Foreclosed homes permeate the American landscape. According to data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), they make up about one in 12 houses with under $1 million left on the mortgage.
These foreclosures drive down home prices, and MIT gives two reasons for their depreciating effect – because foreclosed homes add to the housing supply and because the financial firms that acquire the houses want to unload them promptly. Full Article
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With all the talk of excess inventory and flood of foreclosures, the idea of a looming housing shortage sounds unrealistic if not fanciful.
After all, the most recent data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) out last week showed a 5.1% decline in existing home sales in June. Meanwhile, total housing inventory increased 2.5% to four million homes available for sale, an 8.9-month supply, up from an 8.3-month supply in May. Full arcticle Existing-home sales remained at elevated levels in May on buyer response to the tax credit, characterized by stabilizing home prices and historically low mortgage interest rates, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Gains in the West and South were offset by a decline in the Northeast; the Midwest was steady.
Full Article Instead of a double-dip recession in housing, this week's slew of economics reports are likely to point to a long, slow melt.
Full Article Weekly discussion topic, supplied by Michael J. McNally (McNally & Associates), posts follow micro-market updates charting activity of single family properties that contract for sale (go under agreement with buyer and seller) each and every week in our local service area.
Follow on Facebook Analysis by Altos Research shows that home prices in most major U.S. cities have broken free of the downward spiral. The company’s 10-city composite index was up 0.2 percent in May – the first monthly increase recorded by Altos in nine months.
Full Article For the first time in a year, local Realtors are reporting a decrease in their optimism about the state's housing market and home prices.
In May, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors Realtor Market Index stood at 39.49, 18.98 percent higher than the 33.19 score recorded in May 2009, but down 23.71 percent from the April 2010 score of 51.76. April's reading above 50 was the first time the score had reached the positive side of the scale in more than a year. Measured on a 100-point scale, a score of 50 is the midpoint between a "strong" (100 points) and a "weak" (0 points) market condition, MAR said. May was the first month that Realtors reported a decrease in optimism about home prices since June 2009. Full Article The U.S. labor market will hold the key to a recovery in the hard-hit housing sector, according to a Harvard University report released on Monday.
Record high foreclosures and a high jobless rate both pose significant challenges to the housing market, but some recovery in labor markets and record low mortgage rates could partly overcome other pressures, said the study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. "If history is a guide, what happens with jobs will matter the most to the strength of the housing rebound," Eric Belsky, executive director of the center, said in a statement. Full Article New Pond Front Listing! Just in time for great summer fun! Enjoy all that water front living offers in this 2 bedroom converted cottage with direct access to, and frontage on, the South Watuppa Pond. Perfect for sailing, skiing, fishing, swimming or simply enjoying the summer afternoons taking in the sights and sounds! Photos at: http://www.kinnanegroup.com/fall-river.html WSJ: The financial turmoil in Europe is providing an unexpected windfall for American home buyers, pushing domestic mortgage rates to the lowest levels of the year and back near 50-year lows. Many in the industry now say rates could drift as low as 4.5% this summer from 4.86% now, instead of rising to 6%...
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