The gain in single-family home prices varied dramatically by area in the Puget Sound region, ranging from negative 3 percent to 15 percent compared to a year earlier. Read the article and click on an area in the map for details on sales activity by area.
In a move designed to bring more first-time homebuyers into the housing market, President Barack Obama said last week the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the government insurer of home loans, will lower its annual insurance premiums from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent.
In a statement, the White House said the move was part of the president’s efforts “to expand responsible lending to creditworthy borrowers.” The president is scheduled to talk about improvements in the housing market at a speech on Thursday in Phoenix, one of the hardest-hit markets of the housing crash.
King County’s housing market ended 2014 with a flurry of sales, but with the lowest supply of active listings in any month going back more than a decade.
The median price of single-family homes sold in December was $440,000, up 4.8 percent over the year, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported last week.
Buying is still more affordable than renting in the majority of U.S. housing markets, according to a new analysis. A study conducted by RealtyTrac factored in 2015 fair market rental data recently released by the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development for three-bedroom properties in 543 counties nationwide with populations of at least 100,000. Buying a median-priced home was found to be more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 68 percent of the counties tracked.
Overall, in 473 of the counties tracked, the fair market rent for a three-bedroom property in 2015 will require 27 percent of median household income, on average. For comparison, buying a median-priced home will require an average of 25 percent of median household income, based on median sales prices in November, the study found.
Americans age 65 and over are holding onto home ownership instead of downsizing into rentals or moving to senior centers, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
Indeed, the largest jump in buyers this year was among people between the ages of 65 and 74. This age segment increased to 13 percent of all buyers from 10 percent a year earlier, according to National Association of REALTORS® data.
Is your local housing market one to watch in 2015? Trulia’s Chief Economist shares his picks for the hottest, must-watch markets for the new year.
See if your area made the list and find out what you can expect next year!
In a mortgage industry that has spent a lot of time looking back at the turbulence, tumult and tension of a few short years ago, it is refreshing to see industry professionals focusing on the future with a renewed sense of optimism and resolve.
With 2014 drawing to a close, it is time to look ahead to the next 12 months and examine the ongoing and emerging trends that will shape the industry in the year to come. From regulatory pressures to potential consolidation, and from new players to old principles, 2015 promises to be an eventful and intriguing year for mortgage professionals.
With both inventory and demand up, REALTORS® in nearly every state are expecting modest price growth over the next 12 months, according to data gathered in October. But in 14 states, scattered across the country — from California to Massachusetts — REALTORS® are forecasting appreciation of greater than 3-4 percent.
Expect the home-purchase market to strengthen along with the economy in 2015, according to Freddie Mac’s U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for November.
“The good news for 2015 is that the U.S. economy appears well-poised to sustain about a 3 percent growth rate in 2015 — only the second year in the past decade with growth at that pace or better,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Governmental fiscal drag has turned into fiscal stimulus; lower energy costs support consumer spending and business investment; further easing of credit conditions for business and real estate lending support commerce and development; and consumers are more upbeat and businesses are more confident, all of which portend faster economic growth in 2015. And with that, the economy will produce more and better-paying jobs, providing the financial wherewithal to support household formations and housing activity.”
Freddie Mac economists have made the following projections in housing for the new year…
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