Archive for January 2014

Housing Barometer Tracks Market Recovery

January 3, 2014 Housing Market Comments Off on Housing Barometer Tracks Market Recovery

Trulia’s Housing Barometer has been tracking the housing market’s recovery since February 2012. The Barometer measures how quickly the market has been returning to normal by comparing existing-home sales, prices, delinquency and foreclosure rates, new home starts, and the employment rate for 25-34 year-olds against their pre-bubble normal and their lowest reading during the housing crisis. The most recent release shows that three of the five indicators have improved significantly over the past year and are now close to normal. Existing-home sales, for example, are 79 percent back to normal, up from 51 percent a year earlier. Prices also have recovered dramatically from a year ago and are now 71 percent back to normal. Among the other indicators, foreclosure and delinquency rates have recovered 59 percent, while new home starts and employment levels still have a ways to go. Overall, the recovery has been uneven but, at the current pace, non-distressed sales and home prices could reach normal levels this year, with the other indicators taking a bit longer to fully recover. More here.

Pending Home Sales Rise In November

January 2, 2014 Housing Market Comments Off on Pending Home Sales Rise In November

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index increased slightly in November, due to gains in the South and West. The index – which measures contract signings but not closings – was up 2.3 percent in the South and 1.8 percent in the West. The regional improvement offset declines in the Midwest and Northeast. Overall, the index rose 0.2 percent from October. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said the market is flattening. According to Yun, job creation and household formation should lead to a fairly stable level of sales activity in 2014. And, though the final months of 2013 finished on a soft note, the year as a whole ended with the best sales total in seven years. In fact, existing-home sales are expected to total 5.1 million for 2013, which is a 10 percent improvement over 2012. Also in the report, the national median existing-home price for all of this year will be close to $197,300. That’s a 12 percent increase from 2012. More here.

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