Tag Archives: Home Prices

FNC's Residential Price Index (RPI) closed in on a three-year high in July as discounted foreclosure sales approached pre-crisis levels. "The rapid declines in foreclosure sales and new foreclosure filings have diminished the impact of distressed properties on home prices," FNC said in its monthly release. "Meanwhile, steadily rising home prices and an expectation of continued recovery have stimulated housing turnover by prospective buyers who are in a position to take advantage of affordable home prices."

Even as housing inventory starts to recover, the basic fundamentals of supply and demand--as measured by new starts versus job growth across the nation--point to continued price growth, according to one expert at John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Nationally, the employment growth-to-permit (E/P) ratio is 2.5, up from 2.3 last year and well above the "equilibrium level" of 1.2. Eighteen of the top 20 markets have an E/P ratio higher than the equilibrium.

Realtor.com released Thursday its National Housing Trend Report for August, which shows prices leveling out as the inventory recovery becomes more widespread.

Market indicators continue to point to an imminent slowdown in home price gains--further allaying fears of another housing bubble in the making, Capital Economic says.

The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index reached its highest level on record in September with a little more than 80 percent of markets qualifying as improving. Of the 291 markets that made it onto the latest Improving Markets Index, 242 were repeats from the previous month, and 49 were new to the list. However, the association noted that September's result was largely due to a change to the way Freddie Mac measures home prices.

Ascending mortgage rates are starting to weigh on homebuyers nearly as much as low inventory, according to Redfin's Real-Time Homebuyer Survey. Out of homebuyers polled, 63 percent said rates have impacted their ability to buy a home at least "somewhat." When asked how rates have affected their home search, 33 percent said they're speeding up their search before rates get too high, 20 percent said they're slowing their search, and 1 percent have stopped looking altogether.

While price gains may paint a picture of a recovery well on its way, construction figures aren't as encouraging, according to an analysis from Trulia. While prices are up 11 percent year-over-year in August, according to Trulia, which monitors list prices, construction activity is lagging. Additionally, when it comes to price gains and increases in construction, markets tend to be experiencing one or the other, with markets reporting price growth seeing meager construction.

Home prices as measured by CoreLogic increased 12.4 percent year-over-year in July, the company reported in its monthly Home Price Index (HPI) report. "Home prices continue to climb across the nation in July with markets hit hardest during the downturn leading the way," said CoreLogic president and CEO Anand Nallathambi. "Nationally, home prices are now within 18 percent of their peak levels reached in April of 2006." Meanwhile, the Pending HPI indicates that August 2013 home prices will rise 12.3 percent.

Trulia's Housing Barometer dialed up to 64 percent "back to normal" in July, the company reported.

After observing a slowdown in sales throughout June--typically the peak selling month for the year--online brokerage Redfin reported a rebound in July, though other market indicators continue to cool. According to Redfin's data, "this July saw a healthy jump in homes sold throughout most of the 19 markets covered in this report," improving 3 percent month-over-month and 17.6 percent year-over-year from a rather disappointing July 2012. At the same time, reports on home price growth and inventory were less positive in July.