Radarlogic Sees Trouble Ahead For Home Prices

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Jack Pearce

As Seasonal Peak in Home Prices Passes the Signs Point to Trouble Ahead. Recent Growth in Foreclosure Filings Suggest REO Inventories May Balloon in Coming Months.

In July, the 25-MSA RPX Composite price remained essentially unchanged on a month-over-month basis, but declined year over year for the 13th month in a row.

RadarLogic®, in it’s July 2011 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report finds that the 25-MSA RPX Composite price (housing values for 25 major U.S. metropolitan areas) for July 21, 2011, was $187.24 per square foot, just 0.3 percent below the value for June 21, 2011, and 4.7 percent below the value for July 21, 2010.

Continue reading →

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in July

Aside

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in July

Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index shows nearly all census divisions with INCREASES in July — but DECREASES year over year.

U.S. house prices rose 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from June to July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.9 percent increase in June was revised to a 0.7 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in July, U.S. prices fell 3.3 percent. The U.S. index is 18.4 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the March 2004 index level.

[contemplate1]

[contemplate2]

[contemplate4]

More Good News: Positive Architecture Billings Index

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jack Pearce

AIA reports Architecture Billings Index Turns Positive after Four Straight Monthly Declines; Strong level of inquiries for new projects.

Today brings the second bit of positive news for construction sector recovery in as many days. Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is a leading economic indicator that provides a glimpse into the future of construction spending activity:

On the heels of a period of weakness in design activity, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) took a sudden upturn in August. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.

Continue reading →

Survey: Housing Outlook Still Dimming

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Five years after the market peak home prices expected to increase an average of just 1.1% over next five years according to latest MacroMarkets survey.

MacroMarkets LLC announced the results of the September 2011 Home Price Expectations Survey, compiled from 111 responses of a diverse group of economists, real estate experts, investment and market strategists. The survey is based upon the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index over the coming five years.

Continue reading →

Existing-Home Sales Stronger In August Than Expected

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Existing-home sales defy market predictions of little or no gain and increase nearly eight percent annually in August.

Existing Home Sales National Association of Realtors® reports that, unlike new home sales that dropped 5.8 percent in August, existing-home sales increased for the same period, even though plagued with the same ongoing tight credit and appraisal problems as new home sales, including the regional disruptions created by Hurricane Irene.

Continue reading →

CoreLogic: Negative Equity Declines – But Not Much

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jack Pearce

75 Percent of Negative Equity Properties Have Above-Market Interest Rates; nationally, the level of mortgage debt remains high relative to home prices

Underwater home CoreLogic Q2 2011 Negative Equity Report reveals Q2 negative equity data showing that 10.9 million, or 22.5 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter of 2011, down slightly from 22.7 percent in the first quarter. Together, negative equity and near-negative equity mortgages accounted for 27.5 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide. Interestingly, the report also shows that nearly three-quarters of homeowners in negative equity situations are also paying higher, above-market interest on their mortgages. Continue reading →

CBO: Refi Plan No Boon to Housing

Quote

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Quote

CBO: Obama’s plan to refinance millions of loans will do little to improve housing or create jobs.

President Obama only briefly mentioned housing in his quotidian “jobs speech” when he outlined an initiative to refinance millions of homeowners’ mortgages at today’s record-low rates. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published findings that suggests Obama’s plan is likely to have little impact on the housing recovery except to redistribute $13 to $15 billion of investors’ money to borrowers.

“With respect to the housing market, the overall impact of the program is also small; the 111,000 homeowners saved from foreclosure by virtue of lower monthly mortgage payments will have a minor impact on the path of future home prices. Because this program is directed toward current homeowners, it would do little to alleviate the tighter underwriting standards and increased credit pricing for purchase loans. In addition, it would not create much demand for homes, because all of its participants would already have at least one property.”

—An Evaluation of Large-Scale Mortgage Refinancing Programs, Working Paper Series, Congressional Budget Office. Washington, D.C., Working Paper 2011-4, September 2011

[contemplate1]

[contemplate2]

[contemplate4]

NAHB Disappointed In Jobs Plan

Quote

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Quote

Statement from NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen on President Obama’s Address to the Nation

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) had this to say regarding President Obama’s Jobs Plan address to the nation:

“. . . it’s discouraging that the Administration still fails to recognize that housing has a central role to play in restoring the nation’s workforce.”

“In normal times, housing accounts for 18 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, and nothing packs a bigger local economic impact than home building. Constructing 100 average single-family homes generates more than 300 full-time jobs, $23.1 million in wage and business income and $8.9 million in federal, state and local tax revenue.

“Housing has traditionally led the nation out of past recessions and needs to be playing a far bigger role than it has so far in today’s lackluster recovery. That won’t happen until federal regulators move to end the credit freeze for new home production, banks allow qualified home buyers access to affordable home loans and policymakers acknowledge there is a clear need to support homeownership and get housing moving again to spur growth, create jobs and restore consumer confidence.”

— Bob Nielsen, Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), September 9, 2011.

[contemplate1]

[contemplate2]

[contemplate4]

Fannie Mae: Most Americans See U.S. on WrongTrack

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Americans’ Pessimism on the Economy, Home Prices, and Household Finances deepen and keep uncertain Consumers on the Housing market fence.

Consumer Confidence Poll Americans’ pessimism about the economy, home prices, and household finances are deepening, according to findings from Fannie Mae’s August National Housing Survey. More than three quarters of Americans (78 percent) say the economy is on the wrong track and only 16 percent think the economy is on the right track (compared to 70 percent wrong track and 23 percent right track in July). Twenty-seven percent of Americans believe home prices will go down and 22 percent of Americans polled expect their financial situation to worsen over the next year — the highest levels of pessimism for both indicators since August 2010.

Continue reading →

Clear Capital® Reports U.S. Home Prices Increase 4.0%

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Summer’s Last Stand: Warm weather home buying season keeps prices moving up, but the slowing rate of growth and weakening consumer confidence point to a stormy Fall and Winter seasons.

Clear Capital, with data through August 2011, has released its monthly Home Data Index™ (HDI) Market Report. According to the report, U.S. home price gains of 4.0 percent when comparing the most recent rolling quarter to the previous one. Though quarter-over-quarter gains continue across the nation’s four regions, the rate of growth has begun to slow as the summer buying season winds down and economic confidence shows signs of weakening.

Continue reading →

Strong Housing Market Key to Strong Economy

Quote

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Jack Pearce

Quote

The U.S. needs to make it more attractive for capital to flow back into the housing market to get the residential real estate industry — and the economy — back on track.

“Ultimately, a stronger housing market will be key in getting the economy back on track. Five years ago, few would have thought the country would be in a situation with home prices down some 30%. People seem incredulous that prices can drop further, but they can.”

—William Emmons, assistant vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. September 7th, 2011.

[contemplate1]

[contemplate2]

[contemplate4]

Mahoning Valley REALstuff

News, Views, Thoughts and Opinion of Mahoning River Valley Real Estate from the HomeTeam . . . Jack Pearce and Al Leonard

Category Archives: Housing

Radarlogic Sees Trouble Ahead For Home Prices

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in July

Aside

Aside

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in July

Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index shows nearly all census divisions with INCREASES in July — but DECREASES year over year.

More Good News: Positive Architecture Billings Index

AIA reports Architecture Billings Index Turns Positive after Four Straight Monthly Declines; Strong level of inquiries for new projects.

Survey: Housing Outlook Still Dimming

Five years after the market peak home prices expected to increase an average of just 1.1% over next five years according to latest MacroMarkets survey.

Existing-Home Sales Stronger In August Than Expected

CoreLogic: Negative Equity Declines – But Not Much

75 Percent of Negative Equity Properties Have Above-Market Interest Rates; nationally, the level of mortgage debt remains high relative to home prices

CBO: Refi Plan No Boon to Housing

Quote

Quote

CBO: Obama’s plan to refinance millions of loans will do little to improve housing or create jobs.

NAHB Disappointed In Jobs Plan

Quote

Quote

Statement from NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen on President Obama’s Address to the Nation

Fannie Mae: Most Americans See U.S. on WrongTrack

Americans’ Pessimism on the Economy, Home Prices, and Household Finances deepen and keep uncertain Consumers on the Housing market fence.

Clear Capital® Reports U.S. Home Prices Increase 4.0%

Summer’s Last Stand: Warm weather home buying season keeps prices moving up, but the slowing rate of growth and weakening consumer confidence point to a stormy Fall and Winter seasons.

Strong Housing Market Key to Strong Economy

Quote

Quote

The U.S. needs to make it more attractive for capital to flow back into the housing market to get the residential real estate industry — and the economy — back on track.