Tag Archives: Housing Supply

The forecast for 2014 includes a few bright spots, a couple of looming clouds, and some normalcy expected to precipitate the market, Realtor.com says in its outlook for the new year. Among the bright spots are the rising tide of positive equity and abating foreclosures. While 2.5 million homeowners rose from underwater during the year's second half, 7.1 million homeowners remain below water. However, "[t]he good news is that prices are expected to continue rising in 2014, which will lift more homeowners into positive territory."

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) calculated an adjusted annualized sales rate of 4.90 million for existing homes last month, representing a drop from 5.12 million in October and 4.96 million in November 2012. According to the group, it was the first time in 29 months that sales fell below year-ago levels. Singling out single-family home sales, transactions were at an adjusted pace of 4.32 million, down 3.8 percent month-over-month and 0.9 percent year-over-year.

Modest to moderate economic growth continues to be the theme at the Federal Reserve, which released on Wednesday its Beige Book tracking expansion across its 12 districts from October through mid-November. The Fed reported improvements in residential real estate activity in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, with slower single-family home sales softening real estate in most of the remaining districts.

For the first time in two years, national home values registered a decline for two straight months, according to the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports released Tuesday. Furthermore, while annual gains continue, they are cooling, according to Zillow. "The months-long period of annual home value appreciation rates in the 6 and 7 percent range was great while it lasted, but we knew it would not continue indefinitely," said Zillow's chief economist, Stan Humphries.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking sales indicator based on contract signings, was 102.1 in October, a drop of 0.6 percent from September's revised level of 102.7. It was the fifth consecutive monthly decline. "The government shutdown in the first half of last month sidelined some potential buyers," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "In a survey, 17 percent of Realtors reported delays in October, mostly from waiting for IRS income verification for mortgage approval."

October saw existing-home sales decline for the second straight month as low inventory propped up prices, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday. Total existing-home sales fell 3.2 percent in October, coming out to an adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million. "The erosion in buying power is dampening home sales," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Moreover, low inventory is holding back sales while at the same time pushing up home prices in most of the country."

Contrary to what some other sources are reporting, Realtor.com's National Housing Trend Report for October indicates the home buying season hasn't come to a close just yet.

RE/MAX is the latest company to report an expected seasonal slowdown for housing in October. The real estate network reported a month-over-month decline in sales figures and prices as the market began to chill. "What we're seeing now are predictable seasonal cycles, which is just another sign that the housing recovery is bringing us back to a more normal market," said RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. Inventory remains diminished, though the company noted that losses have slowed in the past several months.

Zillow calculated the median number of days listings spent on its marketplace, at the national, metro, and county levels, dating to January 2010. According to the company's findings, listings in September 2013 were selling in a median 86 days--down 30 days from the same time in 2012. Homes sold faster this September compared to last September in 30 of the largest metros. Those metros include Las Vegas (44 days faster), Sacramento (43 days faster), and San Antonio (37 days faster).

Even with the seasonal slowdown in full effect, shifting market conditions continued to boost October home sales and prices over last year, Redfin reported Wednesday in its monthly Real-Time Price Tracker. The broker recorded 74,363 total home sales across its 19 tracked markets in October, a 1.0 percent decline from September but a 0.6 percent gain over October 2012. Though historically low mortgage rates and reduced competition have helped keep numbers up, Redfin says the situation is liable to change at any time.