An overview of the 2010 Housing Market

HUD just released it’s “2010 Overview of U.S. Housing Market Conditions which gave a recap of the housing market for 2010. I’ve previously reported on most of the data and information that HUD included in the report however I thought this report did a good job of giving a complete and concise look at the market for the year so I wanted to share it.

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St. Louis area pending homes sales in January increase

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for January shows a decrease of 2.8 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 1.5 percent decrease from a year ago. The good news however is that the St. Louis area (five-county area including city of St. Louis and counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) saw a 1.51 percent in pending home sales in January from the month before and a 3.30 percent increase from a year ago.

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Existing home sales increase in January; fueled by falling home prices

Today’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in January were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 5.36 million units which is an increase of 2.7 percent from December and is an increase of 5.3 percent from a year ago.

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New report shows home sales may be worse than reported

Today, CoreLogic released its “U.S. Housing and Mortgage Trends Report” which stated “their research indicates that the most popular measure of existing home sales is overstated by 15 percent to 20 percent. ”

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U.S. Foreclosures up slightly in January; down 17 percent from year before

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for January 2011 showing there were foreclosure filings in January on 261,333 U.S. properties, a 1 percent increase from December but a 17 percent decrease from January 2010.

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Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid-Rigging at Foreclosure Auctions

Today Richard W. Northcutt, a California real estate investor, pleaded guilty to conspiring with a group of real estate speculators who agreed not to bid against each other at certain public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County. According to the court documents the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition and to obtain selected real estate offered at these foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices.

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Foreclosures in 2010 up from 2009 in U.S.; down in top ten foreclosure markets

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for 2010 which showed some mixed results. During 2010 there were 2,871,891 foreclosure filings in the U.S., an increase of 1.67 percent from 2009. However the metro areas with the 10 highest foreclosure rates all saw decreases in foreclosure filings in 2010 from the year before, in fact six of the ten metros even had decreased foreclosure activity from 2008.

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Home sales activity increasing modestly

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for December shows an increase of 2.0 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 4.2 percent decrease from a year ago.

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New home sales close out 2010 on the rise; predicting increased sales in 2011

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 →

St. Louis housing market finishes 2010 on an upward trend

Today’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS(R) shows St. Louis area existing home sales for December were 3.1 percent higher than a year ago and St. Louis area home prices in December were 7.8 percent higher than the year before.

Nationally, existing home sales in December were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 5.28 million units which is an increase of 12.3 percent from November and is a decline of 2.9 percent from a year ago. Preliminary numbers for 2010 show 4,908,000 existing homes sold which is a decrease of 4.8 percent from 2009 when Continue Reading →

Pending home sales rise in November

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for November shows an increase of 3.5 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 5.0 percent decrease from a year ago.

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Existing home sales increase in November; Down almost 28 percent from a year ago

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in November were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.68 million units which is an increase of 5.6 percent from October and is a decline of 27.9 percent from a year ago.

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Study shows immigrants could be key to future housing market

Great Desire to Own a Home by Growing Ethnic and Immigrant Populations Could Drive Future of the Housing Market

Fannie Mae just released a report which included a study on “Renting and Owning Behaviors by Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Status and Economics of Owning and Renting Through the Cycle and Across Geographies” in which was shown that “all racial and ethnic groups polled, as well as immigrants, strongly aspire to own a home, despite current disparities in homeownership rates for these groups.“

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Remodeling report shows which projects bring most return

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) published its’ “Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report” for this year and in it rated exterior replacement projects among the most cost-effective home improvement projects. This reinforces something most REALTORS will tell you which is that a homes curb appeal plays a significant role in the sale of the home.

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Pending home sales increase over 10 percent in October; Mortgage Interest Deduction vital to Recovery

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for October shows an increase of 10.4 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 20.5 percent decrease from a year ago.

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Existing home sales drops in October; down over 25 percent from year ago

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in October were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.43 million units which is a decrease of 2.2 percent from September and is a decline of 25.9 percent from a year ago.

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REALTORS’ Say Jobs and Access to Credit Needed for Housing Recovery

According the to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the largest obstacles to the recovery of the housing market are job creation and the availability of credit. At their board meeting last week, NAR approved a credit polity to urge the mortgage lending industry to “reassess and amend their policies so more qualified home buyers can become home owners.”

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Mortgage Bankers Cautions Against Cutting Back Mortgage Interest Deduction

Last week the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (the group that is supposed to figure out how to rescue our country out of the financial quicksand it’s in) issued a draft proposal of a plan the committee says “will make America better off tomorrow than it is today”.

In addition to such enlightening statements such as “America cannot be great if we go broke” the report outlines a plan that makes five basic recommendations:

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REALTORS® Support Proposal to End Private Transfer Fees

The National Association of Realtors® announced that it “strongly supports” the proposed guidance from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to prevent government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks from investing in mortgages encumbered by private transfer fee covenants.

In a letter sent to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), NAR reiterated its opposition to these covenants, which developers often attach to a property to require payment of fees back to that developer each time the property is resold. These covenanted mandates are often extremely difficult to reverse once in place, and in many Continue Reading →

Eighty-five percent of recent home buyers see their home as a good investment according to NAR survey

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.

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Slow, Steady Housing Recovery Expected Ahead

Dennis Norman

At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans today, “a slow, steady recovery” was predicted for the housing market despite ongoing challenges.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist, said that he expects “continuing improvement of underlying fundamentals of the current market in coming years.”

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Pending home sales drop slightly in September

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 1.8 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 24.9 percent decrease from a year ago.

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Scorecard on Obama’s Housing Recovery Plans

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.”

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Existing home sales rate increases 10.0 percent in September

Dennis Norman

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in September were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.53 million units which is an increase of 10.0 percent from August but is a a decline of 19.1 percent from a year ago.

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Pending Home Sales Increase in August; Still down 20 percent from year ago

Dennis Norman

Pending home sales rise for 2nd consecutive month in August –

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows an increase of 4.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), which is 20.1 percent below a year ago.

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Fannie Mae announces support for Military Homeowners

Surviving Spouses and Wounded Warriors Eligible for Special Forbearance

At an event yesterday at the Pentagon, Fannie Mae and the U.S. Army announced new initiatives to help service members who are struggling with their mortgage payments avoid foreclosure. The effort includes a mortgage payment forbearance of up to six months where the death or injury of a service member on active duty causes a hardship for impacted military families with a mortgage obligation.

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Existing home sales in August improve slightly reaching second-lowest rate in over fourteen years

Dennis Norman

After July’s existing home sales fell over 27 percent and hit ROCK BOTTOM, August didn’t fare much better…..

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in August were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.13 million units which is an increase of 7.6 percent from July’s dismal rate but is a a decline of 19.9 percent from a year ago and the second-lowest sales rate in over 14 years (July was the lowest).

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The Five Best Places to Find Foreclosure Bargains

Dennis Norman

When I first entered the real estate business in 1979, at the age of 18 which seems so long ago) foreclosures were a mystery to most people and certainly no one looking for a home to live in looked to buy a foreclosure. Homes that were being foreclosed upon were advertised in legal newspapers that no one other than some speculators, attorneys and bankers subscribed to basically. Here in St. Louis I was one of a couple of handfuls of real estate investors that would do the research then go out and try to buy foreclosures Continue Reading →

Pending home sales rise in July; Down 19 percent from the year before

Dennis Norman

After hitting all-time low in June, pending home sales increase 5.2 percent in July

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for July shows an increase of 5.2 percent in the index in July (seasonally adjusted) which is 19.1 percent below July 2009.

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Home Sales Plummet in July to Record Low

Dennis Norman

Beginning last November I have written several articles about the “sugar-rush” effect of tax credits and other stimulus on the housing market and voicing my concern that these things are short lived (like a sugar rush on a child) and after the sugar wears off there is a crash….Well, as expected, here it is…

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in St. Louis for July decreased 36.1 percent from a year ago. For the US as a whole, existing home sales in July were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual Continue Reading →