Tag Archives: Housing Affordability

The national housing market has hit bottom and is now in full recovery mode, according to Veros Real Estate Solutions, a provider of risk management and valuation services. While there remains--as always--some variance across markets, Veros predicts prices in two-thirds of all markets across the nation will either remain flat or rise over the next 12 months. This is the first time since the recession that Veros has forecast gains (or at least no declines) for such a large proportion of markets.

After going into free-fall for much of 2012, fixed mortgage rates started off 2013 with very slight declines.

A survey of economists conducted by Pulsenomics and published by Zillow shows high hopes for home prices in 2013 and beyond.

After five years of cumulative losses, home values will finally post their first annual gain, according to data from Zillow. The calculations show homes are expected to gain $1.3 trillion in cumulative value for 2012, the largest gain since 2005 and the first annual increase since 2006, Zillow reported. The company expects the year-end total to reach $23.7 trillion, which is a 6 percent increase from last year's total. In 2011, the cumulative loss in home values was $792 billion compared to 2010.

As Washington engages in a standoff over budgetary proposals to avert the fiscal cliff, several industry professionals and associations are calling upon lawmakers to avoid slaughtering what was once thought to be a sacred cow: the mortgage interest tax deduction (MID). While many housing professionals view the deduction as a break for homeowners and an incentive for others to purchase their own homes, critics call the MID a "subsidization of the real estate industry."

On a monthly basis, home values inched up by 0.6 percent to $156,200 in November, according to Zillow's Home Value Index. Compared to November 2011, home values have increased by 5.2 percent, which is the biggest yearly gain since August 2006. Twenty-six of the 30 largest metros tracked by Zillow registered yearly gains. Not surprisingly, Phoenix led with a 23.2 percent increase. The metro was followed by San Jose (+13.4 percent), San Francisco (+12.1 percent), Las Vegas (+11 percent), and Denver (+10.8 percent).

Add Freddie Mac to the list of companies forecasting great things in the 2013 housing market.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced the launch of a tool designed to provide data on the housing recovery in the region.

The ongoing housing recovery will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future, analysts for Capital Economics say.

The NAHB revealed 74.1 percent of all homes sold in Q3 were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income.