Tag Archives: Asking Prices

The gap between the listing price and closing price of an average home sold continued to narrow last year as market conditions gave the advantage to sellers.

Asking prices rose dramatically in January as renting prices cooled off somewhat, according to the latest data in Trulia's Price and Rent monitors. The company's Price Monitor showed a 0.3 percent quarter-over-quarter rise in January (without seasonal adjustment). On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 2.2 percent quarterly. While January's numbers signal a strong price recovery, Trulia's chief economist warned the month's gains could disappear in some areas.

The number of households owning homes rose to 75,209,000 in the fourth quarter, up from 75,076,000 in the third but down from 75,315,000 a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. At the same time, the nation's homeownership rate (seasonally adjusted) dipped to 65.4 percent in the fourth quarter from 65.5 percent in the third quarter. The stagnant homeownership rate combined with a decline in the number of units held off the market suggests opportunities for home sales.

Despite seeing a month-over-month drop, the 10- and 20-city Case-Shiller Home Price Indices registered their strongest year-over-year improvement in two and a half years, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday. On an annual basis, the 10-city index was up 4.5 percent, and the 20-city index rose 5.5 percent. It was the strongest yearly gain in the 10-city index since June 2010 and in the 20-city index since May 2010. Year-over-year, prices were up in 19 of the 20 cities surveyed.

In its latest research brief, Zillow analyzes data on actual sales prices compared to asking prices, the number of days listings spent on Zillow, and the percentage of homes on the market with a price cut. With the exception of Seattle and Washington, D.C., the top sellers' markets are all in the West, with six of the top eight located in California. Besides their geographic location, the top sellers' markets have one huge commonality: They were some of the worst-hit markets in the crash.

Asking prices on homes improved on a yearly basis for the seventh straight month in November, according to the latest report from FNC, Inc. The report also shows a steady improvement in liquidity conditions throughout 2012--meaning the gap between asking prices and selling prices is closing, even as prices rise. The average home sale in October closed at 6.6 percent below the asking price, a year-over-year improvement from 9.7 percent.

Asking prices on for-sale homes rose in November at a breakneck pace, but the gap between certain markets is growing more pronounced, according to Trulia's latest Price Monitor. However, even as the recovery in national prices accelerated in November, the number of metros reporting quarter-over-quarter price increases fell, dropping to 70 from 79 in August. Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko said the disparity points to an uneven recovery from metro to metro.

It seems more banks are eyeing the possibility of expansion in 2013, according to a survey sponsored by Crowe Horwath LLP. According to the results, 57 percent of banks intend to make some form of acquisition in the next year, up from last year's survey. Furthermore, many bankers expressed interest in acquisitions outside of their core banking franchises. Out of the banks that are looking at expanding, 28.8 percent said they intend to acquire a residential mortgage origination business in 2013.

U.S. home prices continued to increase in August as the Case Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose 0.9 percent to its highest level since September 2010. The index is up 2.0 percent in the last year, showing improvement in 19 of the 20 cities surveyed. The 10-city also rose 0.9 percent in August, increasing 1.3 percent ahead of August 2011 and reaching its highest level since October 2010. The monthly gain in each index was slower than in July, when the 10-city index went up 1.5 percent and the 20-city index improved 1.6 percent.

In a September National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey related to home appraisals over the past three months, 11 percent of Realtors said a contract was cancelled because a home was appraised at a value below the negotiated price. Another 9 percent said a contract was delayed, and 15 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sale price. One reason for the low values, according to the NAR, is because some appraisers are not taking into account the difference between distressed and non-distressed homes when making comparisons.