Tag Archives: Home Prices

Home prices rose in June to their highest levels in almost five years, increasing 2.2 percent, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday.

Housing continued to lean strongly toward a sellers' market in July, with time on market falling and prices becoming more favorable for sellers, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The survey shows the average number of weeks a home spent on the market in the three-month period ending July was 8.6 weeks, while the average sales-to-list-price ratio was 98 percent. California performed exceptionally well in all categories, while parts of the Midwest underperformed.

National home prices rose 1.2 percent month-over-month to $229,000 in June, according to Lender Processing Services' Home Price Index (HPI). Out of the 40 large metro areas LPS tracks, three in Texas reached new highs: Austin ($237,000), Dallas ($182,000), and Houston ($181,000). Denver also established a new high-water mark of $265,000. At the same time, San Antonio is just 0.3 percent below its August 2007 peak, while Honolulu sits 2.1 percent below its 2007 peak.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales dropped a stunning 13.4 percent to 394,000 in July. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to drop to 487,000 from June's originally reported 497,000. June sales were revised to 455,000. The report for July showed a slight shift to higher-priced homes as houses priced at $500,000 or more accounted for 11 percent of July sales, up from 9 percent in June. Homes priced at $300,000 or less represented 62 percent of all July sales, down from 64 percent in June.

After trudging along throughout the first half of the year, economic growth is gaining momentum as expected, according to an Economic and Housing Outlook from Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) group. Looking ahead, the group expects GDP growth will average 2.0 percent for the year, accelerating to 2.6 percent in 2014 as fiscal drags peel away and the housing recovery continues--though the expected tapering of the Federal Reserve's asset purchases may lead to volatility, chief economist Doug Duncan warned.

Even with home prices marching ever upward and mortgage rates bouncing back more than a full percentage point over last year, Capital Economics' Paul Diggle insists housing affordability is still as good as most other experts say it is--if not better. Even with first-time buyers earning less on average and paying more of their income for their starter homes, "metrics are still considerably more favourable than historical norms," he said, suggesting that concerns about a bubble are "premature."

The Zillow Home Value Index reached $161,600 in July, up 0.4 percent from June and an even 6.0 percent from July 2012. July marked the 14th straight month of annual home value gains. Of the 393 metros tracked in July, 289 (73.5 percent) reported month-over-month price appreciation, and 303 (77.1 percent) showed annual appreciation. In addition, all areas saw both monthly and yearly appreciation, and all "have hit their bottom and are expected to show appreciation in the next 12 months."

While inventory was down in July compared to last year and the prior month, the decreases were more conservative, which means home price gains should slow, according to RE/MAX's most recent housing survey. July inventory was 1.3 percent below the level in June and 20.7 percent lower compared to a year ago. However, inventory expanded month-over-month in 18 of the metros tracked. News for home sales was also positive, with closed transactions climbing 17 percent year-over-year and inching up 1.5 percent month-over-month.

A July monthly property intelligence report (PIR) conducted by Dataquick, a provider of real estate information solutions, reveals a monthly and annual rise in home prices for every single participating U.S. county out of the 42 evaluated. In fact, home prices have hiked an average of over 13 percent versus this time last year. Per DataQuick's data, this rise in price has been directly linked to fewer foreclosures, limited property availability, and an overall decline in transactions.

The second quarter saw modest gains in home sales in Connecticut, according to the Warren Group. Second-quarter sales of single-family homes totaled 6,898, a nearly 1 percent increase over Q2 2012. In June alone, home sales were up 0.4 percent (the second straight month of increases) to a total of 2,602.