Daily Archives: March 3, 2015

Real Estate Markets Tiptoe Toward Stability | North Salem Real Estate

Freddie Mac’s proprietary MiMi index, which uses data on mortgage repayments and local economic conditions to track markets against their ‘long-term stable range”, reports that national MiMi value stands at 74.9, indicating a weak housing market overall but showing a slight improvement (+0.37%) from November to December and a positive 3-month trend of (+1.09%).

On a year-over-year basis, the U.S. housing market has improved (+4.41%). The nation’s all-time MiMi high of 121.7 was April 2006; its low was 57.2 in October 2010, when the housing market was at its weakest. Since that time, the housing market has made a 31 percent rebound.

The U.S. housing market continues to stabilize at the national level for the fourth consecutive month. Thirty-eight of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and 40 of the 50 metros, are now showing an improving three month trend. Three additional metros entered their benchmarked stable ranges of housing activity including Buffalo, Boston and Nashville.

“Housing markets are getting back on track. The national MiMi improved for the fourth consecutive month. Nearly 80 percent of the state and metro housing markets MiMi tracks are improving or in their stable range of activity. We’ve even seen the MiMi purchase application indicator increase 0.07 percent on a year-over-year basis. Low mortgage rates and moderating house price growth are helping to keep payment-to-income ratios favorable for the typical family in most of the country. In fact, Los Angeles is the only metro market with an elevated MiMi payment-to-income indicator whereas most other markets remain quite affordable. And of course, labor markets are generally improving,” said Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer.

 

read more…

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/02/real-estate-markets-tiptoe-toward-stability/

Flips Flopped in 2014 | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Don’t tell the HGTV producers who find audiences for their endless stream of shows devoted to house flipping, but it’s looking like flipping is losing popularity.

RealtyTrac® reports that last year flips fell to their lowest market share since 2011.  Some 136,269 U.S. single family homes were flipped in 2014, 5.4 percent of all single family home sales during the year.

A total of 32,578 U.S. single family homes were flipped in the fourth quarter, representing 5.3 percent of all single family home sales during the quarter. The 5.3 percent share of flips in the fourth quarter was up 11 percent from the previous quarter but still down 12 percent from a year ago.

Flips are dwindling despite improving returns.  The average gross profit — the difference between the purchase price and flipped price — for completed flips of single family homes in the fourth quarter was $65,993, representing a 37.1 percent gross return. That was up from an average gross profit of $65,285 representing a 36.5 percent gross return in the third quarter, and an average gross profit of $63,017 representing a 36.4 percent gross return in the fourth quarter of 2013.

“Investors have picked much of the low-hanging fruit when it comes to home flipping over the past three years since home prices bottomed out in the first quarter of 2012,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “As home price appreciation slows to single digits in most markets, flippers need to be more selective and creative about the properties and neighborhoods they target.

“In many cases the best neighborhoods for profitable flipping in a slower-appreciating market are those that come with a higher risk because of location and condition of properties, but also have a bigger upside if investors are able to correctly predict the path of progress in the region,” Blomquist added. “It appears that most investors completing flips in the fourth quarter were able to do just that. Even though the share of flips was down from a year ago during the quarter, the average gross return per flip increased.”

Zips with highest share of Q4 flips in Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami
Among zip codes with at least 10 single family home flips completed in the fourth quarter of 2014, there were 10 where flips represented 25 percent or more of all single family home sales during the quarter. Metropolitan statistical areas with top 10 zip codes for share of flips in the fourth quarter were Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Jacksonville, Florida, Tampa and San Diego.

 

read more…

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/02/flips-flopped-in-2014/

REO’s Are Back | Waccabuc Real Estate

Four years of declining distress sales quietly ground to a halt last year and now real estate owned properties (REOs) have increased steadily for four months in a row, rising to 23.2%, based on a three-month moving average, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.

The distressed property share of home sales peaked at 45.5% in March 2011 and declined to 21.3% as recently as September.

The numbers suggest that a market share for REOs will settle in at one out of five listings for the foreseeable future.  “A distressed property proportion above 20% is likely to be a persistent feature of the housing market,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys.

M ove-in ready REO is the largest category of distressed property, accounting for 10.6% of home sales in January. The move-in ready REO share of home sales has increased most months after hitting a low of 8.2% in August 2013.

Popik said the largest portion of move-in ready REO properties will likely be purchased by first-time homebuyers. Such buyers accounted for 48% of purchases of move-in ready REO sold in January, with current homeowners claiming a 39% share and investors accounting for a 13% share.

Average home prices for move-in ready REO have increased since hitting a low of $171,300 in April 2013. Move-in ready REO sold in January had an average price of $221,000.

Damaged REO accounted for 8.0% of home sales in January, increasing for the fourth consecutive month. The damaged REO share of home sales hit a low in September at 6.3%.

Investors are the main buyers of damaged REO, purchasing 61% of such properties sold in January. Demand for damaged REO was particularly strong in January, with the properties receiving an average of 3.4 offers. However, time-on-market for damaged REO also hit a 4-year high during the month with properties sold in January having stayed on the market for an average of 13.0 weeks.

Short sales accounted for 4.5% of home sales in January, with market share for the properties staying level for the previous six months. The short sale share of home sales peaked in February 2012 at 16.8%.

 

read more…

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/02/reos-theyre-b-a-a-a-a-a-ack/

2014 Ended with 39 Percent of Housing Markets Fully Recovered | South Salem Real Estate

As the year ended, 39 percent, or 117, of the nation’s largest 300 markets achieved full price recovery, up 30 percent from the end of 2013. Hundreds of other markets moved closer to full recovery; by December, the average rebound percentage of all 300 markets was 95.85 percent, which was slightly higher than 95.49 percent recorded in November.

 

Markets that lost the least value during the Great Recession have been the first to rebound. Of the markets with a peak-to-trough decline of less than 10 percent, 25 had an average rebound of 107 percent in December. Of the markets that lost 10 to 20 percent of value, the average rebound reached 99 percent of the prior peak price in December. In the markets that suffered the most severe price declines, the average rebound percentage was 81 percent.

 

In December, 42 of the top 100 markets measured continued to show a complete price recovery, increasing by two from November. Jackson, MS and NashvilleDavidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN were the new markets rebounding at 100.15 percent and 100.16 percent, respectively. Additionally, 75 midsize markets saw a rebound above 100 percent, up by four markets from November’s report.

 

“Great progress was made in the housing market during 2014. It put the real estate sector within striking distance of a majority of the nation’s 300 largest markets reaching full price recovery.  As markets reach new price peaks, they are restoring equity to millions of homeowners, making it possible for them to refinance or sell,” said David Mele, president of Homes.com.

 

read more…

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/02/8482/