Tag Archives: Home Prices

After reaching 100 in May, the list of metropolitan areas with improving housing markets fell to 89 in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Market Index. While the number of metros on the index dropped, a closer look shows high volatility, not a straightforward decline in improving markets. About half of last month's improving markets ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô 52 metros ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô maintained their improving status in June. The other 48 metros listed as improving markets in May fell off the list.

The national housing market recovery is ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£in full swing,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø according to the June edition of RE/MAX├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós National Housing Report. The report, released Monday, revealed that May saw increases in both home sales and house median home price for 42 of the 53 surveyed metropolitan markets. For the fourth consecutive month, the RE/MAX report found an overall increase in median home price across the country. In May, the national median home price was $166,500, a 6.1 percent increase year-over-year, RE/MAX said.

The combination of low housing prices and the comparative weakness of the dollar continues to push foreign buyers to the United States, raising international home sales to $82.4 billion up from $66.4 billion last year, according to the National Association of Realtors 2012 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. NAR conducted the survey and asked realtors to report their international business activities within the United States for the 12 months ending March 2012. Twenty-seven percent reported having worked with international clients this year.

Record-breaking low mortgage rates and rising home sales are leading to increase mortgage activity in New England, according to The Warren Group's Mortgage MarketShare Module. According to the data, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have all seen strong mortgage activity so far in 2012, with Massachusetts showing the strongest numbers. Activity in the state is up more than 28 percent, rising to 99,097 in the first four months of the year ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô an increase from 76,930 during the same period in 2011. Purchase mortgages increased almost 13 percent year-over-year to 13,376.

Negative reports on the economy may be shaking up confidence, but Capital Economics released a report Friday stating that in their view, the foundations for a sustainable recovery are still in place. The employment situation in the U.S. and issues overseas such as the euro-zone crises are all taking a toll on the economy and consumer confidence. Yet, there are still reasons to make the argument that the recovery is not going to be derailed. Home sales and prices have increased, and mortgage affordability stays high.

Lulls in employment and income growth led to a plateau in consumer sentiment in May, according to Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós May 2012 National Housing Survey. The data released by Fannie Mae on Thursday showed that although many consumers (72 percent) believe that now is a good time to purchase a house, the percentage of respondents who said they would buy a house after moving actually dropped for the second consecutive month ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô 63 percent in May compared to 64 percent in April and 66 percent in March. Fifteen percent of respondents said now is a good time to sell a home.

Home prices across the nation rose in April, and a further increase is expected for May's index, according to CoreLogic's April Home Price Index report. The report, released Tuesday, showed that home prices in the United States increased in on a year-over-year basis by 1.1 percent in April. This was the second consecutive year-over-year increase in 2012 and the first time two consecutive increases have occurred since June 2010. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 2.2 percent in April, marking the consecutive month-over-month increase this year.

For the first time since August 2010, home prices rose on both a quarterly and yearly basis, according to the May 2012 Home Data Index report released by Clear Capital. Quarter-over-quarter, prices appreciated 0.4 percent, the first quarterly increase since November 2011. Year-over-year, prices rose by 0.1 percent, according to the index. The increases were attributed to stronger regional growth in the West, Northeast, and South, as well as a rise in REO-only prices. Among the four regions, the growth was greatest in the West.

In Connecticut, single-family home sales are up 25 percent in April while median home prices are down 5 percent, according to a report released Thursday by The Warren Group. This increase marks the fourth consecutive month sales have been rising year-over-year. In April, 1,946 single-family homes were sold, up from 1,550 the same month in 2011. This level is the highest reported in home sales so far, beating the 1,610 sales recorded in March. Similarly, condominium sales also increased while the median cost decreased.

The Case Shiller Home Price Indexes fell for the seventh straight month in March. The drop in the broader 20-city index was barely noticeable ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô down to 134.10 from 134.14 in February ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô while the 10-city index fell to 146.61 from 146.74. Year-over-year, the 10-city index was down 2.8 percent and the 20-city index off 2.6 percent, improving from February. Economists had expected the 20-city index to show a 2.7 percent year-over-year decline. Separately, the national Case Shiller Index, reported quarterly, was down 2.0 percent in the first quarter.