Home Prices Flat in May After Three Straight Months of Increases, as Foreclosure Prices Decline

By , on June 4th, 2012

Trulia today released the latest findings from the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor, the earliest leading indicators available of trends in home prices and rents. Based on the for-sale homes and rentalslisted on Trulia, these monitors take into account changes in the mix of listed homes and reflect trends in prices and rents for similar homes in similar neighborhoods through May 31, 2012. Continue reading “Home Prices Flat in May After Three Straight Months of Increases, as Foreclosure Prices Decline“

Weather, not jobs, motivating long-distance house hunters

By , on May 18th, 2012

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-According to Trulia’s “Metro Movers Report” when people search long-distance for a new home their motivation for the move is warmer weather, not a job. Wow, I can relate to that….. In fact, according to the report, most long distance house hunters are looking in markets with higher unemployment and slower job growth than where they currently live. For example 3 times as many people in Minneaplolis – St Paul (with 6.2 percent unemployment) are looking for homes in Phoenix (where unemployment is 8.5) than vice versa. Continue reading “Weather, not jobs, motivating long-distance house hunters“

Report says strong housing demand and lower inventories are sparking increased home prices

By , on May 8th, 2012

st-louis-realtor-dennis-norman-home-pricesIn a report released by Trulia, which looks at changes in asking prices on homes that are for sale as a leading indicator of where the market is headed, asking prices on homes for sale, on a year over year basis, were up 0.2 percent nationally.  Here in St. Louis, as the chart below shows, we can see that year–over-year asking prices in the St. Louis MSA are up almost 1 percent, or almost 5 times the national average but still far from the ten MSA’s in the U.S. with the highest price increases (see table below).  Continue reading “Report says strong housing demand and lower inventories are sparking increased home prices“

Home ownership still central to the American Dream

By , on September 20th, 2011

Dennis Norman St Louis, American Dream, Home Ownership, TruliaTrulia released the results of its American Dream survey today, which showed that, despite the tough economy and challenged housing market we are in, home ownership is still central to the American Dream. In fact, 70 percent of American’s said home ownership is a part of achieving the American Dream.  Continue reading “Home ownership still central to the American Dream“

Buying a home more affordable than renting in three out of four major cities

By , on August 17th, 2011

Dennis Norman St LouisA report released by Trulia shows that, based on current market conditions, it is cheaper to buy a home than rent in 74 percent of major U.S. cities. At the top of the list is Las Vegas with a price rent ratio of 6 (the lower the number, the more affordable it is). At the other end of the spectrum, New York city leads the list of cities where it is cheaper to rent than buy with a price rent ratio six times higher than that of Las Vegas. Continue reading “Buying a home more affordable than renting in three out of four major cities“

45 Percent of Americans say government not doing enough to stop foreclosures; Other side of coin, over half of Americans want to buy a foreclosed home

By , on May 23rd, 2011

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Trulia and RealtyTrac, 45 percent of American adults say the government is not doing enough to prevent foreclosures. Only 17 percent think the government is doing too much and 16 percent say just the right amount is being done. Continue reading “45 Percent of Americans say government not doing enough to stop foreclosures; Other side of coin, over half of Americans want to buy a foreclosed home“

Buying a home more affordable than renting in four out of five major cities

By , on April 28th, 2011

Dennis Norman St LouisA report released this morning by Trulia shows that when it comes to the question “should I rent or buy” the answer is to buy in 80 percent of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Trulia’s “Rent vs. Buy Index” compares the cost of buying and renting a two-bedroom apartment, condominium or townhouse and for the 2nd quarter of 2011 this index shows that buying is the way to go from an affordability standpoint for most areas….the only cities where renting was cheaper than buying were New York, Fort Worth and Kansas City. Continue reading “Buying a home more affordable than renting in four out of five major cities“

Twenty-three percent increase in price reductions by home sellers

By , on December 16th, 2010

Dennis Norman St LouisA new report release by Trulia reveals that, in December, the number of listings with at least one price cut grew to 27 percent which is a 23 percent increase from December 2009 when 22 percent of the listings had at least one price cut. In terms of the size of the price cut, that has remained about the same at 11 percent. Continue reading “Twenty-three percent increase in price reductions by home sellers“

Survey shows Americans not expecting housing market recovery until after 2012

By , on December 7th, 2010

Dennis Norman St LouisToday, Trulia and RealtyTrac released the latest result of their ongoing survey tracking the attitude of homebuyers toward foreclosed homes. The most recent survey, conducted in early November by Harris Interactive, showed that Americans are still concerned about the health of the housing market with 58 percent of adults survey expecting a housing recovery to take at least another two years. Continue reading “Survey shows Americans not expecting housing market recovery until after 2012“

One Out of Four Renters Never Plan to Own a Home

By , on September 10th, 2010

Survey reveals tenants are not rushing to buy a home…also shows the “McMansion” craze is over…

Dennis Norman

Trulia.com released the results of its recent “American Dream” survey on attitudes toward home ownership which, not surprisingly to me, shows interest in the “American Dream” of home-ownership has cooled a little. According to the survey,  27 percent of renters indicated that they do not plan to buy a home — ever. Of those renters who do plan to purchase someday, 68 percent said it would be more than two years before they do. Continue reading “One Out of Four Renters Never Plan to Own a Home“

Survey Shows Obama Falls Short on Housing Market Promises

By , on January 27th, 2010
Even in Tough Times, 77 Percent of Americans View Homeownership as a Part of Their Own Personal American Dream

A national survey released yesterday by Trulia shows that many Americans feel that President Barack Obama has not lived up to the hope he created during his campaign and his first 30 days in office. In Trulia’s latest American Dream survey conducted online on its behalf by Harris Interactive from January 19-21, 2009 President Barack Obama scored considerably lower marks on the topic of restoring the American dream of home ownership compared to a survey conducted February 20-24, 2009 after his first 30 days in office.

The current survey found that 37 percent of Americans gave President Obama a grade of “D” or “F” on the decisions he’s made towards restoring the American dream of home ownership compared to only 22 percent in the February 2009 survey. Additionally, 54 percent gave him a grade of “A” or “B” in February 2009 compared to only 37 percent in January 2010. Despite these lower grades, and the troubles that have continued to plague the U.S. housing market, the survey found that the “American Dream” of homeownership continues to be alive and well with more than three out of four Americans considering owning a home as a part of achieving their personal American dream.

“I am thrilled to see that the American dream of homeownership is alive. If the dream had died we would be in a lot of trouble,” said Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia. “Everyone realizes there is no easy fix and we have a long road ahead. Until there is a reversal in unemployment and the growing number of home foreclosures, the U.S. real estate market will continue to see significant volatility. I agree with the results of our survey that job creation and job security have to be the President’s top priority.”

President Obama’s Report Card

Democrats currently rate President Obama’s performance higher than Republicans, but both downgraded the President’s performance in the January 2010 survey compared to the survey Trulia conducted in February 2009. The current survey shows that “A” ratings from Democrats decreased by 19 percentage points and a 3 percentage point decrease from Republicans. Additionally, “F” ratings from Democrats increased by 3 percentage points and by 13 percentage points from Republicans.

Jan. 2010 Grades Republican Democrat All Adults
“A” 2% 19% 11%
“B” 10% 43% 26%
“C” 24% 25% 26%
“D” 27% 7% 16%
“F” 37% 6% 22%
Feb. 2009 Grades Republican Democrat All Adults
“A” 5% 38% 21%
“B” 18% 42% 33%
“C” 31% 14% 24%
“D” 21% 3% 10%
“F” 24% 3% 12%

Priorities Going Forward

Democrats and Republicans agree on the areas President Obama needs to focus on in 2010 to stabilize the U.S. real estate market. Creating jobs and job security continues to be at the top of the list with 62 percent of adults referencing it as a key priority for the President. With foreclosures reaching record levels in 2009 and expected to grow even more this year, it’s not surprising that 45 percent of adults included this as an important area of focus. Rounding out the top three priorities for President Obama is bringing/keeping low interest rates at 39 percent. Only 27 percent of Americans surveyed believe extending the home buying tax credit through the end of 2010 should be a key initiative to help stabilize the housing market.

Jan 2010 Focus Republican Democrat All Adults
Create Jobs & Job Security 58% 65% 62%
Reduce Foreclosures 37% 54% 45%
Lower/Keep Low Interest Rates 43% 43% 39%
Extend Home Buying Tax Credit Through 2010 24% 32% 27%
Other 14% 4% 11%

This sentiment was also echoed on Trulia Voices Community, with many users feeling that President Obama tried to do too much, and that the key to fixing the economy and housing market will be to focus on creating new jobs and job security.

Positive and Negative Views

The majority of Americans surveyed were unaffected by the events that have transpired during the past year in the housing market, with 60 percent saying their view towards homeownership is unchanged. Slightly more of those surveyed have a more pessimistic than positive outlook with 21 percent saying they have at least a somewhat more negative view towards owning a home compared to 20 percent having at least a somewhat more positive view.


Survey Methodology
The Trulia American Dream housing study is conducted online periodically by Harris Interactive on behalf of Trulia. Harris Interactive® fielded this current study on behalf of Trulia from January 19-21, 2010 via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,232 U.S. adults age 18 years or older, of whom 1,523 were homeowners and 614 were renters, and 702 were Democrats and 601 were Republicans. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.
Harris Interactive® also fielded the February 2009 survey on behalf of Trulia from February 20-24, 2009 via its QuickQuery(SM) online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,076 U.S. adults age 18 years or older, of whom 1,418 were homeowners and 595 were renters, and 732 were Democrats and 573 were Republicans . Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available