Tuesday, March 26, 2013

What February Looked like in Home Real Estate

Found a great article which I am quoting below on RIS Media below.  They do a great job of gathering information and putting it out there.  There are some interesting statistics below, but the main message is low inventory, rising prices, historically low interest rates, good time to buy:


February existing-home sales and prices affirm a healthy recovery is underway in the housing sector, according to the National Association of REALTORD®. Sales have been above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, while prices show 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million in February from an upwardly revised 4.94 million in January, and are 10.2 percent above the 4.52 million-unit level seen in February, 2012.

February sales were at the highest level since the tax credit period of November 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist says that conditions for continued housing improvement are at play.  "Job growth in the improving economy and pent-up demand are causing both home sales and rental leasing to rise.  Though home prices are rising much faster than rents, historically low mortgage rates are still making home purchases affordable,"  he says.  "The only headwinds are limited housing inventory which varies greatly around the country and credit conditions that remain too restrictive.

Total housing inventory at the end of February rose 9.6% to 1.94 million existing homes avialable for sale, which represents a 4.7 month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.3 months in January, which was the lowest supply since May, 2005.  Listed inventory is 19.2 % below a year ago when there was a 6.4 month supply. 

The national median existing home price for all housing types was $173,600 in February, up 11.6% from Febraury, 2012.  The last time there were 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases was from June, 2005, to May, 2006.  The February gain is the strongest since November, 2005, when it was 12.9% above a year earlier. 

"A strong rise in home values is contributing to housing wealth recovery, which has risen by $1.4 trillion in the past year and looks to top that increase this year." Yun said.  "The extra consumer spending arising from growth in housing wealth is expected to be $70 billion to $110 billion this year. 

Distressed homes-foreclosures and short sales--acounted for 25% of February sales, up from 23% in January but down from 34% in February, 2012.  Fifteen percent of February sales were foreclosures, and 10% were short sales.  Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 18% below market value in February, while short sales were discounted 15%. 

Accoding to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.53% in Feburary from 3.41% in January;  it was 3.89% in Feburary 2012.
NAR President Gary Thomas, says interest rates remain extraordinarily low.  "In the history of mortgage interest rates since 1971, the 30-year fixed rate has been below 4% in only 15 months, and they have all been in the past 15 months," he sayd.  "Even with rising home prices, affordability remains historically favorable because home prices over-corrected during the downturn.  This means there is still great value for buyers in the current market."

The median time on market for all homes was 74 days in  February, which is 24% below 97 days in February, 2012.  Short sales were on the market for a median of 101 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 52 days and non-distressed home took 77 days.  One out of three homes sold in February was on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers account for 30% of puchases in February, unchagned from January; they were 32% in February 2012.

All-cash sales were at 32% of transactions in February, up from 28% in January;  they were 33% in February 2012.  investors, who account for most cash sales, pruchased 22% of homes in February, up from 19% in January; they were 23% in February 2012. 

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