Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Florida is definitely a state that has felt the impact of the declining real estate market. It has been one of of the top four states in number of foreclosures, biggest declines in values and a few other statistics a state would just as soon not be associated with.
The tides may be turning though. The Florida Association of REALTORS(R) reported today that existing home sales in their state rose again in May…the ninth month in a row that sales activity has increased in a year-to-year comparison. Home sales were up 16% in May and condo sales were up 21% for the same period.
Home and condo prices in Florida have taken a big hit over the past two years. Last month the median home price for existing homes was $144,400, a year ago it was $203,800. However the median price in May for Florida was higher than the prior four months. Condo prices have followed suit as well: May’s median condo price was $113,400, down almost 40% from a year ago when it was $181,700. Like single family homes, condo prices are showing signs of “bottoming out”. May’s median condo price was higher than the prior 3 months and about equal to four months ago.
These stats would lead me to believe that the prices in Florida have fallen to 
the point where home owners and investors are perceiving value and stepping up to the plate and buying. For investors that have been wanting to take advantage of the lower prices in Florida but cautiously waiting for the “bottom” I think these statistics should tempt them to wade out in the water.
Having said that I want to do a little CYA. With the way our federal government has been printing and spending money and the relative instability of the economy, things could change for the bad quickly and this could end up being a “false bottom”. The problem is it is really impossible to determine the “bottom” of a market until it has passed.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) released its existing home sales report for May showing an increase in sales for the 2nd month in a row. This is the first time we’ve seen two consecutive months of sales increases in almost 4 years.
Sales for May were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4,770,000 homes which is a 2.4% increase over Aprils’ rate of 4,660,000. May’s rate is 3.6% below last year which is pretty consistent with Aprils year to year decline of 3.5%.
The Midwest region which has been holding pretty steady had a 9% increase in sales for the month followed by the Northeast with a 3.9% increase and the South with no change from April. The West was the only region reporting a decline in sales albeit a mere 0.9% decline.
Median home prices in the U.S. rose 3.8% from an adjusted median price of $166,600 for April to $173,000 in May which is 16.8% less than a year ago. The West was the only region that saw a decline in price from April to May with prices dropping from 204,200 to 197,700. The West has seen the biggest decline in median prices from a year ago with a decline of 30.6%, followed by the Northeast with a 12.5% decline, the Midwest at 10.4% and the South at 9.9%.
I’m going to repeat my recent mantra….overall I think the numbers show the market is trying to find a bottom and may be leveling off.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS(R) expected an improvement. He said “Historically low mortgage interest rates clearly drew buyers into the market and housing remains very affordable even with a recent uptick in rates. First-time buyers also are being drawn off the sidelines by the $8,000 tax credit, which is helping to absorb inventory. However, the increase in sales is less than expected because poor appraisal are stalling transactions.”
By: Dennis Norman
Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) released its existing home sales report for May showing an increase in sales for the 2nd month in a row. This is the first time we’ve seen two consecutive months of sales increases in almost 4 years.
Sales for May were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4,770,000 homes which is a 2.4% increase over Aprils’ rate of 4,660,000. May’s rate is 3.6% below last year which is pretty consistent with Aprils year to year decline of 3.5%.
The Midwest region which has been holding pretty steady had a 9% increase in sales for the month followed by the Northeast with a 3.9% increase and the South with no change from April. The West was the only region reporting a decline in sales albeit a mere 0.9% decline.
Median home prices in the U.S. rose 3.8% from an adjusted median price of $166,600 for April to $173,000 in May which is 16.8% less than a year ago. The West was the only region that saw a decline in price from April to May with prices dropping from 204,200 to 197,700. The West has seen the biggest decline in median prices from a year ago with a decline of 30.6%, followed by the Northeast with a 12.5% decline, the Midwest at 10.4% and the South at 9.9%.
I’m going to repeat my recent mantra….overall I think the numbers show the market is trying to find a bottom and may be leveling off.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS(R) expected an improvement. He said “Historically low mortgage interest rates clearly drew buyers into the market and housing remains very affordable even with a recent uptick in rates. First-time buyers also are being drawn off the sidelines by the $8,000 tax credit, which is helping to absorb inventory. However, the increase in sales is less than expected because poor appraisal are stalling transactions.”
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
I want to start by saying this is not an attack on moving companies, many are honest and fair. Unfortunately, like most industries, there are the few bad apples that can give the business a bad name and that is what this post is about and how to avoid falling victim to them.
Fortunately my last experience with a moving company was great. In fact my last move was the smoothest I had experienced. My wife chose Dodge Moving & Storage in St. Louis (a Mayflower agent) and we found them to be great in all aspects.
According to a release by Relocation.com this is not always the case though and they give information on three little-known moving scams and tips on how to avoid falling victim to them. The scams are: Read more…
By: Dennis Norman
Yesterday, Bankrate, Inc. issued their weekly mortgage interest rate report showing that mortgage rates after rising to almost 6% have retreated in this past week with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 5.76%, down from 5.95% last week, with an average of 0.43% in discount and origination fees.
The report shows 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were also lower this week at an average of 5.19%, down from 5.37% last week and the rate for a 5/1 ARM was at 5.37% down from 5.49% last week.
A year ago the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was 6.62%.
As I said previously, keep in mind is the Federal Reserve is still setting on over a trillion dollars in their mortgage buyback program and if they increase their buying of loans could help bring interest rates down. The Fed has their next Federal Open Market Committee meeting coming up next week and it my guess is if they are going to do anything it will be announced after that meeting.
By: Dennis Norman
Yesterday, Bankrate, Inc. issued their weekly mortgage interest rate report showing that mortgage rates after rising to almost 6% have retreated in this past week with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 5.76%, down from 5.95% last week, with an average of 0.43% in discount and origination fees.
The report shows 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were also lower this week at an average of 5.19%, down from 5.37% last week and the rate for a 5/1 ARM was at 5.37% down from 5.49% last week.
A year ago the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was 6.62%.
As I said previously, keep in mind is the Federal Reserve is still setting on over a trillion dollars in their mortgage buyback program and if they increase their buying of loans could help bring interest rates down. The Fed has their next Federal Open Market Committee meeting coming up next week and it my guess is if they are going to do anything it will be announced after that meeting.
By: Dennis Norman
This morning the US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for May 2009 showing a slight increase in new home construction activity.
The report shows the following:
- Building permits issued for single-family residences in May were at an annual rate of 408,000 which is a 7.9% increase over April, but still 35.1% below the rate a year ago.
- The Midwest region had the largest one month increase at 16.1%, followed by the Northeast at 13.5% the west at 7.5% and finally the South at 6.5%.
- Housing starts for single-family residences in May were at an annual rate of 401,000 which is a 7.5% increase over April but is 40.9% below last year.
- The South had the largest one month increase in starts at 10.6%, followed by the Midwest at 9.4%, the West at 8.6% and the Northeast actually had a decline of 12.5%
- Single-family homes completed in May were at a rate of 491,000 which is a drop of 9.4% from April and 42.4% down from a year ago.
- The Midwest region had the smallest monthly decline in completions with a drop of 2.3% followed by the South with a decline of 8.2%, the Northeast with a decline of 11.1% and the West with a 17% decline.
I think overall the numbers look good showing a very modest amount of increased construction activity. However, some of these statistics have high margins of error (for example housing completions is + or – 7.1% and housing starts are + or – 6.0%) we need to see several months of consistent data for the numbers to really mean anything in terms of the market.
By: Dennis Norman
This morning the US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for May 2009 showing a slight increase in new home construction activity.
The report shows the following:
- Building permits issued for single-family residences in May were at an annual rate of 408,000 which is a 7.9% increase over April, but still 35.1% below the rate a year ago.
- The Midwest region had the largest one month increase at 16.1%, followed by the Northeast at 13.5% the west at 7.5% and finally the South at 6.5%.
- Housing starts for single-family residences in May were at an annual rate of 401,000 which is a 7.5% increase over April but is 40.9% below last year.
- The South had the largest one month increase in starts at 10.6%, followed by the Midwest at 9.4%, the West at 8.6% and the Northeast actually had a decline of 12.5%
- Single-family homes completed in May were at a rate of 491,000 which is a drop of 9.4% from April and 42.4% down from a year ago.
- The Midwest region had the smallest monthly decline in completions with a drop of 2.3% followed by the South with a decline of 8.2%, the Northeast with a decline of 11.1% and the West with a 17% decline.
I think overall the numbers look good showing a very modest amount of increased construction activity. However, some of these statistics have high margins of error (for example housing completions is + or – 7.1% and housing starts are + or – 6.0%) we need to see several months of consistent data for the numbers to really mean anything in terms of the market.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
According to a report issued by RealtyTrac(R), foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions or REO’s) were reported on 321,480 U.S. properties for May. This is a decrease of 6% from April but is still up nearly 18% from a year ago.
The states of Nevada, California and Florida continue to have the highest foreclosure rates, with Nevada leading the way with one in every 64 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in May.
The state with the lowest foreclosure rate was Vermont, followed by North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota and Virginia.
I have been saying for some time now that before we are going to see this real estate market stabilize and truly “find bottom” the foreclosure rate would have to decline back to some sort of normal range. While the decrease for May in activity is encouraging, May’s activity still represents the “third highest month on record” according to James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac(R), so don’t break out the party hats yet.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
According to a report issued by RealtyTrac(R), foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions or REO’s) were reported on 321,480 U.S. properties for May. This is a decrease of 6% from April but is still up nearly 18% from a year ago.
The states of Nevada, California and Florida continue to have the highest foreclosure rates, with Nevada leading the way with one in every 64 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in May.
The state with the lowest foreclosure rate was Vermont, followed by North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota and Virginia.
I have been saying for some time now that before we are going to see this real estate market stabilize and truly “find bottom” the foreclosure rate would have to decline back to some sort of normal range. While the decrease for May in activity is encouraging, May’s activity still represents the “third highest month on record” according to James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac(R), so don’t break out the party hats yet.
