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Home Prices at Lowest Point in More Than 10 Years

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices fell to their lowest point in more than a decade in January, but that helped to lift the pace of home sales, according to a report from an industry trade group.

The National Association of Realtors reported that the median home price in January fell 2% from December to $154,700. That’s the lowest price reading since November of 2001, before the run-up in home prices that became known as the housing bubble.

The median price is the point at which half of homes are sold for a higher price, and half are sold at a lower price.

Read more at Home prices at lowest point in more than 10 years.

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Home Buying: Most Affordable in Decades

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Buying a home is now more affordable than it has been in the last twenty years.

Thanks to continued declines in home prices and rock-bottom mortgage rates, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index hit a record level of affordability.

Read more at Home buying: Most affordable in decades.

Fannie Mae Survey Shows Americans Expect Home Prices to Improve

A majority of Americans believe mortgage rates will remain steady over the next year, while home price expectations in January improved for the fourth consecutive month in a row, Fannie Mae said in its consumer sentiment report.

The government-sponsored enterprise interviews 1,000 Americans each month to gauge consumer expectations about housing and the overall economy.

A majority of respondents expect home prices to …

Read more at Fannie Mae survey shows Americans expect home prices to improve.

Distressed Sales Undercut Home Prices in 2011, Study Says

A report released today says that home prices slid by nearly 5 percent last year, but also indicates that most of the decline was due to distressed sales.

CoreLogic’s December Home Price Index found that home prices fell 4.7 percent in 2011 compared with December 2010, marking the fifth consecutive year of the housing slump. But excluding distressed sales, prices only dropped by 0.9 percent in 2011. The discrepancy between the two figures highlights the foreclosure crisis‘ obstructive effect on a market recovery.

Read more at Distressed Sales Undercut Home Prices in 2011, Study Says.

Mild Winter Heating Up Cape Sales

Single-family home sales on the Cape dropped 4.25 percent in 2011 compared to the year before, but luxury home buyers helped boost the market as the average price increased from $465,630 to $466,646 and last year saw 11 sales over $4 million compared to only five in 2010.

So far, the mild winter combined with pent-up demand in the higher end market has helped the Cape get off to a strong start with 15 listings over $1 million going under contract since the beginning of December.

Read more at Mild winter heating up Cape sales.

What’s in Store for Housing in 2012?

The worst for the housing market may finally be over, according to housing experts in a recent article in Kiplinger. After median home price have dropped nearly 40 percent nationwide, a rebound is taking shape — although, housing experts say, the market may stay flat for awhile before gradually ticking up.

According to housing experts in a recent Kiplinger article, here are some predictions for the real estate market in the coming year:

Read more at What’s in Store for Housing in 2012?

As Prices Sink, Home Ownership Heads To New Lows

USATODAY.COM – Home prices across the nation are right back where they were at the beginning of 2003. All that was gained is largely now lost, and the effect on home ownership could continue for decades.

“Consumer attitudes have gotten a lot more negative about long-term commitment,” said Standard and Poors’ David Blitzer, after reporting home prices through September had fallen a deeper-than-expected 3.9%, compared with the third quarter of 2010. “They dropped to new lows. This takes them below the point we saw in 2009, where briefly we all thought this thing was about to turn around.”

And that’s the problem.

Read more at As Prices Sink, Home Ownership Heads To New Lows.

Own vs. Rent: A Growing Reason to Buy
Stronger Lure for Prospective Home Buyers

Owning Continues to Become More Affordable Relative to Renting, but Several Obstacles Prevent Many From Biting

Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities.

The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas found that home values declined in all but five markets compared with the second quarter, according to data from Zillow Inc. Meanwhile, rent levels have risen briskly across the country and mortgage rates, hovering around 4%, are the lowest in six decades.

As a result, monthly mortgage payments on the median priced home—including taxes and insurance—are lower than the average rent levels in …

Read more at Own vs. Rent: A Growing Reason to Buy.

Housing Affordability Hovers Near Record Levels

Ultra-low interest rates mixed with stabilizing home prices continued to push housing affordability in the third quarter near its highest levels in more than two decades, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

For the third quarter, 72.9 percent of all homes sold were affordable to families earning the national median income of …

Read more at Housing Affordability Hovers Near Record Levels.

Housing in 2012: Things Are Looking Up
The outlook: Most of the country will see the housing market stabilize, just don’t bet on a big increase in prices

A smaller house will make a big difference

(MONEY Magazine) — Last year the economic forecasting firm Fiserv predicted that home values would sink around 5% in 2011, and that prices in three-quarters of the nation’s major metro areas would fall. The bad news is, the firm wasn’t that far off the mark. The good news: In the coming year, Fiserv thinks 95% of the 384 metro areas it tracks will see prices rise.

Read more at A smaller house will make a big difference.

Home Prices Inch Up in August, According to S&P/Case-Shiller

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices continued a winning streak in August, the fifth straight month of price gains, but remain lower on a year-over-year basis.

A gauge of home prices featuring 20 major cities, the S&P/Case Shiller index, reported Tuesday that prices rose …

Read more at Home prices inch up in August, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.

Home Short Sales Rise in ‘Dramatic Shift’ That May Boost U.S. House Prices

U.S. home prices may get a boost from an unlikely source: a pickup in sales of properties in default before they reach the stage where they are repossessed by the bank and sold.

There has been a “dramatic shift” in banks’ willingness to sell a property for less than the mortgage balance to avoid foreclosing

Read more at Home Short Sales Rise in ‘Dramatic Shift’ That May Boost U.S. House Prices.

Home Sales Rise in August as Prices Drop

Massachusetts single-family home and condominiums sales rose in August, according to industry tracker The Warren Group.

Last month 4,203 houses traded hands, good for …

Read more at Home sales rise in August as prices drop.

Home Prices Continue Four-Month Run of Gains

Home prices in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent between June and July, marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Thursday.

The agency’s House Price Index (HPI) has been trending upward since …

Read more at Home Prices Continue Four-Month Run of Gains.

Luxury Real Estate Market Picks Up

In luxury home markets, bidding wars are back and homes are selling quickly, serving as a stark contrast to everywhere else.

“Luxury is the best performing segment of the housing market right now,” says Stan Humphries, Zillow.com’s chief economist.

Prices of $1 million-plus properties have risen …

Read more at Luxury Real Estate Market Picks Up.

Home Prices Pick Up Despite Yearly Decline

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices made a comeback during the second quarter, but the struggling housing market isn’t out of the woods yet.

Prices rose a substantial 3.6%, compared with the three months ended March 31. But home prices are …

Rad more at Home prices pick up despite yearly decline.

Case-Shiller Shows 2.4% 2nd Quarter Gain for Hub Home Prices

Home prices in Boston increased by 2.4 percent in the second quarter, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Schiller Home Prices Index.

In the first quarter, the index rose 2.6 percent in the metropolitan Boston area. Year-over-year …

Read more at Case-Shiller shows 2.4% second-quarter gain for Hub home prices.

Home Prices in U.S. Showed Signs of Stabilizing

Residential real estate prices in the U.S. decreased in the year ended in June at a slower pace than in the prior month, a sign the market may be stabilizing.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities …

Read more at Home Prices in U.S. Showed Signs of Stabilizing.

Buying is Cheaper Than Renting

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices have taken such a beating and demand for rental units has increased so much that it’s now cheaper to buy a two-bedroom home than to rent one in most major U.S. cities.

According to real estate web site Trulia, buying was cheaper than renting in …

Read more at Buying is cheaper than renting in most U.S. cities.

Mass. Home Sales Down, But Prices Higher

BOSTON — It was a mixed month of May for the Massachusetts housing market as sales of single-family homes fell while sale prices edged higher.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of single-family homes rose

Read more at Mass. home sales down, but prices higher.


Lew Corcoran
Licensed Real Estate Agent
- REO Asset Professional
- Certified Short Sale Guide

Best Choice Real Estate
133 Turnpike St.
PO Box 3
South Easton, MA 02375

Phone: (800) 984-3341

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