All the Real Estate News That’s Fit to RE-Print™
Welcome to our weekly edition of Hot Real Estate Investment News.
The big news this week: Home prices are up, but home sales are down. Housing starts jumped 6.9 percent, and home builder confidence soared to a five-year high.
Here are the real estate investing related news items that caught our attention this past week. We hope they help you stay up-to-date with your real estate investment strategies and inspire some profitable real estate deals for you.
June Existing-Home Prices Rise Again, Sales Down with Constrained
Here are some of the key findings from a recent National Association of Realtors® report:
- Total existing home sales declined 5.4 percent in June but are 4.5 percent higher than the 4.18 million-unit level in June 2011.
- The national median existing-home price was $189,400 in June, up 7.9 percent from a year ago. This marks four back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier, which last occurred in February to May of 2006. June’s gain was the strongest since February 2006 when the median price rose 8.7 percent from a year prior.
- Foreclosures and short sales sold at deep discounts – accounted for 25 percent of June sales (13 percent were foreclosures and 12 percent were short sales), unchanged from May but down from 30 percent in June 2011.
- Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 18 percent below market value in June, while short sales were discounted 15 percent.
- Total housing inventory at the end June fell another 3.2 percent to 2.39 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.6-month supply….Listed inventory is 24.4 percent below a year ago when there was a 9.1-month supply.
See also: U.S. Existing Home Sales Fell By 5.4% To 4.37 Million Units In June
CoreLogic Releases July MarketPulse Report
“Key findings in the July MarketPulse Report include:
- Home prices are up in many markets as high negative equity shares keep many sellers off the market and demand for distressed properties remains high.
- The lower end of the home price tier is rebounding at more than three times the rate of the upper end driven by distressed sales.
- The Home Price Index (HPI), including distressed sales, posted the largest year-over-year spring price gain in the last 25 years.
- Estimates show that refinancing accounted for 70 percent of the total mortgage originations market over the past 12 months.”
Get a complete copy of the July CoreLogic MarketPulse report here: http://www.corelogic.com/downloadable-docs/MarketPulse_2012-July.pdf.
Housing Starts Jump 6.9% To 760,000 Units In June
From Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services U.S. Deputy Chief Economist, Beth Ann Bovino:
“U.S. housing starts jumped by 6.9% to 760,000 units in June….The June figure was much stronger than the 735,000 expected by markets and our 740,000 forecast. Single-family starts rose by 4.7%, while multi-family starts were up an even stronger 12.8%.
Home Price Index Increasing at Fastest Rate Since 2005
DSnews.com reporter, Tory Barringer reports:
“Lender Processing Services, Inc.‘s (LPS) Applied Analytics division released its updated home price index (HPI), showing that although prices fell year-over-year, the HPI increase from this year’s low has been the most significant jump up in years.”
VP of LPS Applied Analytics said:
“Home prices have risen 2.5 percent so far this year, indicating an exceptionally strong spring….While prices typically see a boost in the spring, the magnitude and speed of this increase and its consistency across the nation have not been seen since October 2005.”
Homebuilders Most Confident in More Than 5 Years
From CNBC Real Estate Reporter, Diana Olick:
“Homebuilder sentiment jumped six points in July on a monthly index from the National Association of Home Builders. It now stands at 35. Fifty is the line between positive and negative sentiment, but this is the largest monthly gain recorded in more than a decade, and the highest level since March 2007.”
See Also:
The top 10 threats facing real estate
MarketWatch’s Amy Hoak reports on a recent Counselors of Real Estate analysis identifying the top 10 issues facing all real estate in the next three decades.
The number one issue is “an aging population.” Number two on the list: “Student debt burdens.”