Posts from — August 2009
New Home Sales Hit 10 Month High. Inventories Declining.
The Commerce Department reported that new home sales have seen an increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000. This is the largest monthly increase since February 2005. The sales pace was also the highest it has been since last September.
The past five months the sale of new homes has been steadily increasing. The sales pace has remained steadily around 373,00 for the past few months.
“The housing market is bottoming out,” Conrad DeQuadros, a senior economist at RDQ Economics in New York, told Bloomberg News. Still, “it’s not going to turn around very quickly,” he cautioned.
Another positive sign is that the inventory of homes for sale in the nation is also decreasing steadily. The supply is the lowest it has been since April of 2007. The US Housing Market is at about a 7.5 month supply of homes. This number is down from 8.5 months in June. Experts consider a six month supply to be a healthy inventory. During the housing boom of 2006, the national level was about 4 months. The years following this boom, the supply increased to around 11 months. There were about 271,000 new homes on the market last month. This was the lowest this number has been since March of 1993.
The stocks for many companies in the homebuilding industry were also seeing an increase in value. Toll Bros. (TOL) reported their stock was up 73 cents. This is a 3.3% increase, which brings the value up to $23.04 per stock. Pulte Homes( PHM) and Hovnanian Enterprises have also reported gains.
On Tuesday, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major U.S. cities showed prices rose 1.4% in June, the second monthly gain in a row after declines every month for three years.
August 31, 2009 No Comments
Housing Market Overview
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Housing Recovery Beginning as Sales Surge in July |
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§ Sales of existing single-family homes rose for the fourth consecutive month in July, providing further evidence that the housing market has started to recover and that the recession is nearing an end. Achieving an annual rate of 5.24 million homes, the highest level since August 2007, home sales rose 7.2 percent last month. Year over year, sales of existing homes are up 5 percent, while the median price has declined 15.1 percent to $178,400. Months of inventory decreased 11 percent from a year ago to 9.4. § The restoration of housing affordability, low mortgage interest rates and a federal tax credit relieved pent-up demand and contributed to the increase in velocity. The tax credit spurred activity among first-time buyers, who must complete transactions by the Nov. 30 expiration. The real estate industry is lobbying Congress to extend the credit. Sales of foreclosed and other distressed properties accounted for about 30 percent of transactions last month, partially generating the drop in the median price. Foreclosed and distressed homes will comprise a significant portion of single-family home sales in the coming months, as 13 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are either behind on payments or in foreclosure. § Housing is a key driver of economic growth, and the stabilization in single-family sales over the past few months has bolstered the construction sector. Single-family home starts increased 1.7 percent in July and are 37 percent greater than the low point recorded in January. A rebound in home building will benefit the economy by creating jobs and eventually stimulating spending on housing-related and household items. § The rebound in the housing market has yet to affect retailers. Earlier this week, both Lowe’s and Home Depot reported declines in same-store sales, following a report of lackluster performance at Wal-Mart. The weak performance by anchor retailers such as these continues to weigh on the performance of smaller merchants that occupy adjacent spaces. National shopping center vacancy rose 50 basis points to 9.5 percent in the second quarter and is still increasing in many metro areas. § The single-family housing rebound will have a significant effect on the apartment sector. A resurgent housing sector will underpin an economic recovery that will create jobs and spur both household creation and demand for rental housing. A continuing rebound in existing single-family home sales also will remove shadow rental stock, providing traction to multi-family property owners in many markets. An increase in home sales to first-time buyers, though, will likely shrink the renter pool in many areas, creating additional vacancies and a greater need for concessions from property owners who are already facing high vacancy rates due to job losses. In the second quarter, national apartment vacancy rose 30 basis points to 7.3 percent, while concessions increased to 6.3 percent of asking rents from 5.9 percent of asking rents in the preceding quarter. |
August 28, 2009 No Comments
Outer Banks Foreclosure Report
In the month of July the Outer Banks received very encouraging news that 101 properties were sold in the area. July was the third consecutive month that saw over 100 closings. Even more encouraging is the fact that this July was up 13 sales compared to 2008.
Bank owned homes and short sales account for a large percentage of these transactions. 29 out of 101 sales were distressed properties. Of the 29 distressed homes, 20 were banked owned. Here’s a great source for the Outer Banks Foreclosure Report.
Local Real Estate professionals feel the market will continue to improve, and distressed properties will continue to have a large impact.
August 27, 2009 No Comments
Home Prices Increase from 1Q to 2Q
The Standard & Poor’s US National Home Price Index that was released earlier this week rose about 3 % from the first quarter. This is still down almost 15% from the second quarter last year, but the increase a great step in a positive direction for the national housing market.
Home prices are at levels not seen since early 2003. The monthly index of 20 major cities increased 1.4% from May to June. This is the second month in a row this number has increased. Click here for more information.
August 27, 2009 No Comments
Great Deals Can Be Found on Vacation Rental Homes
A recent article in Business Week discussing real estate investing, mentions that now is a great time to look into vacation rental homes due to great pricing.
“If you are in the market for a high-end vacation home, there are tremendous deals out there right now. While certain high-end markets (think Vail or Aspen) have held up well during the recent downturns, most vacation areas have not fared as well and there are deep discounts to be had. “
Great deals can be found throughout the Outer Banks. Here’s a great source for foreclosures and bank owned homes.
August 26, 2009 No Comments
Existing Home Sales Increase in July – 4 Months Straight!
Existing-home sales have increased four months straight. According to the National Association of Realtors, this is the first time in five years the increase has been this consistent.
Existing home sales rose 7.2% in July. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he is encouraged. “The housing market has decisively turned for the better. A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales,” he said. This monthly sales gain is the biggest for total existing home sales since about a decade ago.
The National Association of Realtors president went on the further say.“Realtors® are the best resource for consumers in these changing market conditions because the transaction process has become more complex. Since it’s now taking longer to complete a home sale, first-time buyers who want to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit should try to make contract offers by the end of September.”
August 25, 2009 No Comments
Housing Affordability on the Rise
Housing affordability has continued its increase in August. According to industry experts nationwide housing affordability during the second quarter of 2009 remained around the highest level since the series began 18 years ago.
The Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) showed 72.3% of all home sales in the second quarter were affordable to average middle class Americans. “The increase in affordability-along with the $8,000 federal tax credit for home buyers is stimulating demand, particularly among young, first-time buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.
So where is the most affordable place to live in America? Indianapolis is considered to be the nation’s most affordable city to live in America. Indianapolis has top the list for 16 consecutive quarters.
August 25, 2009 No Comments
Outer Banks Real Estate Snapshot
August 24, 2009 1 Comment
Single-family Housing Starts Rise in July
It was announced this week that overall, housing starts dipped a little for the month of July. This is not great news, however, there is a silver lining.
The major dip in housing starts in July occured in multi-family units, but single-family housing, the core of the housing market, actually rose in July. The number of single family homes increased 1.7% in July. The number of single family building permits rose 5.8% last month.
This highlights the need to understand individual data points, and not just the overall picture. This is an uphill climb, but the single-family housing market is showing continued signs of improvement.
August 20, 2009 No Comments
Coldwell Banker Launches New Smart Phone App.
COLDWELL BANKER REAL ESTATE LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND INTERNATIONALHOME SEARCH APPLICATION FOR
IPHONE AND ANDROID DEVICES
First National Real Estate Brand to Offer Automatic Notifications of New Listings Through a Mobile Application
PARSIPPANY, N.J. – August 20, 2009 –Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC today announced the launch of the first-ever international home search application for iPhoneTM and AndroidTM-powered devices. The Coldwell Banker Real Estate mobile application enables users to easily search for property listings and recent home sales in 28 countries in North America, Europe, Central America, Caribbean, Australia and South America. The results of these searches as well as the search itself can be saved in a personalized ‘My Coldwell Banker’ account newly created from the user’s smartphone or added to an existing account with coldwellbanker.com by logging into the site directly from the handheld device. Unique to the Coldwell Banker application, searches that are saved to an app-created ‘My Coldwell Banker’ account will automatically generate notifications of new properties and open houses, alerting the user to updated results right on the device’s homepage.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate continues to raise the bar on the traditional home search. In October 2008, Coldwell Banker Real Estate set out to reach the masses by becoming the first full-service national real estate brand to optimize its Web site for use on all mobile devices. By early 2009, international Coldwell Banker Real Estate listings in 28 countries became accessible via the Coldwell Banker brand Web site on the iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones. To date, more than 200,000 users have viewed Coldwell Banker Real Estate listings from the convenience of their handheld devices. Building upon this success, the Coldwell Banker brand is taking the next step in providing consumers with greater flexibility when searching for a home by designing a mobile application that is intuitive, quick and convenient.
“While the desktop computer remains a proven screen, Coldwell Banker recognizes that today’s technologically savvy consumers are also using smartphones to access information on-the-go,” said Michael Fischer, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “We are committed to improving the consumer experience and will continue to introduce innovative technology such as this mobile application to provide our customers with up-to-date home data the moment they want it and to wherever they may be.”
Features of the new application include:
- GPS-based search to locate nearby homes for sale, open houses and recent homes sold
- Ability to sort recently sold properties by location, price and sale date
- Option to view search results in list form or on a variety of maps including street, hybrid and satellite that are marked with “clickable” Coldwell Banker Real Estate icons
- Detailed property listings that include images and a slideshow view
- Direct dial and e-mail functions from the user’s mobile handset to the local Coldwell Banker Real Estate listing agent associated with each property
- Real-time notifications of new properties and open houses identified through the user’s customized saved searches
A video demonstration of the Coldwell Banker brand mobile application can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSUpuHbPXhE
Bootstrap Software was responsible for developing and building the Coldwell Banker Real Estate mobile application.
iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple Computers, Inc.
Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is subject to Google Permissions.
About Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2008, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the ninth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,500 residential real estate offices and more than 101,000 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.
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August 20, 2009 No Comments
