Fed ACTS

Update:   Feds just  authorized  QE 3rd repurchase of mortgage backed securities!!!

All reports indicate action taken to further pump up home sales.  As I have stated and Jim Belote in notes such as that below has stated, housing is a major contributor to our economy....not only house purchases but the complimentary appliance, furniture, lawn and garden purchases(along with hundreds of other impacts upon economy.

So the positive news keeps coming!!  Stock Market soared  200 points(DOW) with financial stocks leading the way.

Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of  September 10, 2012 MARKET RECAP This lead in could be filed under “dog bites man,” because it's something most of us already know. We are referring to recent data from the National Association of Realtors that show the time to sell a home is shrinking. According to the NAR, the time to sell for traditional sellers is back within historic norms: the median time a home was listed fell to 69 days in July, down from 98 days a year earlier. Of course, national numbers often hold little meaning to any particular local market. In fact, the NAR's data range from one-third of the homes were listed for less than a month, while one in five homes was listed for at least six months. The positive takeaway is that more homes in more markets are selling at a quicker pace. What's more, that pace appears to be accelerating. The price of many homes listed for sale is also accelerating. Clear Capital reports that home prices are up 2.9% year over year in August. Clear Capital cites fewer REO properties coming to market due to new borrower-friendly legislation and the $25 billion lenders' settlement with the federal government. That's really only part of the story, though, and gives short sales the short shrift, because many lenders are simply finding it more remunerative to engage in short sales than foreclosure and REO sales. While we are on the subject of sales and prices, Trulia reports that national asking prices on for-sale homes, which precede actual sales prices by two or more months, increased 2.3% year over year in August. Gains were widespread, with 68 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas Trulia follows reporting price increases. Trulia's data are particularly encouraging, because they are a leading indicator of future home sales (where we are going is much more important than where we've been). Therefore, we would be surprised if home-price gains and the housing recovery were not to persist into fall. That said, lending could be the monkey wrench that grinds the recovery gears to a halt. Participation is the issue, and it is akin to the observation “water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.” Rates are low, but not enough borrowers are able to take advantage of them. We've mentioned many times over the past year that the issue isn't low lending rates at this point: it's a dearth of borrower-buyers. If only the same people can access credit at these low rates, these low rates become meaningless. A less restrictive lending environment would do much more to accelerate the recovery than historic low rates. Economic Indicator Release Date and Time Consensus Estimate Analysis International Trade (July) Tues., Sept. 11, 8:30 am, et $43.5 Billion (Deficit) Important. A weaker dollar is raising import prices. The trend could stimulate consumer-price inflation. Mortgage Applications Wed., Sept. 12, 7:00 am, et None Important. Purchase applications have again slowed, pointing to lower home-sale volumes. Producer Price Index (August) Thurs., Sept. 13, 8:30 am, et All Goods: 1.6% (Increase) Core: 0.3% (Increase) Important. Food and energy price increases are elevating producer inflation rates. Retail Sales (August) Fri., Sept. 14, 8:30 am, et 0.7% (Increase) Important. More retail sales points to increased economic growth. Is This the Next Bubble? An aspiring home owner who can't buy a home becomes a renter. Today's credit markets have forced many aspiring home owners to become renters. In turn, the rental market has caught fire. By some estimates, there are 2.1 million more single-family homes rented now than in 2006. It's a strong trend. Rents rose nationally 4.7% year over year in August, which builds upon the 5.8% year-over-year rise recorded back in May. In a few markets, Houston and Seattle most notably, rents are up 10% year over year. Buyers of rental homes (many paying with cash) have soaked up much of the inventory, and to be sure, that's a positive. But many of the people renting these properties would have preferred to buy them themselves, but they were precluded from buying because they were unable to secure financing. The market at this point is becoming too skewed toward rentals, which is driving up rents at an abnormally fast rate. This isn't a good thing, because abnormally fast-growing rates aren't sustainable rates. Should rents turn south, many of those investment properties will no longer be sound investments, particularly those bought late into the rising-rent trend. What's more, a neighborhood of rentals isn't as well maintained or holds its value like a neighborhood of owners. A neighborhood of rental homes tends to loose value over time; a neighborhood of owner-occupied homes tends to gain value over time. The point we want to emphasis is that we need a lending environment that encourages more of the latter; that is, more owner-occupied buying. To get that, we need a lending environment that encourages profitable, heterogeneous lending. We simply don't have that today. If you wish to unsubscribe, click on the link below and send the email. If this

SEE THE NEWS: MARKET IMPROVING

Stripped from the headlines....okay it was buried in the business news section on June 13th 

Yet another epistle of great news that the Real Estate Market is Turning Around!!!   The trends are positive:

   Rates below 4%

   Foreclosures and Short Sales down

   Home Values Improving!!!

Thank you, Josh Brown for getting the word out!

Region’s home sales and prices rise as foreclosures decelerate

By Josh Brown

The Virginian-Pilot

   Home sales rose in South Hampton Roads in May and prices ticked up after months of easing foreclosures, according to a report released Tuesday.

   The Real Estate Information Network, a Virginia Beach-based multiple-listing service, reported that 1,208 existing homes sold last month, up 5.5 percent from May 2011. Meanwhile, the median price was $198,000 in May, up 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the listing service reported.

   The report was more good news for the housing market, which in recent years has struggled to gain solid footing. May marked the third consecutive month of year-over-year increases in median existing home prices. The median is the point at which half of all sale prices were higher and half were lower. Until March, year-over-year median prices had not risen in South Hampton Roads since November 2010.

   D i st ressed s a les , which have played a major role in Hampton Roads in recent years, have been sliding as a percentage of all homes sold in recent months. Last month, foreclosures and sales by homeowners whose homes were worth less than their mortgage balances – known as short sales – accounted for 26 percent of all sales, down from 31 percent a year earlier.

   Foreclosures and short sales as a portion of all sales reached a high of 42 percent in March 2011.

   Last month, the number of homes for sale across the region rose to 11,802 – up slightly from April but down 18 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

   Josh Brown, 757-446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.comt

Foreclosures on the Forefront of EveryOne's Mind

Can you believe Foreclosures are at up over 75% from last year(noted on various sources)

If you are living in one of the hard hit areas of California, Nevada or Florida, our prayers are with you. No doubt every homeowner in a neighborhood with 10% or more Foreclosures are suffering from nightmares of losing a job or being promoted at a new company location requiring a move.

Even if excellent markets, like Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk, we have seen an increase in foreclosures. Though we are hearing numbers like 45% greater in May than in April, the numbers pale compare to the heavily hit markets. It has been report by CNN, Realtor News and other sources that the broader Hampton Road(or Tidewater, if you prefer) has weathered the storm well.

In the first quarter, values increased 1.7% and similar is expected in the second quarter. These increases were after a 4.4% increase in 2007. Without doubt, the buyer has an excellent selection of homes and is coming across some "time weary" sellers that have found their home taking longer to sell. Yet, did you know the average sales time still remains under 90 days???
Homes priced right for their condition, location and the market are selling.

If you are a seller on the market for a year or more, you need to talk with your Realtor. Perhaps there is a price issue, condition issue or an issue outside your control. Based on statistics provided weekly to Rose & Womble agents like myself, I know that homes priced over $500,000 have 18 or more months of available inventory based on current sale patterns. While homes under $300,000 are ranging from 6 months to 3 months.

Thus, if your home is at the higher price range for your market, Hampton Roads or otherwise, you will have to be the sharpest priced house with the most to offer is you are to garner the limited buyers shopping your "store".

But take heart, markets always change. With the builders scaling way back on production and building spec homes that could be available in 30 or 90 days, it is perceived that new home inventory will dry up as the year progress...opening the door for resale homes(your house).

So if interest rates stay in the 6% range, you might see the trends improve. Did you note the analysis on various financial websites and newscasts have the financial market/thinkers believing(perhaps hoping) the credit crisis may be waning or at least not dragging the economy down as far down as once thought.

We will all stay tuned for updates on this financing issues at present.