise, inventory expands, and investor demand declines. Nationally, asking prices dropped 0.3 percent in July – the first month-over-month (M-o-M) decline since November 2012. Seasonally adjusted, prices rose 3.3 percent quarter-over quarter (Q-o-Q), down from a peak of 4.2 percent in April. Year-over-year (Y-o-Y), prices are up 11 percent nationally; however, this change is an average over the past 12 months and is therefore slower to show changes than monthly and quarterly numbers. Asking Home Prices Now Slowing Down in the West In 64 out of 100 U.S. metros, the quarterly asking home price gain was lower than in the previous quarter. This slowdown was most apparent in the West Coast where prices have rebounded strongly already. Among housing markets where asking prices rose sharply Y-o-Y, price gains dipped the most Q-o-Q in Las Vegas, Oakland, and San Francisco. Other California metros, including Sacramento, Ventura County, San Jose, and Fresno, saw Q-o-Q gains drop by at least two percentage points between April and July. Meanwhile, many metros in the South and Midwest are seeing price...
by Gagner | Aug 14, 2013 | Real Estate News
Just 44% of California residents could afford the median-priced home in the first quarter, a real estate group’s index says. The chance of finding affordable housing in California is dwindling as median home prices and interests rates continue to rise—fast. According to a study published by the California Assn. of realtors, only 44% of residents could afford the average priced home in California. This is compared to 56% during the same period as last year. Many would-be first time buyers are having their home owning dreams crushed, especially considering this time last year home affordability hit its highest level since the California Assn. or Realtors began publishing affordability statistics in 1988. The percentage is expected to decline even further as home prices and interest rates continue to sharply rise. In June, the average home price hovered around $428,510, a big jump from the $378,960 average in March. According to Freddie Mac, interest rates rose from 4.37% in July and from 3.41% in March. Read the full article at Los Angeles Times...
by Gagner | Aug 14, 2013 | Real Estate News
In June, 58% of the sales in the state were made in all-cash, according to a report by RealtyTrac. But it’s not just Nevada. All-cash deals in Florida comprised 57% of home sales during the month; in the state of New York, it was 51%, and in Vermont, a whopping 80%. In markets like these, lingering foreclosures and depressed home prices are attracting private equity firms and other investors looking to buy before home prices go much higher, RealtyTrac said. In other markets, where there are fewer distressed properties, the all-cash deals are a lot less prevalent. Nationwide, cash deals comprised 30% of home sales in June, down from 31% a year earlier, RealtyTrac reported. But in states like Texas, Utah and New Mexico, such deals were practically non-existent. Related: Buy or rent? 10 major cities “The U.S. housing market is slowly but surely moving toward a more normalized and sustainable pattern after a flurry of institutional and cash buyers flocked to residential real estate last year, pushing up prices and picking clean the best inventory available in many areas,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. The biggest metropolitan hotspot for investors right now is Atlanta, where all-cash deals represented 42% ofsales in June and investors represented 27% of buyers, the highest ratio in the country. Atlanta is still struggling with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, making it a prime target for investors. Hit hard by foreclosures when the housing bubble burst, Phoenix was one of the first places investors flocked to. A year ago, 25% of all homes sold went to deep-pocketed investors. In...
by Gagner | Aug 13, 2013 | Real Estate News
On Tuesday, August 6, 2013, President Barack Obama spoke about the new Congressional proposal to shut down Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-run behemoth mortgage companies that were rescued by a $187 billion taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. If Congress follows through with the plans, borrows will probably end up paying slightly higher mortgage rates under the House and Senate bills that would slowly phase out Fannie and Freddie over five years and establish a much more limited government role in insuring mortgage securities. Supports of the bill say this would keep mortgage rates available and affordable for everyone. The underlying idea behind both of the House and Senate bills is to shift more mortgage financing risk away from the government and to the private sector to prevent taxpayers from having to pay for future bailouts. However, there will be a price homebuyers would have to pay for having private investors shoulder the majority of borrowing risk to protect taxpayers. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics said, “It will mean higher mortgage rates. The question is how much higher.” Zandi estimated that the average borrowers could pay up to $75 per month in extra interest payments (half a percentage point) on a mainstream mortgage under the Senate proposal, and about $135 more under the House plan. These figures are for a conforming loan of around $200,00 with the borrower providing 20% of the down payment. Story from SFGate: Read more at...
by Gagner | Aug 7, 2013 | Real Estate News
Just 44% of California residents could afford the median-priced home in the first quarter, a real estate group’s index says. The chance of finding affordable housing in California is dwindling as median home prices and interests rates continue to rise—fast. According to a study published by the California Assn. of realtors, only 44% of residents could afford the average priced home in California. This is compared to 56% during the same period as last year. Many would-be first time buyers are having their home owning dreams crushed, especially considering this time last year home affordability hit its highest level since the California Assn. or Realtors began publishing affordability statistics in 1988. The percentage is expected to decline even further as home prices and interest rates continue to sharply rise. In June, the average home price hovered around $428,510, a big jump from the $378,960 average in March. According to Freddie Mac, interest rates rose from 4.37% in July and from 3.41% in March. Read the full article at Los Angeles Times –...
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