Orange CountyReal EstatewithMonica Ruggieri

Existing-Home Sales Rise a Surprising 7.2%

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:59:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped 7.2 percent in July to mark the fastest sales pace in nearly two years, an industry survey showed on Friday, in a strong sign that housing is pulling out of a three-year slump.

Sales in July rose for the fourth straight month to hit an annual rate of 5.24 million units, the highest rate since August 2007, the National Association of Realtors said, beating market expectations for a 5 million unit pace. Sales in June had been at a 4.89 million pace.

July's increase was the largest monthly gain since the series started in 1999. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, the NAR said.

The Realtors group heralded the July sales as a turning point, while some observers offered a more cautious view.

"The housing market has decisively turned for the better. We are bouncing back," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.

"Overall, these figures may suggest that the recovery in housing activity is gathering pace, but there is a long way to go yet," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

U.S. stock indexes rallied on the data, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 1.5 percent in mid-morning, and home builders posted hefty gains. Pulte Homes Inc was up 3.5 percent, while D.R. Horton Inc gained 4.3 percent.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc was up 3.3 percent. A broader measure of home construction stocks was up 3.4 percent to 293.28 after the housing data.

Treasury debt prices fell as investors viewed the data as another indication that the recession that started in 2007 was close to an end, if not over.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, speaking at a gathering of central bankers and top economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said prospects for a resumption in global economic growth after a deep contraction looked good "in the near term.

MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS LEAD SALES GAINS

Compared to July last year, sales rose 5.0 percent. The improvement in sales in July was broad based with single-family home sales rising 6.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.61 million units and multi-family dwellings surging 12.5 percent to a 630,000 unit rate.

Still, high unemployment threatens the budding recovery as many homeowners continue to lose their properties, and some economists question the sustainability of the economic recovery many see taking root.

A report from the Mortgage Bankers Association on Thursday showed late home loan payments jumped to a record high in the second quarter, with almost one in eight homeowners delinquent or in the process of foreclosure.

The inventory of existing homes for sale in July rose 7.3 percent to 4.09 million units from the previous month, NAR said. At July's sales pace, that represented a 9.4 months' supply, the same as in June.

The national median home price was $178,400 in July, down 15.1 percent from the same period last year, weighed down by distressed sales as they typically sell for 15 to 20 percent less than traditional homes.

Source: Reuters

U.S. new home sales rise sharply in June

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:25:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new single-family homes in the United States rose more than expected in June, while the inventory of homes for sale fell to a more than 11-year low, government data showed on Monday.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 384,000 in June, the Commerce Department reported, up 11 percent from May, while the number of new homes still for sale fell to 281,000, the lowest since February 1998.

"The data will reinforce the developing thinking that housing market has bottomed and that the economy has stabilized and will grow in the third quarter," said Jim Awad, managing director at Zephyr Management in New York.

"In the cocktail of the market, it will be viewed positively and will add credence to the bulls, who think we will have a rebound in the markets going forward," he said.

Despite the encouraging data, the median sale price for a new home fell to $206,200, down 5.8 percent from the previous month, and down 12 percent from a year ago.

Source: Reuters

Housing Picture Brightens in California

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:28:00 +0000

This reflects the exponential increase in sales activity that we have seen over the past weeks. I've now sold two homes with multiple offers within the first two weeks of being listed. -Monica

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's median price for existing homes rose 1.4% in April from March, marking the second consecutive monthly increase in housing prices and prompting some industry officials to declare that the state's long swoon in housing values could be at or near the bottom.

California's housing market is being closely watched as a barometer of the economy -- it is the nation's largest. Prices soared during the boom, but the collapse of housing prices has pummeled homeowners and helped send foreclosures skyrocketing. Any sign of recovery would be taken as a sign that the market is bottoming.

It was the first back-to-back increase in the state's housing prices in two years, following an increase in the median price of homes in March from February. The median price of $256,700 for single-family homes in April is up from a median price of $253,040 in March, according to estimates by the California Association of Realtors.

The April prices were still off 36.5% from the same month a year ago, but the sales of 540,360 homes on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis represented a 49.2% rise over the same time, the Realtors group reported Thursday.

April also marked the eighth consecutive month of single-family-home sales above 500,000 units. The inventory of unsold homes continued to shrink, to 4.6 months' supply from 9.8 months a year ago. "It appears that the median price is now at or near the bottom," said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the Realtors' association, who has previously made more subdued comments.

But no one is pronouncing any imminent turnaround in either the national or California markets. Housing continues to be weighed down by factors including high unemployment, high foreclosures and continued economic uncertainty. While California's home market appears near the bottom of a long slide, prices could continue to fluctuate for the rest of the year, some analysts say.

"At best, some markets have at least temporarily leveled off in price," said Andrew LePage, analyst at MDA Dataquick Information Services, a market-research firm in La Jolla, Calif. "I don't see any markets that have clearly bottomed out."

In general, the best-performing markets across the state in terms of sales volume were in lower-priced, inland areas that had seen some of the steepest declines in prices. Sales in the high-desert region outside Los Angeles, for example, more than doubled in April from the same month a year ago, after price declines of 49.5% over the same time. Median prices, even month to month, continued to fall there amid a glut of foreclosures.

But in several more densely populated areas, the median price was stronger. Los Angeles County's median rose 1.9% in April from March, after falling 31% over the past year. In Silicon Valley's Santa Clara County, the median price rose 3.6% after a year-over-year fall of 38.2%, the Realtor's group said. Boosting sales are some of the best affordability rates in almost a decade, say economists.

Realtors' officials said sales remain weaker for more-expensive homes. Inventories of unsold homes in the under-$500,000 segment, for example, shrank to nearly three months' supply in April from about 10 months a year ago. But the inventory of homes priced at more than $1 million rose to about 17 months from 10 months a year earlier.

The problem for the higher end of the market is that lending has tightened greatly for the jumbo mortgages that are often needed to buy a home costing more than $500,000, say economists. Some lenders now require down payments of as much as 30% to 40%. As a result, sales have remained anemic in pricey markets like San Francisco.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A4, 05/29/09

U.S. new home sales rose 0.3 percent in April

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:36:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes rose slightly less than expected in April, a government report showed on Thursday, and the previous month's figures were revised down to show a steeper fall.

The Commerce Department said sales rose 0.3 percent to a 352,000 annual pace, from a downwardly revised 351,000 in March. March sales were revised to show a 3 percent decline, which had been reported as a 0.6 percent slide.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 360,000 rate in April.

The median sales price in April fell 14.9 percent to $209,700 from a year earlier, the department said. The median marks the half-way point, with half of all houses sold above that level and half below. However compared to March, the median price was up 3.7 percent, the biggest increase since November.

The inventory of homes available for sale in April fell 4.2 percent to 297,000, the lowest level since May 2001. April's sales pace left the supply of homes available for sale at 10.1 months' worth, the lowest since a matching reading in July.

U.S. jobless claims fell 13,000 last week

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:29:00 +0000

This is an important economic indicator for signaling the start of a recovery. -Monica

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped by 13,000 last week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, but so-called continued claims hit a new record as the recession took a further toll on job prospects.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 623,000 in the week ended May 23 from a revised 636,000 in the prior week. It was the second straight week in which initial claims fell.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 630,000 new claims for benefits last week compared with a previously reported 631,000 in the preceding week.

Some 5.7 million U.S. jobs have been scrubbed from payrolls since a severe recession began in late 2007, battering labor markets as companies cut current employees and hold off on hiring.

The number of people staying on benefit rolls after drawing an initial week of aid increased by 110,000 to a higher-than-forecast 6.79 million in the week ended May 16, the most recent period for which the data was available. Analysts had estimated continued claims would be 6.74 million.

Continued claims have set new records in every week since Jan. 24 and now are more than double the level they were at a year ago.

US consumer confidence makes biggest gain in 6 years

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:11:00 +0000

NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence soared in May to its highest level in eight months as severe strains in the labor market showed some signs of easing, though Americans' mood remained depressed by historical standards.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes jumped to 54.9 in May from a revised 40.8 in April, the biggest one-month jump since April 2003.

The consensus forecast was for the index to rise to 42.

Fewer Americans said jobs were "hard to get," the survey found, with that measure slipping to 44.7 percent from 46.6 percent. Those saying jobs were plentiful climbed to a still meager 5.7 percent, but that was still higher than March's 4.9 percent.

"Consumers are considerably less pessimistic than they were earlier this year," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment vaults to 8-month high

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:14:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilder sentiment jumped to its highest level in eight months in May, a private survey showed on Monday, supporting views that the three-year housing slump might be close to an end.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 16 from 14 in April, in line with market expectations. The NAHB also said its measure of housing affordability surged 10 points to a record 72.5 in the first quarter of this year.

The NAHB attributed the second straight monthly increase in the housing market gauge -- which measures builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes -- to "the best home-buying conditions of a lifetime."

The group's chief executive officer, Jerry Howard, told Reuters that the two consecutive months of gains in the index were encouraging signs.

"It is a very important indicator that we are approaching the bottom and market stability could be just around the corner, that is what we are hoping for," said Howard.

"We are looking to reach bottom during the course of this summer and probably bounce along the bottom until early fall before things really start to get back to normal. We don't expect market equilibrium until 2012."

The Dow Jones home construction index surged 6.65 percent, also buoyed by Citigroup's upgrading of its rating on the second largest U.S. homebuilder, Lennar Corp, to "buy."

The Federal Reserve's aggressive cuts in interest rates to almost zero percent and buying of mortgage-backed securities have lowered the cost of home loans.

BOTTOM NOT TOO FAR AWAY

That, together with an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, is helping to lend some stability to the distressed housing market. Other housing indicators have recently shown a sharp slowing in the pace of the market's decline, raising optimism that a bottom is not too far away.

Howard said he was also encouraged by a gradual reduction in the stock of unsold existing houses, currently at around an 11-month supply. He said the ideal level for inventories of existing home sales was a supply of six months.

The collapse of domestic house prices and the subsequent global credit crisis were the main catalysts for the U.S. recession, now in its 17th month, and restoring stability to the housing market is a key element to a recovery in the economy.

Housing starts and building permits data due out on Tuesday could bolster the argument of a gradual market recovery. A Reuters survey forecast housing starts to have picked up modestly in April to an annual rate of 520,000 units after falling to 510,000 the previous month.

"The good news is that we likely have the worst of the housing crisis behind us. The bad news is that the housing market is only improving with turtle speed," said Torsten Slok, a senior economist at Deutsche Bank in New York.

NAHB chief economist David Crowe told reporters that while affordability was the best in years -- thanks to mortgage rates at historic lows and house prices at levels last seen in 2003 -- access to credit posed a major headwind to recovery.

"Our greatest concern is the access to credit for both the borrower and the builder. Underwriting standards have been tightened. Buyers are sometimes asked to put larger payments down and builders are finding it difficult to get credit to build those homes," said Crowe.

The NAHB report also showed two out of three subindexes of the Housing Market Index rising in May.

The current sales conditions gauge climbed two points to 14, while the sales expectations measure for the next six months rose three points to 27. The traffic of prospective buyers index was unchanged at 13 in May.

"While we are not ready to pop the champagne, there is light at the end of the tunnel here," said Howard.

Source: Reuters

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Economy has stabilized

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:11:00 +0000

Video Via Reuters: Geithner on Economy, May 18th.

Stocks surge on bank plan, rise in home sales

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:09:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is getting the good news it wants on the economy's biggest problems: banks and housing. Investors reignited a two-week rally Monday, cheering the government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books as well as a report showing a surprising increase in home sales. Major stock indicators jumped more than 5 percent including the Dow Jones industrial average, which soared more than 400 points.

The Treasury Department's bad asset cleanup program would tap money from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund and also involve help from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the participation of private investors.

The government's announcement was what the market had waited weeks to hear. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had announced an outline of the program last month but provided few details then about how it would work, leading to a poor reception in the markets.

Meanwhile, the housing report released Monday was overwhelmingly positive for the markets even though it showed a decline in home prices in February. Investors are embracing any sign that a glut in homes for sale may be easing.

The market had received another dose of housing good news last week on the troubled industry as housing starts for February came in much better than expected.

Collapsing home prices and the damage they have caused banks are at the center of the economy's current problems and are a major focus for the stock market. Banks have sharply curbed lending after becoming weighed down with loans that have gone bad, especially mortgages.

Investors had been largely disappointed in the government's efforts to date to restore the banks to health, but finally seemed encouraged by the long-awaited announcement Monday of details for the government's bad loan cleanup plan.

"The actions that we're getting from a policy standpoint are very helpful in removing the sand from the gears," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments. "That is going to be good for the financials."

The plan seeks to draw in private investors, including big hedge funds, to participate by offering billions of dollars in low-interest loans to finance the purchases. The government will share the risks if the assets fall further in price.

Shares of the country's largest banks, which have been pounded in recent weeks over concerns about their ability to weather the crisis, soared on Monday. Citigroup Inc. jumped 17 percent, and Bank of America Corp. added 18 percent.

Even banks regarded as more sound posted big advances. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 18 percent, while Wells Fargo & Co. rose 17 percent.

In late afternoon trading, the Dow rose 405.06, or 5.6 percent, to 7,684.34.

Broader stock indicators also surged. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 42.34, or 5.5 percent, to 810.88, crossing the psychological milepost of 800. The Nasdaq composite index rose 42.34, or 5.5 percent, to 1,531.94.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 24.79, or 6.2 percent, to 424.90.

More than 10 stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a moderate 1.14 billion shares.

Source: AP via Google

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:23:00 +0000

New market data shows that the combined short sales and foreclosures are taking up nearly 50% of our market share. This, in turn, is driving our local sales prices down by up to 40%. For investors and homebuyers, this is good news: Undervalued properties are ripe for the taking!

Mortgage Rates Sink to Lowest Level in Decades

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Rates on 30-year mortgages plunged to a record low Thursday after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to prop up the flailing housing market.

The national average rate on 3D-year fixed mortgages was 4.94% on Thursday, according to financial publisher HSH Associates, down nearly a quarter point from a day earlier. That's the lowest on HSH's records, which date to 1979.

For borrowers with stable jobs and good credit, it represents an opportunity to refinance at the lowest rates in decades. But people with less-than-perfect credit are likely to pay higher rates.

Interest rates have drifted lower since November, when the Federal Reserve pledged to buy up mortgage-backed securities in an effort to bolster the long-suffering housing market.

Earlier Thursday, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 4.98% this week, down from 5.03% last week.

It was the lowest since the week of Jan. 15, when it was at 4.96%, the lowest point in the history of Freddie Mac's survey, which goes back to 1971.

Freddie Mac's survey included rate quotes taken before the Fed said Wednesday that it would pump $1.2 trillion into the economy in an effort to lower rates on mortgages and other loans and loosen credit.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.61%, down from 4.64% last week, Freddie Mac said.

Rates on five-year adjustable mortgages fell to 4.98%, compared with 4.99% last week. Rates on one-year adjustable mortgages rose to 4.91% from 4.8% last week.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Nationwide, the average fee for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages was 0.7 point last week.

Source: AP via LA Times

First-Time Homebuyer Credit

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:16:00 +0000

A tax credit is available for first-time homebuyers under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If you buy a home between
January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009, you may be eligible to
receive a tax credit for 10% of the purchase price of your home—
up to $8,000. Program highlights include:

■ Any individual (and if married, their spouse) who has had no
ownership interest in a home during the last three years is eligible

■ Full credit for single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000
($150,000 on a joint return); partial credit for incomes up to
$95,000 ($170,000 joint return)

■ Applies to the purchase of a single-family home (including condos,
townhomes, etc.) that will be used as a principal residence

■ Homebuyers can reduce (or even eliminate) their income tax
liability for the year of purchase by claiming the credit on their
tax return

■ If the home is sold before 3 years, the first-time homebuyer
(who is now the seller) must pay the IRS the entire amount of
the tax credit at closing

Dover Shores Neighborhood Sales for 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 03:04:00 +0000

Sold in 3 weeks!

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ruggieri) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:41:00 +0000