Tag Archives: Home Prices

After a lengthy waiting period banks and title insurers are beginning to prosper once again from a strengthening mortgage market.

Home prices continued to inch up in November, according to Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Home Price Index (HPI) for the month.

The NAR's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell 4.3 percent to 101.7 in December, the sharpest month-over-month drop since April.

According to Redfin's latest Real-Time Seller Survey, 81 percent of sellers believe home prices will rise in their area over the next year, up from 75 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. While the increase in seller confidence should translate to increased inventory, the results have yet to be seen. According to the survey, 49 percent of respondents indicated they were planning to sell, up from 45 percent in last quarter's survey. However, the percentage of respondents who indicated they were selling "right now" fell by nearly half.

While some analysts have been speculating over when the economy will return to its "normal" state, Fannie Mae says slow growth is the "new normal."

Florida's housing market continued on the course to recovery in December, according to the latest data released by Florida Realtors.

Consistent with most industry indices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported continued gains in its most recent House Price Index. On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 0.6 percent from October to November. This rate matches the previous month's revised index, which was revised from a 0.5 percent increase to a 0.6 percent increase. National home prices have increased 5.6 percent over the 12-month period ending in November, according to FHFA. The current index is 15.2 percent lower than the national peak.

The housing market in California's Southland region closed out 2012 with the highest number of December home sales in three years, real estate information company DataQuick reports. According to DataQuick, a total of 20,274 new and resale homes and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Orange counties in December. The month's total was 5.1 percent up from November and 5.3 percent up from December 2011.

Economic activity "expanded" in the closing weeks of 2012, the Federal Reserve said in its periodic Beige Book released Wednesday, reflecting a slow but steadily declining unemployment rate and low rates of inflation--conditions the Fed said would have to be met before it raises interest rates. According to the report, "real estate activity has expanded or held steady in 11 Districts for existing home sales and leasing; eight Districts for residential construction; 11 Districts for nonresidential sales and leasing; and nine Districts for nonresidential construction."

Rising demand and limited supply continued to drive home prices up in November, according to the latest Residential Price Index (RPI) data from FNC, Inc.