Tag Archives: Home Prices

In its 2015 housing market forecast, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) calls for existing-home sales in the state to reach 402,500 next year, an increase of 5.8 percent from 2014's projected sales figure of 380,500. Even with the increase, home sales are still expected to fall short of last year's total of 414,300, demonstrating how much California's market has slowed down in 2014.

According to results from Fannie Mae's September 2014 National Housing Survey, Americans' optimism about the housing market recovered last month following declines in both July and August, with the share of respondents saying now is a good time to buy a home jumping 4 percentage points to 68 percent. The share of consumers saying they would purchase a home if they were going to move also picked up, increasing 2 percentage points to 66 percent.

Including distressed sales, home prices nationwide rose 6.4 percent year-over-year in August, according to the latest report from CoreLogic. The increase marks 30 straight months of year-over-year price growth nationally. August's increase came in below July's rate of appreciation, which clocked in at 7.4 percent in CoreLogic's initial report for the month.

Despite inching closing to the tipping point, home prices still haven't reached a stage where fears of a bubble are justified, says Trulia. The company recently released its third quarter Bubble Watch report, which measures whether home prices are over- or undervalued relative to their fundamental value. Comparing current movements to long-term trends, the report suggests home prices nationally remain 3 percent undervalued.

According to the latest Trulia Housing Barometer, while home prices, sales, and delinquency rates are all most of the way back to normal, new construction starts and a poor employment rate among young adults are snagging full economic recovery. However, all five indicators have improved year-over-year, if slightly in some areas.

In its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending October 2, Freddie Mac reported a minor pullback in the 30-year fixed interest rate to an average 4.19 percent (0.4 point) from last week's 4.20 percent. The average 30-year fixed was also little changed from last year's average rate of 4.22 percent.

In a report earlier this week, online listings site Realtor.com observed a largely steady trend line in housing market indicators in August, with prices leveling out from month to month and limited inventory dipping slightly. Demand was most evident among the country's millennial population. However, with relatively few homes on the market, prices pushing upward, and lending standards still tight, few in that group have been able to make the jump to homeownership.

In a recent analysis released by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), senior managing director Christopher Whalen predicts many metros around the country will see home price appreciation switch to a much slower track—or even decline modestly, in some cases—as the factors directing the momentum of the last few years diminish and fundamental drivers start playing a bigger role.

The Warren Group reported Tuesday stating that 2,735 single-family homes were sold in Connecticut in August, a decline from 2,898 in August 2013. It was the third month in 2014 in which single-family home sales declined year-over-year in Connecticut, according to the Warren report.

Including seasonal factors, the S&P/Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city indices both posted a 0.5 percent decline from June to July, S&P Dow Jones Indices reported. Those losses compare to declines of 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, from May to June. The National Index, recently added as a monthly (rather than quarterly) measure, inched up a meager 0.2 percent, a step up from its 0.1 percent drop in June.