Pending Home Sales Rise in October

Pending Home Sales Rise in October

Pending home sales rose strongly in October with mixed regional results, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October from an upwardly revised 99.6 in September and is 13.2 percent above October 2011 when it was 92.6. The data reflect contracts but not closings. Click on the Picture to watch the video and learn more about today's market ....

Rents to Keep Rising

Rents to Keep Rising

Rents are forecasted to rise nationally 4.6 percent next year, and that’s following a 4.1 percent increase this year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

What’s more, rents are expected to continue to climb for the foreseeable future, rising more than 4 percent a year for 2014 and 2015, forecasts Reis, a market research firm. 

“The pendulum has definitely swung back in favor of landlords, not renters,” Ryan Severino, senior economist for Reis, told USA Today. Read more ....

Five Reasons Home Prices Have Been Rising

Five Reasons Home Prices Have Been Rising

Home prices rose by 0.1% in September from the prior month and by 3.6% from one year ago, the largest such gain in six years, according to a report released Monday by Lender Processing Services.

Compared with one year ago, prices are up by 17.7% in Phoenix, the largest gain among the nation’s 40 largest metro areas. Other cities with notable year-over-year increases include Detroit (11.7%), Las Vegas (11.5%), San Jose, Calif. (11.3%), San Francisco (10%), and Sacramento (8.3%).

Among the top 40 metros, only a handful have posted year-over-year declines, led by St. Louis, which was down by 4.1%. Bridgeport, Conn., was down by 2.3%, while Chicago (-0.5%) and Cincinnati (-0.1%) also posted declines.

The LPS figures serve as a good reminder that it’s still hard to generalize about housing. Some markets are up sharply amid big declines in both prices and the share of distressed sales, while others are still soft. Generally, though, there are at least five significant contributors to rising prices: Read more....

Mortgage Rates Reached New Lows Again Last Week

Mortgage Rates Reached New Lows Again Last Week

Mortgage rates continue to fall, with fixed-rate mortgage rates reaching new record lows last week for the second consecutive week, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. 

'Fixed mortgage rates continued to ease somewhat this week to record lows and should help the ongoing housing recovery,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. 
Here’s a closer look at mortgage averages for the week ending early due to the holiday on Nov. 21: See rates....

Fannie Mae Releases Forecast on Housing

Fannie Mae Releases Forecast on Housing

Given improvements seen in housing, Fannie Mae revised its housing forecast higher for 2012 and 2013 in its November economic outlook report.

According to the GSE, the fundamentals are set in place for a “solid” housing recovery, such as low interest rates, rising prices, and a labor market that’s healing.

Considering these developments in housing, the GSE’s Economic & Strategic Research Group anticipates single-family housing starts will jump 25 percent this year, then rise by another 22 percent in 2013.

Existing-home sales should also rise and see a 9 percent increase in 2012 and a 4 percent gain in 2013. Learn more....

Foreclosure Discounts Vanishing

Foreclosure Discounts Vanishing

Foreclosure discounts have nearly dried up due to low inventory levels, according to the latest housing reports.

The average discount nationwide for foreclosure properties has fallen to 7.7 percent, according to Zillow research. In some parts of the country, there is no foreclosure discount when compared to other sales. 

“The smallest foreclosure discount is found in places where competition for homes is so high, people there are willing to pay the same amount for a foreclosure re-sale that they would for a non-distressed home simply to take advantage of historic affordability,” says Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. See which states...

FHA Looks to Raise Mortgage Fees to Avoid Bailout

FHA Looks to Raise Mortgage Fees to Avoid Bailout

The Federal Housing Administration plans to raise its mortgage fees next year in order to help avoid a taxpayer bailout, the Obama administration announced. A report last week revealed the FHA, which insures mortgages, faces a $16.3 billion deficit due to a rise in mortgage delinquencies over the last few years, particularly among loans that originated during the housing bubble from 2007 through 2009. 

FHA says it plans to raise its premiums on loans it guarantees by 10 basis points, which equates to about $13 per month extra to borrowers’ costs, Reuters reports. Also the FHA says it plans to increase short sales on loans it guarantees, in an effort to avoid more borrowers foreclosing on their properties. Find out how this could affect you  Read more....