Tag Archives: Home Prices

The recent slip in financial corporation profits comes at a particularly critical time for the financial sector, as housing is in the midst of a nascent recovery.

Consumers in the latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey reported their most improved financial situation in more than five years, according to Surveys of Consumers. The group's Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 84.5 in May, its highest level since July 2007 and an improvement over the preliminary reading of 83.7. April's index reading was 76.4; May 2012's reading was 79.3. The survey comes only days after the Conference Board's latest index, which showed consumer confidence climbing to a five-year high in May.

Another spike in home prices drove Massachusetts sales down for the third straight month in April, according to the Warren Group.

Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Home Price Index (HPI) averaged $213,000 in March, an increase of 1.4 percent month-over-month and 7.6 percent year-over-year.

Home prices posted their strongest yearly gain in almost seven years in March, with both the 10- and 20-city indices seeing double-digit gains, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. The national index, reported quarterly, was up 10.2 percent. The three cities that showed no growth (and one of the cities in which prices fell for the month) were in the Midwest, indicating continuing struggles in the region. Nonetheless, March was an improvement over February.

As sellers hold their grip on the market, buyers are starting to understand what it's going to take to stay in the game, according to responses in Redfin's second-quarter Real-Time Home-Buyer Report. It was determined that although buyer frustration concerning the low amount of inventory continues to rise, there is an equal elevation in their individuals awareness and recognition of the seller's market, as well as an overall willingness to actually pay more out of pocket for purchasing real estate.

The Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) reported Wednesday that sales were up 25.3 percent year-over-year throughout the state. According to the association, statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condos) totaled 12,621 in April, the best performance for that month since 2007.

The price of a new single-family home soared to a record high in April as sales jumped 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected April sales to increase to 425,000 from March's originally reported 417,000. March sales were revised to 444,000. The median price of a new home, according to the Census/HUD report, soared $20,900 (8.3 percent) in April to $271,600, the highest price on record.

Existing-home sales rose a 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday. Economists had expected a 1.6 percent increase to 5.0 million from March's original report of 4.92 million sales. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008.

Zillow's Home Value Index climbed to $158,300 for April, an increase of 0.5 percent month-over-month and 5.2 percent year-over-year. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5 percent on a yearly basis. "In the short-term, this has been welcome news for homeowners. But in the long-term, this cannot be sustained, and consumers entering the market today should not expect this kind of appreciation to last," said Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries.