Tag Archives: Home Sales

Home price increases slowed on a monthly basis in July as more markets approach their pre-crash peaks, Lender Processing Services (LPS) reported in its monthly Home Price Index (HPI) report. Nationally, LPS' index was up to $231,000 in July, a 0.6 percent gain over June. Compared to last year, July's index was up 8.7 percent. Meanwhile, several of the largest metros across the United States--including many of Texas' bigger cities--continue to outperform their pre-recession highs.

Home sales and prices both improved year-over-year for the 19th straight month in August, according to multiple listing service (MLS) data from RE/MAX.

Existing-home sales rose an unexpected 6.5 percent to an annual sales rate of 5.48 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected existing home sales to drop to 5.255 million from July's originally reported July's 5.39 million sales pace which was unchanged in today's report. The increase in sales came as the median price of an existing single family home in August dipped slightly from July, down $300 to $212,100.

While noting improvement in economic activity and labor market conditions, the Federal Open Market Committee voted Wednesday to continue its policy of near-zero interest rates and its $85-billion-per-month bond-buying program. At the same time, the Federal Reserve's own economic projections suggested the economy might not grow this year as fast as it expected just three months ago.

Led by the strongest gain for single-family construction this, year, the pace of housing starts edged up 0.9 percent in August, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. Builders broke ground in August on new homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000--up from a revised 883,000 in July--and filed for permits at the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 918,000, down from 954,000 in July. The gain in both single-family permits and starts came amid signs of improving builder confidence.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) stalled at 58 in September, unchanged from August's downwardly revised reading, the group reported.

Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for August shows mortgage applications for new home purchases declined compared to July. According to MBA's monthly Builder Application Survey (BAS), loan applications for the purchase of new homes fell 14 percent month-over-month in August. Taking information from the BAS--as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors--MBA estimates sales of new single-family homes ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 424,000 in August.

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

Responding to higher mortgage rates and higher prices, the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) slipped 1.3 percent in July--the steepest decline this year--to 109.5, the group reported Wednesday. Economists had expected the index for July would drop to 109.8, which would have been a 1.0 percent decline from June's 110.9. Despite the month-over-month decline, July's PHSI is up 6.7 percent over the same month last year.

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.