Housing Markets Bump Along Bottom, Head Upward in Some Places
Many areas of the country are now experiencing rebounds, with declining foreclosures, increasing home
sales and even increased average sale prices, according to a leading real estate information provider.
“We’re in a slow, but definite recovery mode,” says Alexis McGee,
foreclosure expert. “While foreclosures persist and unemployment still
worsens, there are positives in the market that give a strong indication
that housing markets have bottomed.”
Among telling positive economic indicators:
• Housing starts nationwide climbed 17.2% in May, with building permits up
4%, according to Commerce Department numbers.
• Pending home sales shot up, too. The National Association of Realtors’
forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index based on contracts signed in April
was up 6.7% in April, and is up 3.2% from a year ago.
• Existing home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and
co-ops – increased 2.9 % to 4.68 million units in April from 4.55 million
units in March.
• Housing affordability is at record levels. The National Association of
Realtor’s Housing Affordability Index for April was the second highest on
record. A median-income family with a $60,900 income could afford a $296,800
home in April, assuming a 20% down payment and that 25% of gross income is
devoted to mortgage principal and interest. That buying power far exceeds
the $169,800 April median single-family home price.
What’s Really Happening in Florida?
Looking beyond the national numbers to what’s happening in Florida, home
sales are up, and so are foreclosures and defaults. For the eighth month in
a row, existing home sales rose 18% in April, with existing condo sales up
to 21%, according to Florida Association of Realtors numbers. The state,
along with California, Arizona, and Nevada, powers the nation’s foreclosure
abyss: 10.6% of the mortgages in Florida are “somewhere in the process of
foreclosure,” according to the Mortgage Bankers’ newest Delinquency Survey.
Posted: 22 June 2009
Source: Business Wire
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