I AM not alone in being slightly confused when we see or read the papers and get conflicting information about our Real Estate Market. One day I would hear that sales are up then the next we would all be worried that we are treading in water and falling back into a recession. What is really happening, I believe you do not know that my ears are tuned into news radio every single day since I started this business, yes even on the weekend, with my kids. I am listening to the radio news especially about our Real Estate and Mortgage Market. Can you imagine what my kids have to go through every day while I am driving them back and forth school?
The news that is being reported about real estate sales, prices etc. based on comparison to prior months, quarters or/and even base on analyst predictions. Therefore, if a company has a very conservative expectation that is easily met by the market, that could translate as a good indicator. Recently most analyst are very cautious and I suspect have very low expectations of the market.
Here are most of the December numbers based on several different sources I have researched for you:
Falling home prices have helped spur potential buyers. Data released Dec. 23 showed that sales of newly-built homes rose by a more than expected 1.6% in November.
The recent uptick in new-home sales accompanied an advance in homebuilder sentiment, as reported by the National Association of Home Builders last week. The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index rose for a third consecutive month in December, climbing 2 points to a reading of 21 from a downwardly revised 19 in November, beating the average of 20 expected by economists. Any reading below 50 indicates that more builders view market conditions to be unfavorable than those who view it favorably. The index has not been above 50 since the spring of 2006.
The latest monthly data shows total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family houses, town houses, condominiums and co-ops – increased 4.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million in November from 4.25 million in October, and are 12.2 percent above the 3.94 million-unit pace in November 2010.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, a measure closely followed by economists, showed price drops in 19 of 20 cities since September. Overall, prices slipped 1.2% month-over-month and fell 3.4% compared with October 2010.
The decline is typical of the season, when home buyers back off after the busy summer period. But coming off of five straight months of increases, the retreating prices in the fall suggest that weakness in the market may stretch into 2012.
As of Dec. 22 - foreclosure in major banks jumped 21.1% in the 3rd quarter LA times. As of end of September 88% of the 32.4 million loans in the portfolios of those institutions were current and performing. Of those overdue, 3% were 30 days to 59 days delinquent, 4.9% were 60 days or more delinquent and 4.1% were in foreclosure. California, Florida and Illinois accounted for more than one-third of those properties.
USA Today reports:
Foreclosure filings increased 14% in December from November, the first monthly increase since foreclosure activity peaked in July, according to a RealtyTrac report out Thursday.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 349,519 properties in December, which were also 15% higher than in December 2008, RealtyTrac said
About 2.4 million homes are expected to be lost through foreclosure, auction and other means in 2010, according to Moody’s Economy.com. That’s despite the Obama administration’s efforts to get banks to rework strapped borrowers’ home loans into lower monthly payments. The goal is to prevent foreclosures by providing homeowners with more-affordable mortgages.
As of early December, more than 700,000 homeowners had received trial modifications. The Treasury Department will release updated numbers on Friday. “The foreclosure crisis continues on. I don’t see any stabilization,” says Mark Zandi at Moody’s Economy.com. “The foreclosure crisis is in full swing, and the (mortgage) modification efforts aren’t working that well.”
The ongoing foreclosure crisis, he says, will continue to lead to falling home prices in spring and summer.
Filings were reported on 2.8 million properties in 2009, a 21% increase in total properties from 2008 and up 120% from 2007, according to RealtyTrac.
Notice of Trustee Sale filings rose 34.7 percent from October to November in California. The increase came primarily from filings by Bank of America, up 52 percent, and Wells Fargo, up 23 percent. It is not unusual to see an increase in foreclosure sales each January, and these filings would be necessary in preparation for that.
Sales to 3rd parties, typically investors, have increased significantly year-over-year. The largest increases we’re seen in Arizona and Nevada at 101.6 and 79.9 percent respectively. Other states saw increases as well: California 29.4 percent and Washington at 6.7 percent.
Lets narrow down what we I have just consolidated within the month of December based on several news information. The Real Estate Values have decrease in year 2011 compared to 2010, home sale are higher compared to last year 2010, new home sales are higher and buyers of these foreclosure properties are mostly investors.
2012 will replicate 2011 in all aspects of the Market and I see 2013 as a stabilizing point in the market rebound. Good luck and be smart buyers.
* * *
Thanks for your inquiries and updates, please contact Ken Go of 1st Innovative Finance Group at 562-508-7048 or write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Have a Frugal New Year and Cash is still KING!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
