S&P/Case Shiller – Home Prices Climb
S&P/Case Shiller – Home Prices Climb
Bob Schwartz, San Diego real estate broker
The S&P Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas was released this morning. This is probably the most respected report in the industry but it does trail most of the other housing industry tracking reports.
Today’s report showed that for December U.S. single-family home prices not only improved, but, showed the biggest yearly gain in more than six years! Home prices in the 20 cities jumped 6.8 percent year-over-year! Read more 
US Home Sales Increase
US Home Sales
The National Association of Realtors said today that sales rose a tiny .4% in January compared with December 2012, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million. That was the second-highest sales pace since November 2009.
In December, sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million from 4.96 million in November, according to revised figures released today. The December drop was linked, in part, to the tight supply of homes. Read more
Buying A Home Today
Buying A Home
Housing prices fell more than usual because they rose more than usual before the crash. Overbought leads to oversold, which leads to overbought. This golden roller coaster is great fun for those who get on and off at the right times. For many in-the-know, today could be one of those ‘right times’ to buy a home. Read more
Home Short Sales and Fannie Mae
Home Short Sales
In mid-2012, in an effort to reduce taxpayer loss and deter fraud, Fannie Mae implemented a new valuation practice and began countering short sale offers at prices Fannie Mae believed to be closer to market value.
Many REALTORS® have reported that since this practice went into effect, the counter offers issued by Fannie Mae are above market value and are preventing short sales from closing. Read more
Home Loans – The New Rules
Home Loans – It’s not your father’s mortgage
New federal regulations require mortgage lenders to verify that prospective borrowers can meet the repayment terms of their mortgage loans.
- Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the rules prohibit the “no-doc” loans commons during the housing bubble. Before making a loan, lenders must document the borrower’s job status, income and assets, debt, and credit history.
- Lenders must calculate a borrower’s ability to pay the principal and interest over the length of the loan, and they may not base their calculation solely on the payment due when an introductory “teaser rate” is in effect.
Home Prices Strongest in Seven Years
Home Prices Strongest in Seven Years
In the just released quarterly report by National Association of Realtors® A growing number of metropolitan areas had higher median home prices in the fourth quarter, and the national home price showed the strongest year-over-year increase in seven years!
The median existing single-family home price rose in 133 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) based on closings in the fourth quarter compared with the same quarter in 2011, while 19 areas had price declines. In the third quarter, 120 areas showed increases from a year earlier, while in the fourth quarter of 2011, only 29 metros were up. Read more
Linkedin Profile Makes Top 5% Most Viewed
Hurray! I have one of the top 5% most viewed @LinkedIn profiles for 2012.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/profile/4/ba4/b9a
San Diego County Home Prices Jump Up
San Diego County Home Prices
The San Diego Association of Realtors just reported that the median resale home price in San Diego County jumped up 12% over the January 2012 prices. It was also reported that the actual number of sales in January 2013 increased when compared to the same period a year ago. Read more
Home Prices Increase Most in 6.5 Years!
Home Prices Increase
A report today by CoreLogic, showed that home prices in December increased by 8.3% when compared to December 2011! This marked the biggest annual gain in home prices since May 2006.plus, the home price increases were extremely broad-based with 46 of the 50 states showing increases in December. Read more