January 27, 2011
- Housing starts to grow 21% in 2011
Housing will see gradual improvements this year, establishing momentum for stronger gains in 2012, said economists at the National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show recently.
"This year’s spring selling season will be better than last year’s,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, with job growth providing a stronger stimulus in the housing market than [...]
January 22, 2011
- Construction Spending on Positive Streak
A sign that an economic recovery is slowly getting underway is evident by figures from one of the most deeply impacted industries during the recession — the construction industry.
November marked a third consecutive month with construction spending up. Development of new homes, along with an increase in government funding for federal construction projects, is giving [...]
January 20, 2011
- Sellers Drop Asking Prices on Fewer Homes in December
The number of price-reduced homes on the market in December 2010 fell by 7.7 percent from the previous month, according to a survey of 26 major U.S. markets conducted by the national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.
Despite the month-to-month decline, the company says the number of homes with a reduced asking price remained high compared to [...]
January 17, 2011
- Unemployment Picture Expected to Improve
Experts agree, job creation is critical to getting the housing and mortgage markets back on track – both in curbing delinquencies by ensuring homeowners have the ability to keep up with their mortgage payments and in giving consumers the confidence and security they need to become homebuyers.
If unemployment remains elevated for an extended period, the [...]
January 15, 2011
- Housing Recovery Increasingly Tied to Job Growth
Steps to limit price declines may have helped, but economic growth is now critical.
Home prices in twenty major metropolitan markets dropped 1.3% from September to October, the third straight month-over-month drop, according to the December S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index released in late December. The decline erases a significant share of the modest gain in home values [...]
January 6, 2011
- Home Sales Post Another Gain
Sales of previously owned homes edged up in November, the third increase in four months after a dismal summer for home-buying.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyers bought homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million. Even with the rise, this year is shaping up to be the worst for home [...]
January 1, 2011
- Real Estate News - January 2011
Our January 2011 Ventura County Real Estate Newsletter is now online…
Read It Here Now!
December 28, 2010
- First-Time Buyers Returning to the Market
With interest rates slowly rising, a new report says that many first-time homebuyers aren't taking any chances, and are looking to buy a home as soon as possible.
According to the Housing Pulse survey from Inside Mortgage Finance and Campbell Surveys, the percentage of first-time buyers grew from 34.4 percent in October to 37.2 percent in [...]
December 22, 2010
- Housing Affordability Remains Very High
Low home prices and mortgage rates combined to bring housing affordability to its second-highest level ever, according to a new report from the National Association of Home Builders.
For the third quarter of the year, the association's Housing Opportunity Index rose to 72.1, indicating the percentage of homes sold that were affordable [...]
December 20, 2010
- Housing Inventory Drops in November
A new report from ZipRealty shows the supply of homes for sale in November declined by an average of 3.78 percent in 26 major metropolitan areas that the company researched.
The report measures inventory from month to month and also compiles quarterly results of the information and covers single family homes, condos, and [...]
December 3, 2010
- Real Estate News: Home Prices Decline
U.S. home prices dropped in September from a month earlier and the rate of decline showed signs of accelerating, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes. Third-quarter prices were also down.
Separately, U.S. consumers brightened their moods in November–a good omen for holiday shopping, according to a report released recently.
The indexes, based on the three-month averages [...]
December 2, 2010
- From Default To Foreclosure – 16 Months is Average
If you are in default on your mortgage do not feel like you need to leave your home immediately according to a study by LPS Applied Analytics. The average home that has missed their 3rd monthly mortgage payment takes 492 days to go from the initial foreclose filing to the bank taking possession of the [...]
December 1, 2010
- Real Estate News - December 2010
Our December 2010 Ventura County Real Estate Newsletter is now online…
Read It Here Now!
November 29, 2010
- Housing Starts Hit 18-Month Low
New home construction fell to an 18-month low in October, according to a recent government report.
Housing starts, or the number of new homes being built, fell 11.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 519,000 in October, down from a revised 588,000 in September. The annual rate is the lowest since [...]
November 27, 2010
- Foreclosure Rate is Falling
As the nation's largest banks put a freeze on foreclosures this fall, fewer homeowners are losing their homes.
The monthly foreclosure market report showed foreclosure filings declined 4 percent in October, compared to September. The volume of filings stayed about the same when compared to the same time last year. More than 332,000 homes [...]
November 18, 2010
- Housing Market Bust is Changing Buyer Behavior
Twenty-seven percent of first-time buyers who purchased a home between July 2009 and June 2010 received a gift from family or friends to help with the down payment, according to the National Association of Realtors’ annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey, released at NAR’s annual conference recently in New Orleans.
9% of first-time buyers [...]
November 16, 2010
- 85% of Recent Home Buyers See Their Home As a Good Investment
The National Association of REALTORS® just released their 2010 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers which shows that people still look at home ownership as a good long-term investment and the typical seller is experiencing positive returns from home ownership.
As expected, job security concerns were among the highest in eight years of sampling. A majority [...]
November 13, 2010
- Pending Home Sales Drop 1.8% in September
The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes fell in September after two months of gains.
The National Association of Realtors said recently that its index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes dropped 1.8% in September to a reading of 80.9. Contract signings fell in every region of the country except the West.
The [...]
November 9, 2010
- Existing Home Sales Continue to Rise
While they're still significantly trailing last year's figures, home sales data from the National Association of Realtors shows that the residential real estate market may be showing more signs of a steady recovery.
According to the NAR, the volume of sales jumped a seasonally-adjusted 10 percent in September compared to the previous month. While that number [...]
November 7, 2010
- Homebuyer Tax Credit Boosted Home Prices
A new report from FNC says that without the first-time homebuyer tax credit programs that expired earlier this year, home prices nationwide would be significantly lower than they currently are.
According to the company's Residential Price Index, national home prices showed an "abnormal" increase of 10.1 percent during the time the credit was active, and helped [...]
