home prices

Simon Constable explains to Kelsey Hubbard how rising affordability of housing will be a key to a turnaround. Plus how to invest in housing without buying a home.

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Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the February 2011 edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard. The latest housing figures show increased existing home sales as home affordability remains high, but officials caution that the market remains fragile, as prices are unsettled.

“In the face of the deepest economic recession and housing crisis in decades, the Obama Administration has taken unprecedented action to promote stability in the market—keeping millions of families in their homes and helping millions more to save money by refinancing.

But the data clearly show that the market remains extremely fragile,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. “While we cannot stop every foreclosure, we know that many responsible homeowners are still fighting to make ends meet. Through the broad range of programs this Administration has put in place, we can put help in reach to those homeowners as early as possible.”

The housing market remains fragile as data through January 2011 paint a mixed picture of recovery. Existing home sales ticked upward in January, but remained below levels seen in the first half of 2010.

Mortgage delinquencies continued a downward trend compared to early 2010 and foreclosure starts and completions remain below peak. However, as lenders review internal procedures related to foreclosure processing, many foreclosure actions have been delayed. The decline is likely to be temporary as lenders eventually revise and resubmit foreclosure paperwork in the coming months.

Given the current fragility and recognizing that recovery will take place over time, the Administration remains committed to its efforts to prevent avoidable foreclosures and stabilize the housing market.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Economists at Moody’s Analytics say homes in many parts of the country are at their most affordable levels since before the housing boom took off in 2003, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the Journal, housing affordability – comparing home prices to household incomes – has returned to its average levels from 1989 to 2003 in 47 of the major markets included in the report. On a national level, the ratio of median home prices of household incomes has dropped to 1.6 from a high-water mark of 2.3 in 2005.

“Based on incomes, this is as affordable as it gets,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told the WSJ. “If you can get a loan, these are pretty good times to buy.”

The paper added that many economists think prices may continue to fall a bit further because of weak demand.

However, qualifying for a mortgage to take advantage of those conditions may not be simple. A survey from Fannie Mae late last year found that more than half of Americans found that getting a mortgage would be difficult.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Some people interested in selling their home have had difficulty doing so, not because they haven’t been able to find a buyer, but because the bank’s appraiser says the home isn’t worth what the home was selling for.

A number of recent reports have highlighted the difficulty many buyers and sellers are having with appraisals in the current real estate market.

With foreclosures being a major factor in some areas, along with lower home prices, appraisers are sometimes coming up with values lower than the selling price. In those cases, either the buyer has to put more money down, or the seller has to drop their price. If neither side is willing to budge, then they either need to find another appraiser or forget the deal completely.

The issue is causing major issues in some markets. Earlier this month, real estate agents in Detroit told the Free Press that appraisals might be derailing up to 40 percent of their sales.

We’d love to know if you’ve run into a problem with an appraisal affecting a sale you’re involved with, either as a buyer, a seller, or even an agent? Use the comment link below to tell us your experience.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Home prices in most major metropolitan areas are starting to stabilize. A report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that 78 markets in the U.S. experienced price gains in the fourth quarter of 2010 over the previous year. Existing-home sales were up as well, rising 15.4% to an annual rate of 4.8 million from 4.16 million in the third quarter of 2010.

This wasn’t a total improvement over 2009 — prices are up 0.2%, however the fourth quarter of that year saw an annual rate of 5.97 million sales, largely due to the first-time home buyer tax credit — but it’s certainly progress.

Here’s what this means for the average consumer:

A Slow Improvement
These are not great gains, and in fact, only half of the markets saw improvements, which means half did not. But it does mean we’re inching in the right direction, and we should continue to see more growth as the year goes on.

A Heads Up for Buyers
If you’re in the market for a home, you need to be paying attention to these numbers. “If I were thinking about buying, I would want to have some perspective about where prices were headed. If they’re starting to accelerate, you might want to act. If there’s been a decline, you have to realize there are opportunities out there to shop and find a real bargain,” says Jed Smith, the managing director of quantitative research at NAR. Chasing the bottom is never a good idea — no one knows when it will hit– but if you’ve been holding out and prices have shown signs of increasing in your area, you probably want to get serious.

Another Chance for Sellers
If you’ve been waiting to put your home on the market — or you had it on, but took it off because it just wasn’t moving — we may be inching toward a time when you can put it up for sale and recoup at least some of the value it lost during the recession.

It’s Not a Store-Wide Sale
Real estate is extremely local, not just by state or city but by neighborhood, and in some cases, even by block. That means you really have to track your immediate area if you want to follow prices and sales data carefully. You can find out hyper-local information by contacting us, or if you’re not in our service area, from a local real estate agent in your area, one of the perks of working with one to find a home. But this national data from NAR tells you one thing: You’re not going to find bargains in every market. “Everyone thinks everything is on sale. It really isn’t, and if you’re going to make a realistic offer, you need to take into account whether prices are going up rapidly, stabilizing, or going down in your specific area. If prices are going up, a low-ball offer isn’t going to work. If they aren’t, you need to recognize that it might be a good time to buy a house,” says Smith.

The Economy Is Improving
The jobs situation, in particular, is looking better. We’re adding jobs slowly — too slowly for the kind of rebound we need — but these NAR figures are promising. The unemployment rate in any given area tends to correlate very closely with home prices, explains Smith. “When the economy is generating jobs, and there are areas where jobs are being generated, home prices in those areas tend to be headed up. When the economy is holding constant, prices tend to be relatively stable. And where there are job problems, prices may be weak or headed down in some cases.”

In NAR’s release about these new numbers, Lawrence Yun, the association’s chief economist, says the housing recovery will mean faster job growth. He projects that 150,000 to 200,000 jobs will be added to the economy in 2011 from an anticipated 300,000 additional home sales.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.