Daily Archives: July 27, 2015

New Home Sales: Growth for FHA-Backed Mortgage Share | Katonah Real Estate

NAHB analysis of the most recent Census numbers reveals two consecutive quarters of higher market share of FHA-backed mortgages for the new home sale sector. This development comes after a reduction in FHA premiums announced at the start of 2015.

qtrly new home sales_2q15

Despite the surprising drop for the pace of new home sales in June (down 6.8%), the strong non-seasonally adjusted sales level for April (revised to 50,000 homes) pushed total sales for the second quarter of 2015 to a post-recession high of 143,000. This is according to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing and NAHB calculations.

New home sales due to FHA-backed loans increased to a quarterly count of 100,000 and a market share of 16% for the second quarter according to the Census numbers. This is higher than the approximate share of 11% from a year prior.

It is worth adopting some caution associated with these estimates. In particular, the statistical error associated with the FHA, cash, and VA sales estimates from this data set are relatively high. This reduces the reliability of measures of short-term market changes.

Mindful of this limitation, the current FHA-share estimate is lower than the 28% share determined for the first quarter of 2010 but is higher than the 10% 2002-2003 average. The FHA share has fallen as the conventional financing share recovered. However, the share increased from 10% to 16% from the end of 2014 to the start of 2015.

 

read more…

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/07/new-home-sales-growth-for-fha-backed-mortgage-share/

New Jersey has the highest rate of foreclosures | Bedford Hills Real Estate

While a “zombie foreclosure” may sound like something you would find on a particularly messy episode of The Walking Dead, the term actually describes a problem plaguing towns around New Jersey.

Of all the American homes currently in the foreclosure process, one in four were vacated by homeowners prior to a bank repossessing the property, according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks national housing data.

RealtyTrac calls these zombie foreclosures. These houses sit abandoned, with the homeowners gone and the bank not yet in possession of the properties.

New Jersey has the highest rate of foreclosures — and zombie foreclosures — in the nation.

RealtyTrac reported in June that 17,000 of the roughly 70,000 homes in foreclosure in New Jersey in the second quarter of 2015 were “zombies.”

As many Gloucester County towns have seen, these vacant properties quickly fall into disrepair. As the grass grows out of control, so do many other issues. Abandoned houses become targets for vandalism, squatters and drug dealers. Many are targets for metal thieves, who remove copper piping, wiring and other goodies to sell to scrap dealers.

These situations endanger neighboring properties both by introducing safety issues and dragging down property values in the area. When no one is accountable for these properties, it’s often local taxpayers who pick up the tab for mowing the grass and dealing with any other maintenance issues.

The current estimate on the number of abandoned or vacant properties in Gloucester County sits at 3,300, according to county officials — about 3 percent of the county’s more than 110,000 housing units.

 

read more…

 

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2015/07/south_jersey_county_tracking_abandoned_properties.html

Turkish housing prices rose by 18.6 percent year-on-year | Bedford Real Estate

Housing prices in Turkey increased at a rate surpassed by only one other country in the world in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period a year ago, the Global House Price Index published recently by the real estate consultation firm Knight Frank has revealed.

Turkish housing prices rose by 18.6 percent year-on-year in Q1 of this year, the second highest behind Hong Kong, where prices increased by 18.7 percent in the same period, based on provisional data. While Ireland saw the greatest increase — 16.8 percent — after Turkey, fourth place belonged to Luxemburg, where prices surged in value by 12.1 percent. Ukraine came last, with housing prices in the country dropping by as much as 15.5 percent in the first quarter compared to Q1 of 2014. Cyprus and China followed Ukraine with declines of 8.2 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively. Turkey tops the list in Europe.

The index uses official governmental statistics or central bank data where available.

Despite the recent surge in prices, sector representatives often warn that further appreciation may occur amid unfavorable market conditions. Issuing a written statement on Monday, Mert Yıldızhan, a board member at construction firm Elit Yapı, said consumers may have to allocate a larger budget for housing expenditures due to a weakening Turkish lira against the US dollar.

Underscoring that some construction projects contain imported materials amounting to 60 or 70 percent of all their inputs, the depreciation in Turkish lira-US dollar parity — 20 percent since January — is likely to be reflected in prices as of the autumn months. “The rise in the price of construction materials will prompt sector representatives running out of stocks on hand to move to increase prices. There are several imported items in the sector including paint, plastic joints, elevators and iron,” Yıldızhan said.

 

read more…

 

 

http://www.todayszaman.com/business_turkish-housing-prices-show-second-greatest-growth-across-globe_394740.html

Strong Chicago housing sales in June | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Chicago’s housing market continued its rebound last month as existing-home sales in the nine-county area grew 14.2 percent in June from last year — to their highest level since 2006.

Existing-home sales rose to 13,100 in June, the highest since June 2006, when 13,193 homes were sold, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Also fueling the rebound are median housing prices, which, at $232,500, were 5.7 percent higher than a year ago, the trade group said.

Homes sales in the city of Chicago surged 9.3 percent, to 3,110 properties moved, at a median price of $290,000, up 5.5 percent from a median price of $275,000 reported a year ago.

Median prices on condominiums in the city, however, grew at a slower pace, rising 4.5 percent from a year ago to $324,000. Inventory in the city remains tight, down 10 percent from last year.

The number of condo units sold rose 8.4 percent to 2,027 from a year ago.

The burst in home sales growth was unexpected last month and it could be just a “one-month blip,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois.

“We forecasted positive sales growth but not of this magnitude,” he said adding, “We’re very hesitant to say that it’s the start of a robust trend.”

Nor does the report signal a bubble forming. Adjusted for inflation, “We’re only at 89 percent of 2007 prices,” Hewings said. “Our prices are recovering in a classic Midwest, modest way.”

Nationally, existing-home sales increased 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million homes, putting sales at their highest level since February 2007’s 5.79 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The strong uptick in activity, as well as fewer cash sales, larger average loan sizes and more loans getting approved, has caused the Mortgage Bankers Association to significantly boost its outlook for mortgage originations that it made just a month ago.

Home-purchase mortgage originations are now expected to increase to $801 billion, compared to a previous forecast of $730 billion.

“We expect this trend to continue into 2016 and beyond, as the broader economy and job market continue to improve,” Mike Fratantoni, the association’s chief economist, said in a statement.

The association also said it expects mortgage rates to hit 4.5 percent by year’s end.

Helping keep prices high in the Chicago area is the lack of homes listed for sale. Housing inventory in most counties was down in June, with the exception of Lake and DuPage counties, where inventory rose 1 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

 

Read more…

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-june-housing-prices-0723-biz-20150722-story.html