Home Sales Increase
Home Sales
Bob Schwartz, real estate broker
The National Association of Realtors just reported that home sales increased 5 percent in December to the best level since January 2011 and the third straight monthly increase.
Home sales for2011, totaled 4.26 million. That’s up from 4.19 million the previous year, but, below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy housing markets.
The median home sales price in December rose 2.3 percent to $164,500. Read more 
Home Prices Down Again
Home Prices
Real estate market condition
home prices
The just released Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index showed home prices dropped in October from September in 19 of the 20 cities tracked! This marks the second month in a row that home prices fell in the majority of cities tracked in this report.
This report also showed that home prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas fell to their lowest points since the housing crisis began.
Home prices in many cities, including Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa, have reached their lowest points since the housing bust began. Read more
Home Values Drop – Case-Shiller index
Home values drop in most US cities in most recent Case-Shiller index report
Home Values
Home prices dropped in September from August in 17 of the 20 cities tracked by the Case-Shiller Index. The biggest monthly price declines were in Atlanta, San Francisco and Tampa (Florida) . Also, home prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix fell to their lowest points since the housing crisis began four years ago.
The only three cities in the index to show any home value increases were in New York, Portland (Oregon) and Washington.
A few of reasons why the home values continue to slide: 1) home prices are still too high in many areas, 2) people have little money to spend, 3) fear – home prices can and will likely go lower, 4) uncertain labor market – people are in staying in a safe mode and saving.
Housing Sales News
Home sales increase
Home sales
Well, today we finally have some good news on the US real estate market. The National Association of Realtors just released the report showing that existing home sales for August rose 7.7%. I’m sure all the national media outlets will be proclaiming the August home sales increase. But, I wonder how many will also report the other major housing news in this report. Yes, the other side of the coin is (as reported in this report) that median price for an existing home in August was down 5.1% from a year ago! Read more
Home Prices Case-Shiller
Home prices… today the Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major metropolitan areas was released. The index, the the. From April through May when unadjusted for seasonal factors showed a very slim 1% increase on average.When viewing this data, one should keep in mind that the. From mid-March through the end of August is typically the strongest seasonal marketing time for real estate. Read more
4 Neighbor Factors That Reduce Your Home’s Value
San Diego real estate
My first house in San Diego was within walking distance of San Diego State University. It was on a nice little cul-de-sac street, and for San Diego, on a huge almost 1/3 acre lot.
It was while living at this home that I became keenly aware of the factors in one’s neighborhood that not only can have an effect on your home’s resale value but also on its marketing time.
Yes, every neighborhood has them, homeowners who, for lack of a better phrase, have no pride in ownership. Naturally, this varies widely from neighborhood to neighborhood, and individual homeowners. Read more