Real Estate Update: Foreclosure Filings Hit 4 Year Low

(February 6, 2012)

Source: RealtyTrac

Foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank reposessions, slit by 34 percent in 2011, the lowest level since 2007, just as the housing market was starting to crumble. RealtyTrac said there were filings on 1,887,777 home last year.

Bank seizures of homes fell to 804,423 from 1,050,500 in 2010, also marking the lowest level in four years.

Real Estate Update

(January 16, 2012)

John R. Talbott, previously a Goldman Sachs investment banker, is a bestselling author and economic consultant. When housing prices started to skyrocket in 2003, he published The Coming Crash in the Housing Market correctly warning us that a real estate bubble was forming. Then in January 2006, he called the absolute peak of home prices in the US by releasing a new book, Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble.

Mr. Talbott now has a new prediction – IT IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME! In a recent article, Homes – Buy Now! Talbott simply explains:

“I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice. It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home or refinance your existing home with thirty-year fixed rate mortgagee debt.”

Real Estate: Housing Market Update

Real Estate: Housing Market Update

(June 13, 2011)

Foreclosure numbers are going down. There have been 32 foreclosure sales vs. 46 sales last year at this time. At present we have 20 foreclosures in inventory and in April we had only 4 foreclosure sales.

Good news for the Sedona market

(May 30, 2011)

- Sales numbers this year are just slightly down from 2010 (122 sales in the first 4 months compared with 144 last year). This is a good sign because this year we do not have the tax incentives that triggered sales in 2010.
- For more than 18 months inventory has steadily come down to 344 single family homes at the end of April.

Real Estate: Housing Market Update

Consumer Sentiment Picks Up:

(May 23, 2011)

(Source: Linda Rogers, Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.)

Consumer Sentiment climbed more than forecast in May as Americans turned more hopeful that employment gains will be sustained, helping them cope with higher fuel and food costs.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 72.4, a three-month high, from a final reading of 69.8 in April, the group reported today.

This is another positive for the housing market. As consumers feel more confident about the economy, they are more likely to pull the trigger on that next home.

Interest rates are still low but felt pressure from economic data that showed some inflationary pressure.

Real Estate: Housing Market Update

(March 7, 2011)

(Source: Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.)

Existing Home Sales continued their upward climb in January. This is the forth month in a row where we have seen month-over-month gains in the number of units sold. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales rose 2.7% from December. Also, the inventory levels decreased again. Mortgage Rates Last Week: Mortgage backed securities (MBS) gained +83 basis points last week which caused 30 year fixed rates to move lower. We had a series of stronger than expected economic reports such as Consumer Confidence, Existing Home Sales and Durable Goods Orders.

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Decline

(February 21, 2011)

(Source: Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.)

You would think by the barrage of negative news reports that just about every other home was going into foreclosure. Certainly this is not the case. In fact, the housing market has stabilized in the past six months. The latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that the percentage of homeowners that were behind at least one monthly payment fell from 9.1% in the third quarter to 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Also, the 2010 delinquency rate fell from over 10% in the beginning of the year to 8.2% at the end of the year.

The 2% drop in mortgage delinquencies follows the recent drop in the Unemployment Rate and the steady increase in Existing Home Sales and Consumer Confidence. These are significant signs that the housing market is closing in on a true market equilibrium.

 January Market Update

(February 14, 2011)

Sales started strong. 22 single family homes closed with a median sales price of $408,000.

Luxury home buyers are back. 4 homes in the $1,000,000+ range closed before 1/31/11. (In the years before: 0 sales in this range in January of 2010 and 2008 and only 1 in 2009.)

With 6 sold lots in January we have the highest number of vacant land sales in that month since 2006.
The median sales price was $162,500.

Return on Investment

(January 31, 2011)

January 1, 2000 – January 1, 2011

Dow:   + 5.8
S&P:   ./. 12
NASDAQ:  ./. 34
Real Estate:  + 45.3

Source MSN Money.com, Case Shiller

The Housing Market Update

(January 17, 2011)

Fed Says Economy Improved in Last Six Months:

The economy has improved in the last six months, signaled by greater consumer spending, durable goods purchases and some signs of increased investment according to Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo which echoed the optimism of his boss, Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Tarullo stated “… has reinforced the sense that we are going to have slightly-above-trend growth going forward and that it is a firmer imbedded growth than may have been apparent six months ago.” As we have discusses several times, as the economy grows – so does demand for housing. So, this is great news that our recent trend of improving Existing Home Sales will receive a boost from economic growth just in time for a busy Spring buying season.