Despite slow sales and paralyzing storms in much of the nation, February year over year prices rose to 12.2 percent, an increase of two points over January and monthly prices rose 0.8 percent, CoreLogic reported today. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, rose 12.2 percent in February 2014 compared to February 2013, the 24th month of consecutive year-over-year increases in … Read More »

The salad days of low price tier home sales (homes selling for $95,000 and less) that fueled the recovery over the last two years are ending and with them, the legions of investors that have led the nation’s housing recovery. “The Investors Did Their Job,” headlines Clear Capital’s latest market report.  “Can traditional home buyers take it from here?” Deeply … Read More »

It’s hard to build, buy or sell a home in when ice coats the drive and below freezing winds discourage roof inspections.  There’s no doubt this year’s endless winter have curbed construction and sales.  However, sagging sales are not just a function of the nasty weather that will melt away with the first warm days. If that were the case, … Read More »

  There are few surprises in Gallup’s new survey results ranking the markets with the greatest economic confidence levels.  Did you guess the home towns of Silicon Valley and the federal government would lead the list? You’re right.  Among the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, Washington, D.C., remained the most confident in the U.S. economy in 2012-2013, but it now … Read More »

Six months ago all the stars were aligned for a spring market that would take America’s housing recovery to new levels and perhaps the rest of the national economy with it. Since then too many things have gone wrong take for granted another good year.  First, inventories dragged, failing to replenish at a healthy rate through most of the winter … Read More »

  Home sales took another deep dive in February, falling 7.1 percent below the 4.95 million-unit level in February 2013 to the lowest level of sales in any month since July 2012, when annualized sales stood at 4.59 million.  The size of the sudden decline suggests that there might be more than bad weather behind the bad news. NAR chief … Read More »

    The outlook for a more abundant, more affordable selection of homes for sale this spring improved considerably in February.  Sellers in most markets are responding to the price increases of the past year, suggesting they are increasingly optimistic about the housing recovery and the underlying strength of market demand through 2014, according to the latest February data from … Read More »

Prices in January reached an increase of 12 percent year over year up 0.9 percent over December, despite the record winter weather. Prices will rise again in February, according to Corelogic’s Pending HPI.At the state level, including distressed sales, Louisiana, Nebraska and Texas surpassed their previous home price peaks in January 2014. In all, 22 states and the District of … Read More »

Polar vortexes are freezing home sales in much of the nation this winter but the luxury segment is finding the temperature to be just perfect as both sales and price increases warm up million dollar plus markets from coast to coast. Yesterday economists at the National Association of Realtors reported sales at the upper end –million plus-are rising quite swiftly. … Read More »

  The combination of tough new rules denying qualified mortgages to applicants without the ability to repay and soaring study loan debt may be doing more than anything else to shut an entire generation out of homeownership. First-time buyer market share has fallen to 27 percent in recent months.  Rising prices, thin inventories of starter homes, rising down payment requirements … Read More »