Tag Archives: Home Sales

A survey from the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) revealed preferences and strategies of a typical California investor. For the most part, investors in the Golden State plan to keep their purchase for at least a year. According to the survey, 26 percent of investors who worked with Realtors over the last 12 months before April 2013 said they intend to flip the property within a year, while 66 percent plan to keep the property for more than a year as a rental.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) slipped 0.4 percent in June to 110.9 in response to higher mortgage rates. Economists had expected the index to drop to 110.7, which would have been a 1.4 percent decline from May's originally reported 112.3. The May index was revised down to 111.3. With the revision, the May index, originally reported as the highest in six years, matched the level of April 2010.

While states in the Northeast have generally lagged behind the housing recovery seen in many other states across the nation, a few markets in the Northeast are beginning to look favorable, according to the Home Value Forecast released Thursday by ProTeck Valuation Services. In fact, in ProTeck's review of the top 200 core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) across the United States, the top two rankings went to CBSAs in the Northeast--Cambridge-Newton-Farmingham, Massachusetts and Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, Rhode Island-Massachusetts.

President Obama embarked this week on a series of speeches designed to highlight the nation’s continued economic stress. The immediate response and from both ends of the political spectrum was to decry his efforts as same-old, same-old. And, it is true the President has made this pitch before, emphasizing that the significant progress has made is not enough.

According a survey from the National Association of Realtors, 80 percent of Americans said they believe buying a home is a good financial decision, up by 8 points from 2011. Over the last two years, the market has also seen an increase in renters who are interested in owning. In the recent survey, 36 percent of renters said they are thinking about buying, up from 25 percent in 2011, while 51 percent of renters also said that owning in the future is one of their highest personal priorities. Not only are views toward housing stronger, but Americans are also less concerned when it comes to job security.

Low inventory coupled with rising mortgage rates and home prices are leading prospective buyers to consider using ""aggressive"" tactics such as overbidding to obtain a home, according to recent survey from Trulia. In order to secure the desired home, 25 percent of prospective buyers in the survey said they were willing to bid 1 to 5 percent above the seller's asking prices. When it came to overbidding, younger buyers (aged 18 to 34) are more likely to use the strategy. The survey also examined top worries and found rising mortgage rates weighed on the minds of 41 percent of potential buyers.

With the exception of short sales, activity for distressed sales was relatively calm in June, according to data from RealtyTrac. Last month, institutional investors accounted for 9 percent of residential sales. The share represents a slight increase from 8 percent in May, and a small decrease from 10 percent in June 2012. Meanwhile, short sales saw a significant increase over the last year, representing 14 percent of all sales in June, up from 8 percent a year ago.

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose for the second straight month in June, according to the latest report from the New England-based Warren Group. Year-over-year, home prices also increased statewide for the ninth consecutive month.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales welled 8.3 percent in June to 497,000, according to a report from the Census Bureau and HUD. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to increase to 484,000 from May's originally reported 476,000. The median price of a new home fell 5.0 percent in June to $249,700, the third time the median price has dropped in the last four months. May's median price was revised down to $262,800 from the originally reported $263,900.

In the backdrop of a slow growing economy, Fitch Ratings projects the housing recovery will expand this year and the next-just not at an explosive pace, according to a report. The forecast for 2013 is for existing-home sales to increase 7.5 percent and for new home sales to rise by 22 percent. Meanwhile, single-family starts should grow 18 percent, and multifamily starts should jump 25 percent.