Posts Tagged ‘Housing’Limitations of a Home AppraisalBy RYAN TAYLOR What exactly does an appraisal mean? Perception doesn’t always equal reality. The perception is that an appraisal represents the most accurate value of a property. The reality is that it’s a value provided by a licensed professional, given the purpose and functional use of a property on a given day. The key [...] Housing Perspective: December Home Builder SentimentBy RYAN TAYLOR It’s still a lousy time to be selling new homes. The National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, shared its sentiment index for December, which remained at a record low of 9. The index is based on 426 residential developers nationwide; a reading below 50 reflects negative sentiment. In addition to the [...] Housing Perspective: October Pending Home SalesBy AUSTIN NELSON Nationwide pending home sales were down 0.7% in October, according to the National Association Of Realtors (NAR). Pending home sales are those under contract but not yet closed, and the index is viewed as a predictive measure of actual sales that will occur the following month. Month-over-month, seasonally adjusted data show the [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Treasury Tries to Re-Inflate Housing BubbleBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is hoping he’s found the magic bullet to solve the US housing market’s seemingly never-endless woes. He hasn’t. By throwing around the weight of recently nationalized mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), the Treasury Department is considering a plan [...] Housing Perspective: October New Home SalesBy RYAN TAYLOR Hardly anyone, it appears, is interested in buying a new house. The commerce department reported this morning sales of new single family homes decreased by 5.3% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 433,000. That’s the lowest level since 1991. Sales are down a whopping 40.1% from October 2007 and [...] Housing Perspective: October Existing Home SalesBy AUSTIN NELSON Existing home sales fell again in October, reversing gains seen in September. The National Association of Realtors, or NAR, released October existing home sales data today, which show decreases in units sold as well as median sale price across the country. The annual price decline was the worst on record, continuing the [...] Down Goes DowneyBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Looks like all those option adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) weren’t such a good idea after all: 1% teaser rates and loans that grow, rather than shrink, over time just aren’t meant for questionable borrowers buying overpriced homes. Newport Beach-based Downey Savings (DSL), the fifth largest originator of [...] Housing Perspective: October Housing StartsBy AUSTIN NELSON The Commerce department released its latest figures for housing starts in the month of October, providing further evidence of an American economy in very poor shape. Starts for the month came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000, down 4.5% from the previous month. Furthermore, permits for future construction fell [...] Housing Perspective: Home Builder SentimentBy RYAN TAYLOR Home builders aren’t feeling very confident. And for good reason. The National Association of Home Builders shared their sentiment index for November Tuesday and the reading was the lowest since they began keeping track. The index dropped 5 points from 14 in October to 9 this month – a 10 point drop [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Housing Crash to Reach NYCBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Constrained supply, continuous demand and wealth beyond imagining: There’s a reason New York City real estate is the most expensive in the country. Easy lending, a weak dollar and gobs of Wall Street money pushed already sky-high Manhattan property values into the stratosphere during the housing boom. [...] Housing Perspective: September Pending Home SalesBy AUSTIN NELSON The National Association of Realtors (NAR) posted its monthly Pending Home Sales Index for September today, showing a pullback in the gains seen in last month’s report. The index, touted as “a leading indicator of housing activity,” is based on signed housing contracts. These contracts are not counted as sales but are [...] Crisis in Prime Mortgages on HorizonBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. The private sector is actively engaging the mortgage crisis with the first broad-based, systemic attempt to prevent foreclosure. Both Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan (JPM) are attempting to help hundreds of thousands of troubled homeowners with massive loan modification efforts. Regulators and bank executives are operating [...] JPMorgan Tackles Troubled MortgagesThis post first appeared on Minyanville. The mortgage bailout parade marches on. Just days after rival Bank of America (BAC) announced plans to modify hundreds of thousands of mortgages, JPMorgan (JPM) released details of a homeowner rescue plan of its own on Friday afternoon. Following its takeover of both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, JPMorgan’s inventory of [...] Housing Perspective: August Case-Shiller Home Price IndexThe S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is out today, showing a continuation of the downtrend in property values. Data from August — two full months before the financial crisis spun out of control — shows weakness across the country: Prices fell in August for the 25th consecutive month Prices in 10 major markets plunged a record [...] Housing Perspective: September New Home Sales DataNew Home Sales rose unexpectedly in September, but prices continue to fall. According to Bloomberg: Purchases increased 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 464,000 Median sale price decreased to a four-year low The median price declined 9.1 percent from a year earlier to $218,400 The supply of homes fell to 10.4 months from 11.4 [...] Banks Beware: Here Come the LawsuitsThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Despite the Armageddon-esque financial turmoil of recent weeks, one thing about America hasn’t changed: If you really want someone to do something, sue them. They lined up in droves: Cities, counties and states sued the pants off Countrywide for its shady lending practices. California, Illinois and Florida all alleged [...] Housing Perspective: Existing Home SalesThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Put on those Rose-Colored glasses, it’s time again for the Existing Home Sales data: September sales came in 5.5% higher than last month, at 5.18 million (annualized) compared to estimates of 4.95 million Sales were 1.4% higher than last year — the first year-over-year increase in 3 years Inventory [...] So, You Want to Fix the Housing Market?This post first appeared on Minyanville. Yesterday, I criticized Washington’s $700 billion financial bailout plan for missing the point. It fails to address the root of the problems facing the housing market and, by extension, the rest of the economy: Negative equity or a homeowner owing more on his house than it’s worth. On The [...] Washington Continues to Ignore Root of Housing ProblemThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Some say the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. By that measure, voters should load up on straitjackets this November and drag everyone in Washington off to the nuthouse. Despite overwhelming evidence that we’re in the middle of a [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Realtors Try Used-Car Salesman TacticsThis post first appeared on Minyanville. That glitzy McMansion you’ve always wanted may finally be within reach. Or not. If nearly 3 years of home price declines, historically low interest rates and a relentless media barrage of half-truths from the National Association of Realtors haven’t been able to stabilize home prices, it’s doubtful a gimmicky [...] Bailout Treats Symptoms, Not DiseaseThis post first appeared on Minyanville and our sister site Dawn Patrol. The bailout is done! Time to breathe a sigh of relief. Or is it? As details emerge about the financial bailout package that was jammed through Congress over 10 days of political theater at its most nauseating, there’s still a striking omission from [...] Housing MisconceptionsThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Washington is currently trying to sell the American public that its $700 billion bailout plan will help put a floor under falling home prices. And while the debate will rage over whether this is a good or bad thing, its not even true. The most beaten down real estate [...] Fannie and Freddie Have Been “Saved” — Now What?The former Goldman Sachs employees — err, the federal government — have decided to bail out Fannie and Freddie and the race to call another bottom in equities, not to mention housing, is on. Reality, however, is not a friend of these hopeful bulls. Let’s take a quick scan of the economic landscape and see [...] NAR At it Again: Spin ControlCirios Real Estate The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released monthly housing data today that shows existing-home sales in July increased by a seasonally adjusted 3.1%. While this number may seem exciting and could be interpreted as a thaw in the housing crisis, most other data point in the opposite direction. Deeper into the report, [...] |