Housing Recovery Picks Up Steam despite Persistent Headwinds

 With home prices and household formations rising and household balance sheets healing, the ongoing housing recovery is expected to gain momentum next year even as several challenges remain, according to economists who participated in a recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Fall 2013 Construction Forecast Webinar.
“The cards are in play for a decent and fairly strong recovery in 2014 and particularly in 2015,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “From the standpoint of GDP growth, housing has been a plus, growing at two, three and four times the rate of the rest of the economy in recent quarters.”
Helping to spur the housing rebound was an increase in home prices over the past year, driven in part by tight inventories of new and existing homes for sale and gradual gains in employment.
“We expect to see price increases moderate in the next few years as we see additional inventory on the market and investors back away as the bargains disappear,” said Crowe.
Another bright spot is rising household formations that were delayed during the downturn as college graduates and young professionals were forced to move back in with their parents or double up as roommates. At the height of the housing boom, the U.S. was producing 1.4 million additional households every year. That figure plunged to 500,000 during the depth of the recession and today is now back up to 700,000.
Meanwhile, households across the nation have been increasing their savings and shedding debt. “They’ve corrected a lot of excesses and feel more comfortable about moving forward,” Crowe said, noting that the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index shows that the percentage of consumers who believe that now is a good time to buy a house is back up to levels last seen near the housing boom.

However, Crowe cited several headwinds that are impeding the recovery.
“Credit conditions are much tighter now, builders are increasingly facing labor shortages, lot supplies are tight, building material prices are rising, and inaccurate appraisals are hurting home sales” he said.
“You can’t charge more than you can get an appraisal for,” Crowe added. “Even though we are seeing price increases in labor, land and materials, 36 percent of builder recently said they had lost at least one sale over appraisals coming in below the cost of production.”
A Solid Outlook
NAHB is forecasting 924,000 total housing starts in 2013, up 18 percent from 783,000 units last year.
Single-family production is expected to rise 17 percent this year to 629,000 units, jump an additional 31 percent next year to 826,000 and surpass the 1 million mark in 2015.

The Buyer's Market is over.

Listing Inventory has dropped.
If your looking for your next home and see one you like you might want to go ahead and put an offer on it before you proceed looking at others. The odds are that it will have others making an offer as well. The best ones go first!

Mobile listing search.

Existing Home Sales and Prices Continue to Rise in February

Existing-Home Sales and Prices Continue to Rise in February
February existing-home sales and prices affirm a healthy recovery is underway in the housing sector, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales have been above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, while prices show 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.
February sales were at the highest level since the tax credit period of November 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says conditions for continued housing improvement are at play. “Job growth in the improving economy and pent-up demand are causing both home sales and rental leasing to rise. Though home prices are rising much faster than rents, historically low mortgage rates are still making home purchases affordable,” he says. “The only headwinds are limited housing inventory, which varies greatly around the country, and credit conditions that remain too restrictive.”
Listed inventory is 19.2 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.4-month supply.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $173,600 in February, up 11.6 percent from February 2012. The last time there were 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases was from June 2005 to May 2006. The February gain is the strongest since November 2005 when it was 12.9 percent above a year earlier.
“A strong rise in home values is contributing to housing wealth recovery, which has risen by $1.4 trillion in the past year and looks to top that increase this year,” Yun says. “The extra consumer spending arising from growth in housing wealth is expected to be $70 billion to $110 billion this year.”
Distressed homes–foreclosures and short sales–accounted for 25 percent of February sales, down from 34 percent in February 2012. Fifteen percent of February sales were foreclosures, and 10 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 18 percent below market value in February, while short sales were discounted 15 percent.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.53 percent in February from 3.41 percent in January; it was 3.89 percent in February 2012.
NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif., says interest rates remain extraordinarily low. “In the history of mortgage interest rates since 1971, the 30-year fixed rate has been below 4 percent in only 15 months, and those have all been in the past 15 months,” he says. “Even with rising home prices, affordability remains historically favorable because home prices over-corrected during the downturn. This means there is still great value for buyers in the current market.”
All-cash sales were at 32 percent of transactions in February, up from 28 percent in January; they were 33 percent in February 2012. Investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 22 percent of homes in February, up from 19 percent in January; they were 23 percent in February 2012.
“There was an upward bump in the shares of investor and all-cash closed purchases in February. These sales result from purchase offers during the holidays when shopping activity by traditional home buyers slows, but investors, who typically pay cash, remained active,” Yun says. “This is a seasonal pattern, but we’re now seeing a general increase in buyer traffic, which is 25 percent above a year ago.”
Single-family home sales are 8.7 percent above the 4.01 million-unit pace in February 2012. The median existing single-family home price was $173,800 in February, which is 11.3 percent higher than a year ago.
In the South, existing-home sales increased 2.6 percent to an annual level of 2.01 million in February and are 14.9 percent above February 2012. The median price in the South was $150,500, up 9.3 percent from a year ago.

Why Keeping the House in Divorce Could Land You in the Poor House After http://divorcemoneymatters.com/why-keeping-the-house-in-divorce-could-land-you-in-the-poor-house-after/

Mobile Search For Properties

http://bruceweaver.m.remax-alabama.com/Search

Housing Continues to Gain Ground.

The economy seems to be transitioning to a slightly stronger growth path according to Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group. Increased taxes and reduced government spending will keep growth at a subdued pace in the first half of the year before activity picks up in the second half. 

The improving performance of the housing market is expected to continue through 2013. Boosted by strengthening home prices, which may incite more potential buyers to enter the market, housing should contribute to GDP on a growing basis and help to counteract the fiscal headwinds. Other primary growth drivers will include consumer spending, manufacturing, and business capital investment. 

Our outlook is bolstered by the employment picture, which is trending better than previously reported, as well as the momentum in manufacturing and energy production. We also expect the housing recovery to broaden this year. However, the degree to which these drivers will serve to offset the headwinds from ongoing and forthcoming fiscal contraction is still to be determined.