Housing Inventory Down In October

The number of single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses listed for sale dropped 3.3 percent in October compared to the month before. Inventory fell in 22 of the 26 major metropolitan areas surveyed by real-estate brokerage firm ZipRealty. Typically, October sees a slight increase in inventory, as sellers try to beat the seasonal sales downturn. Despite the decrease, inventory was up 13 percent over last year, when home sales were boosted by the home buyer tax credit. Data here. More here.

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Future Brightening For New Home Sales

David Crowe, the National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist, says builder optimism is on the rise because the level of new homes for sale is the lowest in 42 years and, even a slight improvement in the economy, will lead to a rise in demand.

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Building Permits Up, Housing Starts Down

Building permits for privately-owned housing units and single-family homes were both up in October, according to The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family authorizations were up 1.0 percent from the month before and privately-owned housing units rose 0.5 percent. Though the permit data suggests future improvements for construction, housing starts during the month of October fell 11.7 percent to their lowest level since April 2009. The drop was driven by a 43.5 percent decrease in multifamily construction. Single-family housing starts were down just 1.1 percent. More here and here.

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Loan Demand Falls As Mortgage Rates Rise

According to The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages jumped from 4.28 percent to 4.46 percent last week. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said the rate increase was due to stronger economic data and uncertainty about the impact of the Federal Reserve’s latest purchase of Treasury securities. Because of the increase in mortgage rates, the Refinance Index dropped 16.5 percent and the Purchase Index was down 5.0 percent. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Housing Market, Interest Rates, MBA, News, Real Estate, Trends

A Brighter Forecast for Housing in 2011

The National Association of Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun says the housing market has regained stability and expects further gains in 2011. Pointing to positive trends in the overall economy, as well as housing prices, sales, and affordability, Yun predicted existing-home sales will reach 5.5 million units next year, home prices will rise 1.0 percent, and GDP will be up 2.5 percent. Consumer confidence, business spending, and job growth are the keys to continued economic growth and recovery according to Yun. Also, NAR’s U.S. Economic Outlook for October forecasts a significant increase in sales in 2011 and continued improvements for residential construction. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Housing Starts, Prices, Real Estate, Sales, Views

The Housing Market & The Economy

Paul Nolte, Managing Director at Dearborn Partners, says, despite excess inventory in the housing market, the overall economy will continue healing at very slow pace.

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Default Notices Fall For 9th Straight Month

Default notices fell 2.0 percent in October and were 19 percent below year-before levels, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. It was the ninth-straight month they’ve decreased on a year-over-year basis. Total foreclosure activity was down 4.0 percent from the previous month and repossessions were down 9.0 percent. James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac, said the declines were probably due to the foreclosure freeze, which may lead to further decreases in November. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Default Notices, Foreclosures, Housing Market, News, Real Estate, Repossessions, Trends

Home Loan Demand Up 5.8 Percent

According to The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, total loan application volume was up 5.8 percent last week, due to increases in both the Purchase and Refinance Index. The Purchase Index was up 5.5 percent, while the Refinance Index rose 6.0 percent from the previous week. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said the increases in purchase applications over the last couple of weeks align with better than expected employment reports and data indicating some improvement in the economy’s growth prospects. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged from the week before at 4.28 percent. More here and here.

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NY Fed Releases 3rd Quarter Report

The New York Federal Reserve’s Quarterly Report On Household Debt And Credit finds new foreclosures fell in the third quarter while the number of mortgages that became delinquent rose slightly. About 2.7 percent of current mortgage balances transitioned into delinquency during the third quarter, up from 2.6 percent in the second quarter. The number of individuals with a new foreclosure notice added to their credit report fell 5.5 percent from the second quarter. Also in the report, mortgage originations rose 4.3 percent to $380 billion, 26 percent above their low in the fourth quarter of 2008. More here, here, and here.

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First-Time Buyers Half Of All Home Sales

From July 2009 to June 2010, first-time buyers accounted for 50 percent of all home sales, up from 47 percent in 2009. The 2010 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows a record number of entry-level buyers, largely due to the success of the home buyer tax credit. The survey also found that the typical seller who purchased a home eight years ago experienced a median equity gain of $33,000, a 24 percent increase. Sellers who were in their homes for 11-to-15 years saw a median gain of 40 percent. Vicki Cox Golder, NAR’s president, said despite turmoil in the housing market, most long-term owners saw an increase in the value of their property. 85 percent of buyers said buying a home is a good investment. More here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Federal Programs, Housing Market, Real Estate, Sales, Tax Credit, Trends, Views