Tag Archives: housing market

by

Price Gains Accelerating Again

Prices Rising

Nationally the Home Price Index (HPI) is now within 7.6 percent of the peak value it reached in July 2006 of $268,000. Several states have already established new high-water marks for prices including Colorado and Texas which have done so nearly monthly for over a year. Among the largest metropolitan areas Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio all hit new peaks along with Columbus, Ohio, Denver, Honolulu, Nashville, San Francisco and San Jose. Both Boston and Portland, Oregon are now less than 0.75 percent away from doing so as well. Prices as measured by the HPI went up in every state from March to April, led by Washington with a 2.0 percent gain. Michigan and Colorado followed, each at 1.7 percent, Oregon at 1.6 percent, and both Minnesota and the District of Columbia at 1.3 percent. 

Read the full story…

by

45 Percent of Properties Were on the Market for Less than a Month in May

Family

Almost half of all properties sold were on the market for less than a month in May 2015, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

by

Housing Bubble? Despite Rising Prices, Most Economists Still Say No

Prices Rising

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released recently was the latest report to show a relentless rise in housing prices, causing some economists to ask: Is another bubble forming?

According to Tuesday’s data housing prices have been climbing for 35 consecutive months, but economists pointed to several reasons why that isn’t a concern, namely that while prices keep rising the rate of growth has slowed. In the first three months of this year home prices gained 0.8%, according to the S&P Case-Shiller national index. That’s down from 2.8% in the first three months of 2013 and 1.2% during the same period of last year.

Read the article…

by

The 5 Hottest Single-Family Markets Are…

The national housing market is regaining steam after a slowdown in late 2013 and early 2014 and a handful of areas are seeing a surge in home prices and sales growth.

Auction.com highlights the “hottest” major single-family markets based on current and expected future housing measures. Of the 49 largest U.S. markets, the five emerging at the top of the rankings have shown consistently strong demand, home price appreciation, and economic and demographic growth. Three of the top five ranking markets are located within the Southwest region, and two are located in the Southeast.

Read where they are…

by

The 20 Most Active Housing Markets

United States

Home buyers are turning out in markets across the country for the spring selling season, and some markets are seeing more action than others.

Homes are selling faster too. The median number of days on the market fell to 89 in March – 13 percent lower than a year ago.

Read about the 20 markets that had homes selling at some of the fastest speeds, and see where Seattle is on the list…

by

Gen Y Shaping Housing Trends

Front Door 2

Gen Y — those 34 and younger — make up 32% of home buyers. That’s a larger share than any other segment of buyers, according to NAR’s latest “Generational Trends” report. The percentage would be even higher if four factors weren’t working against younger buyers, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. See highlights here. Dig into details on attitudes and incomes of each generation of buyers here.

by

In Seattle, Zillow says more than 16% of homeowners still underwater on mortgage

Neighborhood

In the Seattle metro area, more than 16 percent of all homeowners — or 106,900 — remain underwater on their mortgages and owe more money than their house is worth.

That’s according to Seattle online real estate company Zillow Inc., which said that’s down from an underwater equity rate of 21.9 percent a year ago and down from the peak of 39.6 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

For 2015, Zillow estimates the negative equity rate in Seattle will drop to 13.3 percent, compared with the predicted national average next year of 15.2 percent.

Read more…

by

FHA to lower cost of Mortgage Insurance

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.

Read the article…

by

Flurry of year-end home sales brings strong finish to 2014

Front Door 3

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.

Read more…

by

10 Housing Markets to Watch in 2015

US

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!