According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings fell to 199,000 in March 2012, a 17 percent decrease from March 2011. Last month marks the first time since July 2007 that foreclosure filings numbered less than 200,000 on a monthly basis — a span of nearly 5 years. Continue reading
Recent data suggests that the U.S. housing market is in recovery. However, the data also shows this to be an uneven recovery.
According to the monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Index, for example, home values rose in three of 20 tracked markets between December 2011 and January 2012. 17 tracked markets showed home prices still in decline. Unfortunately, Sacramento is not one of the 20 markets tracked, but you can gleam a general trend from this report. Continue reading
The new construction housing market appears primed for growth this season.
According to the Census Bureau, the number of single-family building permits issued in February rose to 472,000 on a seasonally adjusted, annual basis, marking the highest building permit tally since April 2010 — the last month of that year’s federal home buyer tax credit program.
Building permits are a pre-cursor to new home construction. Continue reading
New construction buyers in Sacramento , look out. The nation’s home builders are predicting a strong 2012 for new home sales. It may mean higher home prices as the spring buying season approaches.
It’s not time to bring out the balloons and good china yet, as the housing market’s health has a long way to go. To put this in perspective, the current pace is less than half the rate in which those homes went up during the 1990s. Hopefully, this is emblematic of a gradual and sustained growth (and recovery). Continue reading
By now, I am sure you have all heard about the President’s latest directive this week to help troubled homeowners refinance their mortgages, even if their loans are far higher than the value of their homes.
The bigger question should be – Will the big banks adopt the presidents plan? Polls show a majority of Americans are in favor of his plan but we know that means nothing unless the banks and congress make it so. Continue reading