Existing-home sales rose 0.6% in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. Economists had expected a 1.6% increase to 5.0 million from March’s original report of 4.92 million sales. March sales were adjusted upward to 4.94 million. The median price of an…
Read more
Home Prices Up 10.7% Year Over Year – Biggest Annual Gain Since 2006
Year-over-year home price gains in March landed in double-digit territory, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) report. Home prices—when including distressed sales—rose by 10.5% in March compared to the year before, marking the biggest annual gain since March 2006, the data provider reported. When excluding distressed sales, prices were up by 10.7% year-over-year. “For the first time…
Read more
Foreclosure Inventory Down Nearly 20% From A Year Ago
In December, the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process continued to shrink, and fewer homes were lost to foreclosure, according to the National Foreclosure Report from Corelogic. Foreclosure inventory saw a 19.5% decrease from a year ago as foreclosure inventory was reduced to 1.2 million homes, down from 1.5 million in December 2011. The number…
Read more
Check Out Our Upcoming Series on Income Producing Properties!
We are very pleased to introduce our upcoming series on income producing properties both single and multi-family in the Greater Seattle area. This will be a four part series focusing on the positives and negatives of investing in the rental market in the current economic conditions. The series topics will be as follows: Homeownership Rate…
Read more
September Foreclosure Starts Reach 2007 Levels
In September, the nation’s delinquency rate suddenly spiked 7.7% from August, according to data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). The data provider explained the surge in its recent Mortgage Monitor report for September. For one, first time delinquencies increased by about 200,000 from the month before as more borrowers rolled into 30-day delinquency status. Re-default…
Read more
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett Rated #6 Market to Sell Your Home the Fastest in the Country!
Top Ten Markets where homes sell the fastest! Your thoughts or comments? 6. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. > Average no. of days on market: 45 > Median home price: $350,000 (17th highest) > Population: 3,439,809 (21st highest) > Unemployment: 7.40% (56th lowest) The Seattle metropolitan area has a population of more than 3.4 million people, yet only…
Read more
Market Strengthening As Shadow Inventory Improves – Down 10.2% from 2011
The shadow inventory that previously darkened industry outlook is beginning to fade. In fact, we may soon begin to see the sunlight on the horizon. In July shadow inventory – unlisted homes that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure, or held as REOs – declined 10.2% year-over-year, falling to 2.3 million homes, according to CoreLogic’s Shadow Inventory Report…
Read more
Foreclosure-Related Sales Price Up as Inventory Shrinks Dramatically: Prices Up 7% Year-Over-Year
Prices went up for foreclosure-related sales on a quarterly and yearly basis, with the annual increase marking the first rise in two years, according to RealtyTrac’s Q2 foreclosure sales report. The average price for foreclosure-related sales stood at $170,040, a 6% increase from the previous quarter and a 7 percent hike from the second quarter…
Read more
Borrowers in Negative Equity Declines as Home Values Gain
About 600,000 borrowers rose above negative equity in the second quarter of 2012, CoreLogic reported Wednesday. According to the company’s analysis, 10.8 million, or 22.3%, of residential properties with a mortgage remained underwater for the second quarter of 2012. The second quarter figure is a decrease from the first quarter of this year, when 11.4…
Read more
REO Saturation Rate Falls for First Time in 2012
While home prices remained little changed, the REO saturation rate fell for the first time this year, according to Clear Capital’s Home Data Index Market report, which included data to the end of August. The REO saturation rate, which calculates the portion of REO sales relative to total sales, slipped 6.4 percentage points from the…
Read more