|
|
Dennis Norman  Thursday, 16th of May 2013 at 06:04:10 PM
 Spring weather and a shrinking inventory of homes for sale has helped fuel an increase in new home construction activity according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. According to the report, building permits for new single family homes in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 617,000 homes, an increase of 3.0 percent from the month before and a 27.5 percent increase from a year ago. New home starts slipped a little in April, falling back to an annual rate of 610,000 homes, a decline of 2.1 percent from March but still an increase of 20.8 percent from a year ago.
To view the complete report,
Dennis Norman Thursday, 16th of May 2013 at 03:04:57 PM
RealtyTrac, just released a report with an interesting twist; instead of just reporting foreclosure activity as they normally do, and are best known for, this report includes an in-depth analysis of building permits issued for new homes as well. The report shows that foreclosure starts during the first quarter of 2013 were down 27 percent from a year ago and permits for new homes were up 27 percent during the same period. Continue reading New Homes Filling Void in Market Left By Fewer Foreclosures
News Desk Thursday, 16th of May 2013 at 11:30:37 AM
The Justice Department today announced a settlement with the architects and civil engineers involved in the design and construction of multifamily housing complexes located in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. The department’s lawsuit alleges that nine multifamily housing complexes with more than 800 units covered by the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility requirements were designed and built without required accessible features. No settlement has been reached with the developer, builder or former owners of these properties, who are alleged to have violated not only the Fair Housing Act, but also the Americans with Disabilities Act. Continue reading Justice Department Reaches Fair Housing Settlement with Design Professionals in Disability Lawsuit
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 14th of May 2013 at 03:18:20 PM
Luxury home sales during the first quarter of 2013 rose 34 percent from first quarter 2012, according to a luxury home report just released by Redfin. According to the report, the market for homes priced at $1 million and above has rebounded even faster than the normal housing market.
Included in the report was a list of the top luxury home markets in the country in terms of the number of $1 million+ homes sold from January 2012 through March 2013. It doesn’t come as a surprise that San Francisco is at the top of the list with 474 sales, followed by 3 other California cities, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and San Diego. The complete list is below: Continue reading Luxury Home Sales Hit Six-Year High
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 14th of May 2013 at 06:23:33 AM
Home prices in metro areas throughout the U.S. continued to rise during the first quarter, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). According to NAR, on a national level, year-over-year home price performance during first quarter 2013 was at the best level in over seven years. Median home prices on single family homes, increased in 133 out of 150 metro areas covered in the NAR report. Continue reading Metro Area Home Prices Continue To Rise
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 14th of May 2013 at 05:56:59 AM
 In spite of the improving housing market, home remodeling appears to be on the decline this year, given recent information from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). According to the NAHB, home remodeling has declined in each of the last five months. In March, money spent on remodeling was down 1.4 percent from the month before.
The NAHB has a Remodeling Market Index (RMI) which fell six points to 49 for the first quarter of 2013 however, despite its drop, the RMI was still at the third-highest level since the first quarter of 2006. Continue reading Home remodeling on the decline in spite of improving housing market
Dennis Norman Thursday, 9th of May 2013 at 11:08:27 AM
Foreclosure activity, including the filing of default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions, in April occurred on 144,790 properties in the U.S. in April which is a decline of 5 percent from the month before and a decline of 23 percent from a year ago, according to a newly released report from RealtyTrac. April’s foreclosure activity was at the lowest level in over 6 years.
Continue reading Foreclosure Activity Down 23 Percent From Year Ago
Dennis Norman Wednesday, 8th of May 2013 at 03:57:59 PM
A report just released by Clear Capital shows that, on a national level, home prices have increased 7.2 percent in the past year, a welcomed improvement from the 1.4 percent decline their report showed a year ago. Their forecast projects home prices will “moderate” and “stabilize” in the coming months and that “stable home prices will be the new norm.”
Other Highlights include: Continue reading Stable Home Prices…"The New Normal"
Dennis Norman Friday, 3rd of May 2013 at 10:30:23 AM
Where are the best cities to flip homes?
Orlando, Florida is at the top of the list that RealtyTrac compiled of the top 25 cities in the U.S. for flipping homes. In putting this list together, RealtyTRac studied over 600 cities in the U.S. where single family homes were flipped (a “flip” being considered the house being resold within 6 months of acquisition) and then looked at the gross profit percentage in terms of the flip sales price versus the original sales price. Before you get too excited when you see the numbers below, remember, that in many cases, there were extensive repairs made or complete remodeling done in order to be able to resell the house at the flip price shown plus there were other costs involved with holding and selling the property. Continue reading Best Cities To Flip Homes
Dennis Norman Thursday, 2nd of May 2013 at 02:04:25 PM
 While the housing market has been improving driving the inventory of homes for sale down from high levels to the point of an inadequate supply in many markets and foreclosures are on the decline, investors are scrambling to find good deals. When a house does hit the market with a good price the competition heats up and typically multiple offers are received driving the price up and, in many cases, higher than the original list price. So, where are the good deals on real estate and the biggest discounts?
Radar Logic has studied the buying activity of institutional investors looked at where they are buying and what discounts in price they are getting compared with other home sales in the area and, from this data, has assembled the list below of the top 10 markets in the U.S. based upon discounted home prices.
The Top 10 Markets For Investors Based Upon Discounted Home Prices
| Metropolitan Area |
Institutional Investor Discount
|
| Pittsburgh, PA |
-64%
|
| Cleveland, OH |
-55%
|
| Detroit, MI |
-54%
|
| St. Louis, MO |
-50%
|
| Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN |
-49%
|
| Baltimore-Towson, MD |
-46%
|
| Richmond, VA |
-42%
|
| San Francisco, CA |
-38%
|
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
-36%
|
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL |
-34%
|
Dennis Norman Wednesday, 1st of May 2013 at 07:56:00 PM
This week, new guidance was released by HUD and the Department of Justice for designing multifamily housing to comply with the Fair Housing Act by making the housing accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Fair Housing Act, in addition to preventing discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, disability and familial status, also requires that multifamily housing with four or more units, built after March 1991, contain accessible features for persons with disabilities. Continue reading New Design Guidelines For Apartments Released To Comply With Fair Housing Act
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 30th of April 2013 at 09:07:43 PM
The month of March saw 55,000 foreclosures completed in the U.S., down 16 percent from March 2012 when there were 66,000 foreclosures however an increase from the month before when there were 52,000 foreclosures, according to CoreLogic.
The number of completed foreclosures in March 2013 was a 52 percent decrease from the peak of the foreclosure crisis in 2010, however it’s not quite time for celebration yet as prior to the crash of the housing market in 2007 there were an average of 21,000 foreclosures per month completed. Continue reading 55,000 Foreclosures Completed In March
Dennis Norman Monday, 29th of April 2013 at 01:02:22 PM
Pending home sales rose in March 1.5 percent from February and were up 7.0 percent from a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index. The pending home sales index was at 105.7 in March and has increased on a year-over-year basis for 23 consecutive months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said “the market appears to be leveling off” and that “little movement” is expected in the short term, but contract activity should edge up modestly later in the year.
Dennis Norman Monday, 29th of April 2013 at 07:05:44 AM
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) produced an informative slide to help it’s members understand the role of digital media in the home searching and buying process by consumers. NAR’s research reveals 90 percent of home buyers searched online during their home buying process and real estate related searches on Google.com grew 253 percent over the past four years.
Continue reading REALTOR Report On Use Of Digital Media By Home Buyers
Dennis Norman Thursday, 25th of April 2013 at 03:44:25 PM
Mortgage rates fell for the sixth-consecutive week this week with 30-year fixed mortgage rates dropping to 3.57 percent, a four-month low, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly survey. The interest rates on 15-year mortgages set a record low at 2.8 percent this week. Even jumbo’s are low, coming in at 3.98 percent.
SURVEY RESULTS Continue reading Mortgage Rates Fall For Sixth-Consecutive Week
Dennis Norman Wednesday, 24th of April 2013 at 04:04:21 PM
Mortgage delinquencies fell in March 3.13 percent from the month before and were down 3.03 percent from a year ago, according to a report just released by LPS. The foreclosure inventory rate fell slightly (0.41 percent) from the month before but was down almost 20 percent (19.61)from a year ago.
This, along with other recent news and reports, continues to paint a picture of a housing market that is beginning to recover. Continue reading Mortgage Delinquencies and Foreclosure Inventories Drop
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 23rd of April 2013 at 10:07:45 AM
New home sales in March 2013 were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 417,000 homes, an increase of 1.5 percent from the month before and an 18.5 percent increase from a year ago when new home sales were at the rate of 352,000 homes per year, according to a report just released by the US Census Bureau and HUD.
The median price of new homes sold in March was $247,000, down 6.7 percent from February’s median new home price of $264,900 but up 3 percent from a year ago when the median new home sales price was $239,800. The inventory of new homes for sale remained steady with a 4.4 month supply, the same as the month before but down from a 4.9 month supply a year ago.
Dennis Norman Monday, 22nd of April 2013 at 09:48:40 PM
Existing home sales in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million homes, down 0.6 percent from the month before, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). While existing home sales declined slightly in March, sales were 10.3 percent higher than a year ago.
Even though month over month sales declined, year over year home sales have increased for 21 consecutive months and home prices have increased on a year over year basis for 13 consecutive months, proof the market is moving toward recovery. Continue reading Existing home sales slip in March
Dennis Norman Friday, 19th of April 2013 at 10:19:02 AM
 Bankers’ attitude toward housing market becoming more favorable according to FICO survey
Most bankers say they have a favorable outlook on home prices, mortgage delinquencies and the housing market in general, according to FICO’s first quarter 2013 survey of bankers. According to the survey, most bankers (83.7 percent) said during the next 6 months they believe mortgage delinquencies will stay at the same levels, or improve and 70.8 percent saying they feel home prices are rising at a sustainable pace. Continue reading Bankers’ Have Favorable Outlook On Housing Market
Dennis Norman Friday, 19th of April 2013 at 09:17:38 AM
The multi family market has bounced back quickly from a slight downturn earlier this year, according to a new report from the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). The NMHC April survey of multi family market conditions shows that all it’s indexes came in above 50 indicating improving conditions. This reverses the trend shown in the report for the prior quarter in which two of the indexes had dipped below 50 for the first time since 2010.
Highlights of the report:
Continue reading Multi Family Market Improves
Dennis Norman Thursday, 18th of April 2013 at 06:13:37 PM
Consumer Confidence in Real Estate On The Rise
Survey results just released by Prudential Real Estate, indicate that consumer confidence in real estate is increasing with 77 percent of consumers survey responding that they feel the real estate market and property values will recover. This is up from 73 percent that felt this way at the end of 2012 and up from 70 percent that felt this way a year ago.
The survey also showed that home ownership is still considered important by 96 percent of Americans and 87 percent of those surveyed said Americans should buy homes now while mortgage rates and prices are low. Continue reading Survey Shows Consumer Confidence In Real Estate Growing
News Desk Wednesday, 17th of April 2013 at 04:17:57 PM
The Justice Department announced today that Marcus Manly Magee III, Ina Magee, and their company, M.M. and S. Inc., have agreed to pay $27,000 to settle a lawsuit involving violations of the Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants established and implemented an occupancy policy at 23 rental properties in Magee, Miss., that differentiated between the maximum number of adults and children who could reside in each home.
Continue reading Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against Owners and Managers of Rental Homes in Mississippi for Fair Housing Act Violations
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 16th of April 2013 at 10:33:35 AM
New Home Permits and Starts Decline in March
New home construction activity slipped in March with permits for new homes issued at a seasonally adjusted rate of 595,000 homes, down 0.5 percent from February. March new home starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 homes, down 4.8 percent from February, according to a newly released report by HUD and the Census Bureau.
At the other end of the spectrum was apartment construction (5+ units) which saw a spike in activity in March with permits issued at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 392,000 units, a 26.9 percent increase from February, and completions at the annual rate of 202,000 units, an increase of 49.6 percent from the month before.
Dennis Norman Monday, 15th of April 2013 at 09:19:54 PM
Bank Mortgage Company Failures are on track this year to see the fewest number of failures in seven years, according to Mortgage Daily’s first quarter 2013 report. Credit Union failures however exceeded bank failures during the first quarter and hit the highest level in a year.
Fifteen (15) mortgage-related companies failed, or were shut down during the first quarter putting us on track to see 60 failures this year or about 25 percent less than the 83 failures last year, according to the report.
Dennis Norman Monday, 15th of April 2013 at 05:40:38 PM
Home Construction Jobs On The Rise Says NAHB
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says, in spite of a relatively weak jobs report for March, new home construction job appears to be on the rise. In all industries there were only 88,000 net jobs created in March, however almost 15,000 jobs were added in the new home construction industry, bringing the total new jobs over the past six months to nearly 74,000 jobs, according to NAHB.
The NAHB also reported that there are currently 116,000 unfilled positions open in the construction section, a post-Great Recession high. With all the talk of immigration reform it’s also worth noting that, according to the 2011 American Community Survey by the Census Bureau, 22 percent of all labor in the construction sector is made up of immigrants.
Dennis Norman Friday, 12th of April 2013 at 05:20:25 PM
“Nationwide, we’re not in a bubble,” says Glenn Kelman, CEO of online real estate company Redfin. Kelman said that even though the overall housing market is “hot and getting hotter” his firm has compared trends from the market peak back in 2005 and 2006 with where we are today and has concluded we are not in a housing bubble again. Continue reading We Are Not In A Housing Bubble
Dennis Norman Thursday, 11th of April 2013 at 09:43:08 AM
Foreclosure activity during the first quarter of 2013 was at the lowest level since the 2nd quarter of 2007, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac. Time it takes to foreclose is up to a record breaking 477 days nationwide.
There were foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) filed on 152,500 properties in the U.S. during the month of March 2013, a decrease of 1 percent from the month before and a decline of 23 percent from March 2012, according to the report. Continue reading Foreclosure Activity Drops To Lowest Level In Six Years
Dennis Norman Friday, 5th of April 2013 at 05:12:22 PM
Homebuyer activity was up in March with the number of customers taking property tours up 9 percent from February and the number of buyers making offers up 22 percent during the same period, according to a report just released by Redfin.
The report went on to say that 75 percent of the offers written by Redfin agents during March faced bidding wars. This current activity is being driven by a decline in the inventory of homes for sale and will no doubt lead to increased prices.
Dennis Norman Tuesday, 2nd of April 2013 at 05:58:05 PM
Vacation home sales rose 10.1 percent in 2012 to 553,000 homes from 502,000 the year before, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). Investment home sales as a whole declined 2.1 percent in 2012 from the year before, but still remained at elevated levels.
Vacation home sales accounted for 11 percent of all homes sold in 2012, the same as the year before.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributes the increase in vacation homes to the strong recovery of the stock market as well as the attractive prices on recreational property.
Highlights from the report: Continue reading Vacation Home Sales On The Rise
Dennis Norman Monday, 1st of April 2013 at 06:14:04 PM
Shadow Inventory Down 28 Percent From Peak of 3 Million Homes in 2010
Shadow Inventory in the U.S., also known as “pending supply” and refers to homes that have seriously delinquent mortgages, are in foreclosure or owned by a lender and not on the market, stood at 2.2 million units in January 2013, according to a recent report by Corelogic. This represents a decline in shadow inventory of 18 percent from a year ago when there were 2.6 million unis in shadow inventory and a drop of 28 percent from the peak in January 2010 when it reached 3 million homes.
Highlights from the Corelogic Report for January 2013: Continue reading Shadow Inventory Down 28 Percent From Peak
|
|
Recent Comments