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Fla. housing market upbeat in Jan. 2012 Sales prices rose 5.3% for single family, 18.8% for condos, and inventory declined. NAR reports 4.3% sales increase
Feb. 22, 2012 – Florida’s housing market reported gains in median sales prices and a reduced inventory of homes for sale in January, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. “We’re seeing positive signs of a strengthening recovery in Florida’s housing market,” says 2012 Florida Realtors President Summer. “In both the statewide single-family and condo-townhome markets, pending sales are higher and the statewide median sales price rose – up 5.3 percent to $129,000 for single-family homes and up 18.8...
read moreForeclosure activity edges higher in Jan.
RealtyTrac: Foreclosures rose 8% nationally last month from Dec., but down 15% from year earlier; Fla. still in top 10 Banks took back more U.S. homes in January than in the previous month, the latest sign that foreclosures are accelerating after slowing sharply last year as lenders sorted out foreclosure-abuse claims. Foreclosures rose 8 percent nationally last month from December, but were down 15 percent from a year earlier, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. Despite the annual decrease at the national level, some...
read moreLate payments on mortgages rise again in 4Q
Late payments on mortgages ticked up in the last three months of 2011, the second straight quarter-to-quarter increase after nearly two years of steady decline. Credit reporting agency TransUnion said 6.01 percent of mortgage holders were behind on their payments by 60 days or more in the October-to-December period. That compared with 5.88 percent for the third quarter of 2011. To be sure, the rate is down significantly from the fourth quarter of 2010, when 6.41 percent of mortgage holders were behind by two or more months. But the uptick is...
read moreFla. existing home, condo sales up in 4Q
Existing home sales rose 7%, condo sales 4%. Home prices down 1%, condos 4%. NAR: sales up 5.9%, prices down 4.2%. Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued their positive trend in fourth quarter 2011, posting gains compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales rose 7 percent in 4Q 2011 with a total of 42,038 homes changing hands statewide; during the same period the year before, a total of 39,355 homes sold, according to Florida Realtors....
read moreNearly 100 house markets improving
The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metros in February for a total of 98 entries on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). With the latest addition of Miami, the list now includes seven Florida cities: Cape Coral, Deltona, Jacksonville, Miami, North Port, Punta Gorda and Tampa. Thirty-six states have at least one metro area that’s improving. The index lists metropolitan areas that have shown improvement in housing permits, employment and house prices for...
read moreRate on 30-year FRM falls to record 3.87%
Rate on 30-year FRM falls to record 3.87% The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That’s below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the...
read moreCore Logic releases 2011 home price stats
Core Logic released its December Home Price Index (HPI) report. Including distressed sales, home prices in the U.S. decreased 4.7 percent in 2011 compared with December 2010. Florida, however, fared a bit better than the national average with a price decline of only 3.3 percent. According to Core Logic, 2011 was the fifth consecutive year for a decrease in the HPI.
read moreFla. consumer confidence surges upward in January
Consumer confidence among Floridians surged in January, up seven points to 77 from a revised December reading of 70, marking a steady rise in optimism, according to the University of Florida’s monthly survey. Four of the five categories measured by the survey found increased optimism. One category that asks survey takers if they’re better off financially than they were a year ago rose four points to 60, its highest level since March 2008 when the U.S. economy began to falter. Expectations that their personal finances will improve by this...
read moreInterest rates will stay low, low, low
WASHINGTON – Jan. 26, 2011 – Consumers and businesses can brace for another two years of exceptionally low interest rates after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is likely to keep its rates below 1 percent until late 2014 because of the economy’s continued weakness. The decision means the era of historically low rates on loans – and savings – that the Fed kicked off at the peak of the financial crisis in late 2008 will run longer unless the economy improves faster than Fed policymakers predict. The Fed said unemployment would...
read moreAre cash buyers driving down home prices?
Are cash buyers driving down home prices? Cash buyers are sending home values down much lower than they otherwise would be, suggests a new survey by Campbell Inside Mortgage Finance, which polled more than 2,500 real estate agents nationwide. In its December Housing Pulse Tracking Survey, the company found that investors accounted for one out of three real estate transactions last month, and about 74 percent of those purchases by investors were made using all cash. “Investors have an over-sized command on the market since their ability to...
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