The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for January 2011 showing a 4.8 percent decrease in single-family home building permits from December, and a 1.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before.
Even though over the past few years, ARM’s (adjustable rate mortgages) have received somewhat of a “bad name”, there are truly benefits to them including:
ARM rates are now more attractive than ever before. Rates have fallen to 3.50% for a 5/1 ARM. ARMs are predictable. Rates are capped so there are no surprises for borrowers. Rates adjust only on the remaining principal of the loan. Rate adjustments could decrease (increases are limited to the prevailing index in which the ARM is based). Lower Monthly Payments – Increases the buying power of borrowers which attracts buyers to new homes. Continue Reading →
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for December 2010 showing an increase of 17.5 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 7.6 percent from a year ago.
The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for December was 329,000 homes, a 17.5 percent increase from November’s revised rate of 280,000 homes. The supply of new homes on the market decreased from an adjusted 8.4 month supply in November to a 6.9 month supply in December. The median new home price increased for the month to $241,500 whopping 12.0 Continue Reading →
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for December 2010 showing a 5.5 percent increase in single-family home building permits from November, but a 9.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before.
The real estate market has not been very nice to us over the past 3 years or so and we are all anxious to see the light at the end of the tunnel. With that in mind, and 2011 in front of us, where is the real estate market headed in 2011? Before I take my humble stab at answering this question I need to remind you I am not an economist nor do I have a PhD behind my name, in fact I have nothing behind my name. All I can offer is a whole lot of experience “in Continue Reading →
It seems we always need to find someone to blame for our problems…
When it comes to the meltdown in the housing market that has taken place over the past three years there has been no lack of finger pointing by many inside and outside the industry as to factors that either caused or contributed to the collapse of the housing market. Sub-prime lending, Wall Street, mortgage fraud, the mortgage industry, banks, community reinvestment act, real estate brokers and agents, fannie mae, freddie mac, federal government over-regulation, federal government under-regulation, appraisers, unemployment, the economy in general, “flipping”, sellers, buyers and Continue Reading →
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for November 2010 showing an increase of 5.50 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 21.2 percent from a year ago.
The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for November was 290,000 homes, a 5.5 percent increase from October’s revised rate of 275,000 homes. The supply of new homes on the market decreased from an adjusted 8.8 month supply in October to a 8.2 month supply in November. The median new home price increased for the month to $213,000 from $197,200 Continue Reading →
According to information released by the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (HBA), building permit activity in the St. Louis area through October of this year, is up over 12 percent from the same time last year.
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for October 2010 showing a decrease of 8.1 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 28.5 percent from a year ago.
The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for October was 283,000 homes, a 8.1 percent decrease from Septbmer’s rate of 308,000 homes. The supply of new homes on the market increase from an adjusted 7.9 month supply in September to a 8.6 month supply in October. The median new home price decreased for the month to $194,900 from $226,300 the Continue Reading →
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for October 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and a small decrease in new home starts compared to the month before.
Dennis Norman
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.
Dennis Norman
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for September 2010 showing an increase of 6.6 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 21.5 percent from a year ago.
Dennis Norman
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development today released their “October 2010 Scorecard” on the “Obama Administration’s Efforts to Stabilize the Housing Market”.
The scorecard points out the success of “The President’s housing market recovery efforts” but does point out that “data in the scorecard also show that the recovery in the housing market continues to remain fragile.”
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for September 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before.
Dennis Norman
In a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, John A. Courson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that the MBA “opposes the practice of private third parties, such as developers, builders, licensing companies and real estate brokers, imposing private transfer fee covenants on residential real estate for the purpose of extracting future income.” However, in his letter Mr. Courson goes on to say that the “MBA is concerned thatencumbering housing transactions with these types of PTFs will impede the marketability and affect the valuation of properties and thus Continue Reading →
Dennis Norman
I saw an interesting tidbit that came from the US Census Bureau that shows just how much things have changed in the real estate world in the past 60+ years in the U.S. The piece I saw was from the census bureau’s “Profile America” series and discussed one of the first communities built in our country by a real estate developer back in 1947. The place was the town of Levittown, on New York’s Long Island and aptly named for the developers, William and Alfred Levitt.
Eventually the town contained more than 17,000 Cape Continue Reading →
Dennis Norman
Last month I reported that July’s new home sales rate of 276,000 homes was the lowest rate on record. Subsequently the Commerce Department revised July and changed the sales rate to 288,000 homes raising July to the second-lowest home sales rate on record. Today, the numbers for August came out and they are no better….the new home sales rate for August is being reported by the Commerce Department as 288,000 homes, the same as July.
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for August 2010 showing a decrease in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before.
Dennis Norman
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued their report on St. Louis Housing Market condition as of second quarter of this year. The report from HUD labels the St. Louis area as a “hub for shipping and transportation” and a “center for manufacturing and biomedical sciences.” Among the “positives” for St. Louis, HUD identifies that St. Louis is the home to several institutes of higher learning, including St. Louis University and Washington University which, between the two, have an estimated annual economic impact on the region of nearly $3 billion.
The following are the four common first-time home-buyers mistakes:
Spending the maximum on housing:
First-time buyers can be overly optimistic and excited about buying a home, so they tend to borrow the absolute maximum they qualify for (on paper), not necessarily worrying about a budget or other expenses. Lenders qualify buyers based on their incomes and debt-to-income ratios. However, borrowers have other monthly expenses they need to consider: maintenance and upkeep on their new home, utilities, transportation, savings, and other necessities that are not counted in the debt-to-income ratios.
As the mortgage industry adjusts to new financial regulations, it is more important than ever to ensure that the financing of your new home goes smoothly. Your loan approval is subject to the financial information you provide at the time of your loan approval. Any subsequent changes in your financial situation before the actual date of closing could jeopardize your loan approval and delay your closing.
Dennis Norman
After a couple of days of writing about bad reports on the housing market (existing home sales and new home sales to name two) I’m excited that I actually get to write something today that is positive! According to newly released data from CoreLogic, the percentage of homeowners in the U.S. with negative equity in their homes declined slightly at the end of the second quarter of 2010 making it the second consecutive month of declines.
According to the CoreLogic report, 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity Continue Reading →
Dennis Norman
The good news is May’s new home sales rate of 267,000, which was the lowest sales rate on record, was revised upward to 281,000. The bad news is June’s sales rate of 330,000 was revised downward to 315,000 and now new home sales for July were reported at 276,000 the new lowest rate on record. Due to the dismal sales, the inventory of new homes on the market increased from an 8 month supply in June to a 9.1 month supply in July.
Dennis Norman
1 in 3 Think Worst Is Yet to Come, While 38% Think Local Home Values Have Reached Bottom
According to the second quarter 2010 Zillow Homeowner Confidence Survey, one-third (33 percent) of homeowners feel home values in their local market have not reached bottom, while 38 percent believe their market has in fact hit bottom.
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for July 2010 showing a decrease in single-family home building permits and a decrease in new home starts from June.
Dennis Norman
This week I attended an event at the St. Louis Association of REALTORS® in which Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of REALTORS® was the featured speaker and gave his take on the housing market as well as his housing market outlook.
Dennis Norman
Yes, the headline is correct….New home sales in June were up 23 percent from May, but unfortunately the revised May annual new home sales rate of 267,000 was the lowest rate of sale on record therefore even after a 23.6 percent increase it only brought June up to 330,000 new homes, a rate that is now the second lowest new home sales rate on record. June’s new home sales rate is 16.7 percent below a year ago.
There is some good news in the report; the inventory of new homes (seasonally adjusted) at the end of Continue Reading →
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for June 2010 showing a decrease in building permits and a decrease in new home starts from May.
The report shows the following:
Building permits issued for single-family residences in June were at an annual rate of 421,000 which is 3.4 percent below the revised May rate of 4216,000 and a decrease of 6.7 percent from a year ago when the rate was 451,000. Housing starts for single-family residences in June were at an annual rate of 454,000 Continue Reading →
Dennis Norman
Less Is More
Over the past decade or so it seems everything has gotten “super-sized” to the point of absurdity in my opinion. Therefore I find it refreshing to see that, according to the “Home Trends 2010” report by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council, home buyers are scaling down both in size and in features. Perhaps the past couple of years has humbled many of us and given us a different perspective on materialistic things?
Anyway, before I go off on a tangent, here are highlights from the Home Trends report:
The average size of Continue Reading →
Dennis Norman
This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for April was released showing that theannual growth rates of all 20 Metro Area’s their reports cover improved in April compared to March 2010. The 10-city composite is up 4.6 percent from the year before and the 20-city composite is up 3.8 percent from the year before.
However, in spite of this little bit of encouragement, David Blitzer, Chairman of the Standard & Poor’s Index Committee casts a negative light on the market by pointing out the, while this report does show some price gains, “many of the gains are modest Continue Reading →