The Columbia SC housing forecast for the second half of 2015 fails to show any positive data, with trends predicted to go downhill.
According to the latest market report from analytics firm Clear Capital, nationally, the data is more of the same. Data through June looks similar to data through May 2015, with no change in quarterly growth at 0.6% and a slight drop of 0.1% in yearly growth, from 5.3% to 5.2%.
Columbia SC Housing Nearing Summer's End
What’s worse is that the best of the year is already past since the spring and summer seasons typically reflect the peak of the Columbia SC housing demand cycle. And 0.6% quarterly growth nationwide is a foreboding sign of how the remainder of 2015 may play out, according to the report from Clear Capital.
In January 2015, Clear Capital forecasted total 2015 national growth would come in at 1.3%, more than five percentage points from where we ended 2014 at 6.7% national growth.
Here we are six months later, and there is very little evidence for Clear Capital to change their view that the year will end up with price growth coming in just around the rate of inflation. Their adjusted forecast calls for year-end national growth of 2.6%, falling within their initial projected range of between 1% to 3%.
Meanwhile, May home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 6.3% in May 2015 compared with May 2014, according to the home price report from CoreLogic.
This change represents 39 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 1.7% in May 2015 compared with April 2015.
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More Americans signed contracts to purchase homes in May, as pending home sales climbed to their highest level in more than nine years.
The National Association of Realtors reports that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 0.9 percent to 112.6 last month. The index has increased 10.4 percent over the past 12 months, putting it just below the April 2006 level — which was more than a year before the housing bust triggered the Great Recession.
Pending Home Sales Numbers Not Sustainable?
Strong sales and depressed inventory continue to push prices higher — perhaps too high, too fast. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says prices are now rising at an unhealthy and unsustainable pace.
Housing affordability remains a pressing issue with home-price growth increasing around four times the pace of wages,” Yun added. “Without meaningful gains in new and existing supply, there’s no question the goalpost will move further away for many renters wanting to become homeowners.”
The steady job growth along with low but slowly rising mortgage rates has created greater urgency to buy homes. The gains reflect both a stronger economy but also the pressures to purchase a home before both prices and the cost of borrowing become potentially unaffordable.
Completed sales of existing homes jumped 5.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million. Median home prices climbed 7.9 percent over the past 12 months to $228,700, about $1,700 shy of the July 2006 peak.
Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases. A one- to two-month lag usually exists between a contract and a completed sale.
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Columbia SC home sales in May were greater than in any other May since 2008, while home prices continued to rise. Sales are on a four-month trend in which they were higher than both the previous month and the same month in the previous year.
Many positive factors are contributing to a strong housing market this year. Job growth and wages are slowly improving, while rents are increasing rapidly and mortgages are becoming much more accessible. When these factors are coupled with continuing low interest rates, the result is a growing number of consumers with the confidence to buy or sell a home.
Completed transactions in May were 8.9 percent higher than in April and 3.5 percent higher than May 2014. The median sales price of homes sold has risen for 40 consecutive months.
Prices Increasing Along With Columbia SC Home Sales
Columbia SC home prices also continued to increase. In May, the median price was 7.8 percent above the price seen last year. The average month-over-month increase for the first five months of 2015 has been 3.6 percent.
Looking beyond the Columbia SC area, thirty-eight metro areas across the country reported higher sales on a year-over-year basis, with 11 reporting double digit increases in May.
The average days on market, or the number of days between when a home is first listed in an MLS and a sales contract is signed for all homes sold in May dropped seven days from April to 64, and two days below the average of 66 in last year.
The inventory of homes for sale increased by 0.4 percent from April, the first time back-to-back monthly increases occurred since May and June 2014. As home sales continue to grow, the months' supply of inventory in May was 3.6 on a scale where six months indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers.
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Credit scores for Columbia SC renters appears to be unaffected by the surging cost of renting according to a report from CoreLogic.
New data from CoreLogic found that the risk of default among Columbia SC renters decreased year-over-year by two points, according to the firm's index value for the first quarter of 2015 — compared to the index value in the first quarter of 2014.
The two-point, year-over-year decrease is a sign of the improving ability to meet lease obligations among prospective Columbia SC renters. And that's a positive sign for investors entering or expanding their market presence. It's also a good sign for the economy.
Columbia SC Renters Housing Outpacing Owned Home Values
Recently, the real estate site Zillow noted that U.S. rents outpaced home values in April for the first time in years. The CoreLogic "SafeRent Renter Applicant Risk (RAR) Index" indicates the credit quality of renter applicants.
Using a mean value of 100 during the base year of 2004, an index value below 100 indicates a renter applicant pool with a higher average risk of not fulfilling lease obligations.
Although credit scores for Columbia SC renters seems to be rising, albeit ever-so slowly, the Federal Reserve of New York released updated household debt data, showing that total consumer debt has now reached $11.85 trillion, an increase of $201 billion from the days of the financial crunch. You know, the one where we were all supposed to have learned our lesson about accumulating too much debt?
Mortgage debt did go down, but it was largely the result of banks writing off bad debt, rather than consumers paying down old balances. And by historic standards, total consumer debt remains high. As a percentage of disposable income, it remains above 100 percent. Before 2002, household debt had never been above 100 percent.
The biggest debt growth came from: auto loans, up $93 billion, student loans, up $78 billion, and credit cards, up $25 billion. The increase across all classes of debt should concern us. And the mythical deleveraging is now over, as Americans borrow to finance homes, cars, schools, and trips to restaurants.
With all that rising debt across so many platforms like cars, student loans and credit cards, it's somewhat amazing that credit scores for Columbia SC renters seems to be holding steady or going up slightly.
Sales of new homes increased nearly 7 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
New Homes Numbers Still Below Average
The new homes numbers are still below-average historically, but they are up 26 percent compared with April 2014. Plus, home builders were relieved that sales bounced back in April after slumping in March. U.S. building permits rose 6%, while housing starts rose 9% versus a year ago, not seasonally adjusted. Bloomberg's Josh Wright reports on "Bloomberg Markets."