Thursday, April 26, 2012

RE/MAX Survey of 53 Metros Finds Home Prices Up Again


According to a March 2012 housing report released by RE/MAX, home prices have risen for the second month in a row now on a year-over-year basis. The RE/MAX report included 53 metro areas and found the median price in March was $184,525, a 7.3 percent price increase from February, and a 5.8 percent increase from a year ago in March 2011. A consecutive increase on a year-over-year basis has not occurred since August 2010, according to the report.

Also, according to the March report, of the 53 metro areas, 36 experienced year-over-year price increases, with 10 seeing double-digit gains including Detroit, Michigan (+22.8 percent); Miami, Florida (+21.8 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (+18.5 percent); Phoenix, Arizona (+18.2 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (+13.7 percent); and Orlando, Florida (+12.7 percent).

“Although we don’t expect home prices to rise in every market at the same rate, the worst is definitely behind us, and a slow, steady recovery is taking hold,” said Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX.
March home sales surged 25.4 percent compared to February and rose by 1.5 percent a year ago. RE/MAX attributed the significant increase to good weather, low interest rates, attractive pricing, and improving consumer confidence.

Of the 53 metro areas included in the March survey, 33 experienced a year-over-year increases in sales, 17 of which saw double-digit growth including Wilmington, Delaware ( +41.8 percent); Omaha, Nebraska (+30.6 percent); Providence, Rhode Island (+26.6 percent); Tulsa, Oklahoma (+26 percent); Chicago, Illinois (+23.7 percent); and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (+21.4 percent).

For homes sold in March, the average number of days on market was largely unchanged at 101, two days less than February’s average and three days less than the year ago average.

The average inventory of homes on the market in March dropped 2.8 percent from the previous month of February and 23.2 percent from March 2011. The drop in March marks the 21st consecutive month inventories have fallen.

The months supply dropped to 5.3 months compared to February’s 6.6 month supply and the 7.1 month supply in March 2011. Months supply is the number of months it would take to clear a inventory at the current rate of sales. A six-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor. RE/MAX is a real estate franchisor with the a global reach of more than 80 countries.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

California Home Prices Going Up, Inventory Down, C.A.R. Reports



After 16 months of year-over-year declines, median home prices in California posted a gain, according to the California Association of Realtors.).

The median price of a single-family home for March 2012 was $291,080, a 1.6 percent increase compared to a revised $286,550 for March 2011, and a 9.2 percent increase compared to February’s median price of $266,660. The month-over-month increase was the largest since March 2004.

When breaking up prices by specific regions, the San Francisco Bay area was an exception, seeing a year-over-year decrease of 1.6 percent, but a 9.1 percent month-over-month increase.

“In areas, such as Los Angeles and Riverside counties, where the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants to implement the REO bulk sale pilot program, inventory is running at levels well below the long-run average,” said C.A.R.

VP and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “These low inventory levels demonstrate that the pilot program is not necessary in California.”

The pilot program involves the sale of government-owned REOs in bulk to institutional investors who will convert them into rental properties. According to C.A.R., in California, the program would call for the sale of more than 600 Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed homes in Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

Recently, 19 California congressmen sent a letter to Edward DeMarco, acting director of FHFA, asking him to make California an exception to the program.

C.A.R. reported that California’s housing inventory declined, with the Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family homes down to 4.1 months in March, compared to a revised 5.4 months in February and a 5.4 month supply in March 2011.

Los Angeles county had a 4.3 month supply, and Riverside county had an even lower number, with 3.8 months of inventory.

San Mateo and Santa Clara counties had notably low inventories as well, at 2.4 and 2.5 months, respectively.

Not only is California’s housing inventory down, but according to C.A.R., it takes less days to sell a home there, with the time it took to sell a single-family home dropping to 53.1 days in March 2012, compared to 58.9 days in February and 57 days for March 2011.