Daily Archives: January 24, 2014

Gundlach: Housing Market Softer Than People Think | North Salem Real Estate

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For Jeffrey Gundlach, the U.S. housing recovery isn’t so rosy.

The founder of $49 billion investment firm DoubleLine Capital LP is largely avoiding the subprime-mortgage bonds that jumped about 17 percent last year after home prices surged by the most since 2006, deterred by the lengthy process to sell foreclosed houses and the destruction that’s creating.

“These properties are rotting away,” Gundlach, 54, said last week on a conference call with investors, about homes stuck in foreclosure pipelines, adding that it could take six years to resolve defaulted loans made to the least creditworthy borrowers before the real-estate crash.

DoubleLine is giving up potentially higher yields that last year attracted money managers including Western Asset Management Co. along with hedge funds as 21 percent of foreclosed homes across the U.S. are in limbo, vacated by former owners and not yet seized by lenders, according to data company RealtyTrac.

 

http://www.fa-mag.com/news/gundlach–housing-market-softer-than-people-think-16722.html

For Sale: Mid-Century Homes With Modern Upgrades | Mt Kisco NY Real Estate

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Mid-century modern homes are just as popular as ever: furniture stores are lined with sleek, retro pieces, and designers are showing off their “Mad Men” flair on Zillow Digs. But shopping for an architectural gem doesn’t mean you have to forgo contemporary amenities. Here’s a look at a few homes currently on the market combining classic mid-century style with tasteful upgrades.

Phoenix, AZ

4832 E Virginia Ave, Phoenix, AZ For sale: $269,900

Phoenix, AZPhoenix, AZ - 2

Built in 1957, this Phoenix mid-century residence has been completely remodeled with a new kitchen layout, maple cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, modern bath fixtures and an indoor-outdoor entertaining space separated by a glass garage door. The home first hit the market in September 2013; its list price was dropped by $1,000 in December.

 

 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/2014-01-23/mid-century-homes-modern-upgrades/

Baby boomers key to robust real estate market | Cross River Real Estate

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“Build it and they will come.” That phrase had characterized Clark County’s real estate market for decades. But are we ready to build the housing that will meet the needs of those who help drive the local market: the baby boomers?

The year 2013 was a continuation of the momentum in home sales that started in 2012. Prices continued to modestly increase. With this stability in the market, many savvy but cautious buyers were ready to take the plunge.

This improvement in the housing market also created hope for many homeowners who had suffered substantial losses in value over the past several years and now found themselves in a more favorable position to sell.

The shift from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market came early in the year, when buyers very aggressively returned to the market. The listing inventory in certain price ranges was quickly depleted.

A seller’s market emerged, with multiple offers on some properties, especially in the lower price ranges — less than $200,000, and $200,000 to $250,000. Prompted by low interest rates and good values, buyers continued to pursue homeownership.

The next 12 months should be characterized by an increase in housing inventory. More homeowners will be reaching the point where their equity position is improved enough to no longer be “underwater.”  As those sellers enter the housing market, we should see inventories adequate to satisfy a thirsty supply of buyers.

Many baby boomers are homeowners who want to move from a large two-story into a single-level home in a quality, secure neighborhood with perhaps a smaller yard. They are not finding many choices in this category, particularly if they aren’t interested in paying more than $400,000 for the home. They want newer, quality construction — they don’t want to downgrade, they just want to downsize.

 

 

http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jan/23/baby-boomers-key-to-robust-real-estate-market/

Mortgage Foreclosures Down 29% in November | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Homeowners (and investors in the banks holding their mortgages) received a triple dose of good news Thursday, when residential property data provider CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX ) announced that:

  • The number of completed foreclosures in America dropped 29% year over year in November, as compared to November 2012.
  • Completed foreclosures trended down sequentially from October, falling 8.3%.
  • The inventory of houses in some stage of the foreclosure process, the so-called “foreclosure inventory,” dropped 34% from a year ago. Month-over-month, the foreclosure inventory dropped 4.6% from October 2013 to November 2013.

Additionally, CoreLogic estimates that the residential “shadow inventory” of homes that are “seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or held as REO [real estate owned] by mortgage servicers, but not currently listed on multiple listing services,” has fallen to levels not seen since the start of the housing crisis in 2008. CoreLogic puts the size of this shadow inventory at 1.7 million homes, down 26.4% from one year ago.

As for actual foreclosures, according to CoreLogic’s data, 46,000 homes were foreclosed upon in November, versus 64,000 completed foreclosures in November 2012.

 

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/09/mortgage-foreclosures-down-29-in-november.aspx

Q4 California Foreclosures Hit Lowest Mark in Eight Years | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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The number of California homeowners pulled into the formal foreclosure process dropped to an eight-year low last quarter, the result of an improving economy, foreclosure prevention efforts and higher home prices, according to DataQuick. A total of 18,120 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded by lenders and their servicers on California owners of houses and condos during the October-through-December period. That was down 10.8 percent from 20,314 for the prior quarter, and down 52.6 percent from 38,212 in fourth-quarter 2012. Last quarter’s tally was the lowest since 15,337 NoDs were recorded during fourth-quarter 2005. NoDs peaked in first-quarter 2009 at 135,431. DataQuick’s NoD statistics go back to 1992.

“Some of this decline in foreclosure starts stems from the use of various foreclosure prevention efforts – short sales, loan modifications and the ability of some underwater homeowners to refinance. But most of the drop is because of the improving economy and the increase in home values. Fewer people are behind on their mortgage payments. And of those who do get into trouble, many, if not most, can sell and pay off what they owe. Also, those who are underwater and close to slipping into foreclosure are far less likely to give up their homes now that appreciation has returned to the housing market. There’s a strong incentive to hang on,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

 

http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news46411/Q4-California-Foreclosures-Hit-Lowest-Mark-Eight-Years

Sales Climb as U.S. Housing Market Adjusts to Rates: Economy | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Sales of previously owned homes climbed in December for the first time in five months, capping the best year since 2006 and indicating the real-estate market is starting to adjust to higher borrowing costs.

Purchases rose 1 percent to a 4.87 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors reported today in Washington. Other reports showed claims for jobless benefits held last week near the lowest level in more than a month and the index of leading indicators climbed in December.

Faster employment growth, rising property values and a decline in consumer debt are giving would-be buyers the confidence to take the plunge into homeownership. Growing demand will also spur new construction and home improvements that will boost gross domestic product in 2014.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/sales-of-previously-owned-homes-in-u-s-rose-1-in-december.html

Dallas-area housing market soared last year; 2014 looks promising, too | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Last year’s bull housing market will be hard to top in 2014.

Dallas-area home sales rose almost 20 percent from the previous year, and prices jumped more than 10 percent — more than double the average annual increase North Texas usually sees.

With the local economy booming and consumers ready to buy real estate again, the only limitation this year will be availability and pricing.

“I don’t think 2014 will be as crazy as last year,” said D’Ann Petersen, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “Home sales would be doing better if we had more inventory on the market.

“We have seen good increases in prices, but I don’t know if that is going to continue at the rate we saw last year,” she said.

In 2013, median home sales prices were up by double-digit percentages in more than two dozen Dallas-area residential districts The Dallas Morning News tracks.

The biggest sales price increases were in neighborhoods in Oak Lawn, Oak Cliff, Mesquite, Irving and North Dallas, according to data from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The number of homes sold rose by more than 20 percent from 2012 levels in 13 area residential districts, including Sunnyvale, Hurst, Rockwall, Sachse-Rowlett and Far North Dallas.

Covering the area

Jim Fite, president of Dallas’ Century 21 Judge Fite Realtors, said that housing activity is good in neighborhoods across the Dallas area.

“We are looking forward to a 6 percent to 8 percent increase in sales in 2014,” Fite said.

The inventory of homes listed for sale with real estate agents last year fell to less than a two-month supply in several residential areas, including The Colony, Richardson, Grapevine, Coppell, Allen and Plano.

 

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/area-home-sales/20140123-dallas-area-housing-market-soared-last-year-2014-looks-promising-too.ece

Home prices spiked sharply last year in some neighborhoods | Chappaqua NY Homes

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The median price of single-family homes sold in King County in 2013 hit $415,000, its highest in five years, as the local housing market’s recovery gained steam.

After tumbling to a seven-year low of $340,000 in 2011, the median rose 7 percent in 2012 and grew 14 percent more last year, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The median price means that half of homes sold for more, half for less.

But some areas in King County saw bigger spikes than others, according to a Seattle Times analysis of MLS data.

The Jovita/West Hill neighborhood in Auburn led all King County areas with a 29 percent increase in the median price, to $273,000.

Close behind, with 24 percent appreciation: Seattle’s Sodo/Beacon Hill area, also with a below-average median price of $320,000, and Bellevue’s neighborhoods west of Interstate 405, with the county’s highest median price: $1.3 million.

The smallest increases, from 3 to 6 percent, were in Central Seattle, Newcastle/Issaquah and North Seattle.

Despite the strong annual gains for homes, the median sales price for 2013 in nearly all areas of King County was still below its peak in 2007, when the housing bubble burst. But some places are close to recovering all the ground they lost.

 

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2022731968_homesales2013xml.html

South Florida home prices rise, but housing market softens | Armonk NY Homes

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South Florida’s housing market continued to cool down in December, with prices still rising, but at a slower pace than earlier in the year.

Broward County’s median price for existing homes was $268,950, 17 percent higher than a year ago, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said Thursday. It was the first time since November 2012 that the median didn’t increase on an annual basis by more than 20 percent.

 

 

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-01-23/business/sfl-december-home-prices-link-20140123_1_south-florida-home-prices-housing-market-median