Salt Lake 1 of 7 Markets Showing Big Price Growth

Salt Lake 1 of 7 Markets Showing Big Price Growth

Home prices are inching up across the country, as a housing recovery ripples through once hard-hit areas. AOL Real Estate, drawing from Trulia housing data, recently highlighted the top “turnaround housing markets” that have seen the biggest jumps in median home prices in the past year. Salt Lake City

• Median home price: $159,000
• Difference in prices between 2011-2012: +18.9%. 

See what other cities are showing big price growth..

Optimism Toward Home Prices

Optimism Toward Home Prices

Uncertainty over the fiscal cliff negotiations did little to shake consumers’ confidence about housing in December, according to the results from Fannie Mae’s latest National Housing Survey.

Consumers continued to show increased optimism toward home price, rental price, and mortgage rate expectations, a sign that home purchase activity may see a boost in the coming months.
“Combined with consumers’ growing mortgage rate and rental price increase expectations, the positive home price outlook could incentivize those waiting on the sidelines of the housing market to buy a home sooner rather than later and thus support continued housing acceleration,” said Doug Duncan, SVP and chief economist at Fannie Mae. See Price change expectation...

Will Mortgage Rates Go Up Again Soon?

Will Mortgage Rates Go Up Again Soon?

Mortgage interest rates are expected to rise this year, and the increase will likely curb refinancings and affect move-up home buyers.
Neither higher interest rates nor fewer refis are expected to have a significant impact on housing starts or home sales, however. 'Interest rates are so low right now that a modest increase wouldn't have much effect on sales,' according to Walter Molony of the National Association of REALTORS®.
See project rates for 2013,2014

Shadow Inventory Continues Decline

Shadow Inventory Continues Decline

“The size of the shadow inventory continues to shrink from peak levels in terms of numbers of units and the dollars they represent,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “We expect a gradual and progressive contraction in the shadow inventory in 2013 as investors continue to snap up foreclosed and REO properties and the broader recovery in housing market fundamentals takes hold.”

“Almost half of the properties in the shadow are delinquent and not yet foreclosed,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Given the long foreclosure timelines in many states, the current shadow inventory stock represents little immediate threat to a significant swing in housing market supply. Investor demand will help to absorb the already foreclosed and REO properties in the shadow inventory in 2013.” Read more ....

5 Tips for Buyers Who Use Downpayment Gifts

5 Tips for Buyers Who Use Downpayment Gifts

About a quarter of first-time home buyers use gifts from relatives to fund a down payment for a home purchase, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®. But lenders are carefully scrutinizing such gifts. 

“Basically, the banks want to make sure that you’re not getting a second loan,” Ray Mignone of Ray Mignone & Associates, a financial planning firm, told The New York Times. “If all of a sudden $50,000 pops into your account, they want to make sure it’s not a loan against the property that they’re going to put a mortgage on.”

In a recent article, The New York Times provided some of the following tips in making make these lenders’ checks and balances go smoother for home buyers: Read more ...

Experts Predict 3.1% Home Prices Increase in 2013

Experts Predict 3.1% Home Prices Increase in 2013

Home prices will increase by 3.1 percent in 2013 and top off 2012 with a 4.6 percent gain, according to Zillow’sDecember Home Price Expectations Survey.

The survey, which was conducted by Pulsenomics LLC, was based on responses from 105 economists and industry experts.
In September, survey panelists projected more modest gains and predicted prices would rise by 2.4 percent in 2013 and increase overall by 2.3 percent in 2012.

Through 2017, panelists expect prices to increase by more than 3 percent annually. Read more ...

New-Home Sales Jump to Fastest Pace in Years

New-Home Sales Jump to Fastest Pace in Years

New single-family home sales soared to its fastest pace in 2 1/2 years, jumping 4.4 percent over last month, as median prices also rose, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. 

The sales pace in November for new-home sales was the highest since April 2010, the same time when the federal home-buyer tax credit had expired, the Commerce Department reported. 

The median home price of new homes jumped 14.9 percent year-over-year, reaching $246,200. Read more ....