Posts Tagged ‘Double Dip’
Housing’s Double Dip Part II: Rising Foreclosures
Just as we saw a double dip in home prices, we may be seeing another surge in foreclosures.
Spring Housing Season
With the Spring housing season coming to a end, the vaunted S&P Case Shiller Indexes called a "double dip" and the New York Times reported persistent weakness in the real-estate market. Suddenly, housing watchers are nervous again.
National Home Prices Double Dip
Home prices have double dipped nationwide, now lower than their March 2009 trough, according to a new report from Clear Capital.
Housing and Government: ‘Troubling Dip’ or Double Dip?
Today the Obama administration released its monthly "scorecard" for the Making Home Affordable Program, a.k.a. the federal mortgage bailout. The Home Affordable Modification Program, which is part of MHA, continues to add trial modifications at about 29,000 per month and permanent modifications, a bit less, at 26,000.
Why Housing Is Going Through a Double Dip
The sales pace of newly built homes is now at the lowest on record. Sales dropped nearly 17 percent in February after a big drop in January. Put that on top of the nearly 10 percent February drop in existing home sales reported earlier this week and the incredibly low level of mortgage purchase applications, and you get a clear case for a double dip in housing.
Home Price Disconnect: Am I a Buyer or Seller?
Fact: Home prices lag home sales. It happens on the way up and on the way down. Today's S&P Case Shiller home price report just confirmed what we've seen from umpteen other reports in the past few months, that home prices are taking a double dip. We knew it would happen.
Home Price Double Dip Begins
Given the combination of the expiration of the home buyer tax credit and the increasing number of loans moving to final foreclosure, we knew that home prices overall would take a hit, but it would take a while. Well we're here.
Florida’s existing condo sales rise in July
Sales of existing condominiums in Florida rose 11 percent in July, with a total of 5,557 condos sold statewide compared to 4,991 units sold in July 2009, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Eleven of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing condo sales in July, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $87,200; in July 2009 it was $108,500 for a 20 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $181,300 in June, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Meanwhile, in the year-to-year comparison for existing home sales, a total of 13,589 single-family existing homes sold statewide last month compared to 15,762 homes sold in July 2009 for a decrease of 14 percent. Florida’s median existing-home sales price in July was $138,000; a year earlier, it was $147,600 for a decrease of 7 percent. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. “The homebuyer tax credit expiration added a double dip to what has already been a harrowing ride in the Florida housing market,” said Dr. Sean Snaith, director for the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness. “As we move past this second dip, which is evident in the July data, the continued recovery of the state’s housing market will be contingent upon the improvement of the fundamental underpinnings of the housing sector. “A healthy housing market depends upon a healthy Florida economy, and in particular, an improving labor market,” Snaith added. “Job growth and a declining unemployment rate will help sales continue to grow while at the same time reducing the number of foreclosures in Florida.” 2010 Florida Realtors President Wendell Davis, a broker with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville, noted that the Gulf oil spill, along with uncertainty over its impact, has affected the state’s housing market. “Along with many local businesses in the Florida Panhandle and in other Gulf Coast states, real estate has experienced significant economic harm following the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and oil spill,” Davis said. “The announcement that a special allocation from the BP Oil Spill Fund is now available to help the claims of real estate professionals’ – Realtors and licensees – over loss of income or sales due to the Gulf oil spill is a positive action that will help bolster the state’s fragile economy recovery.” The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in June 2010 was $184,200, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. In Massachusetts, the statewide median resales price was $331,150 in June; in California, it was $311,950; in Maryland, it was $265,268; and in New York, it was $220,750. More jobs continue to be key to the housing sector’s recovery, according to NAR’s latest industry outlook. “There could be a couple of additional months of slow home-sales activity before picking up later in the year, provided the job market continues to improve,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.56 percent in July, down from the 5.22 percent averaged in July 2009, according to Freddie Mac. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
Housing Double Dip is Not Just Tax Credit Hangover
There's no question that the home buyer tax credit, which expired at the end of April, pulled home buying demand forward and thus created an inevitable drop-off afterward. It would be wrong, however, to blame the current lull in home buying/selling entirely on the tax credit hangover.
Housing’s Double Dip: Numbers Tell How Bad It Is
We've been reporting a lot of anecdotal information about life after the home buyer tax credit, but now we're starting to get some numbers.
