Winter Blahs Gone.....Spring Has Arrived

Bye Bye

Winter!!!

  As anyone that has been in Hampton Roads for any length of time know, we suffered through one of the coldest, snowiest winters in some time.  The cold and snow was most prevalent in the January through March time frame.

When there wasn't snow or ice on the roads, it just simply was cold!

As our brothers and sisters up north and down south,  many of us hunkered down in our homes.  If we were out, we went to the movies, enclosed malls and any place were warmth could be found.

Thus, no one should be surprised car sales and homes sales lagged the 1st quarter of 2014.   You can clearly see impact on our local housing industr in the Summary of Settled Sales provided by the local Multiple Listing Service, REIN.

Yet, the last week to 10 days of Spring weather has already begun to turn the tide!!   We should see April show the more robust Spring Sales Time that

everyone expects.

REIN, Inc.
Settled Sales Summary Number of Units by Property Region (Through March 2014)

Month       Total Settled Sales                       Change  New Construction - Extract           Change
Year                                                              From                                                          From
                Southside     Peninsula         Total   2013        Southside    Peninsula    Total      2013
January
2012            885             274              1,159                     109             38            147
2013           1039            366              1,405                     153             32            185
2014            874            343               1,217    -13.38%   120             45            165    -10.81%

February
2012           1,032          305              1,337                       134            27            161
2013           1,052          344              1,396                       146            29            175
2014           1,022          347              1,369     -1.93%       124           30            154    -12.00%

March
2012           1,199          425              1,624                        147           49            196
2013           1,326          452              1,778                        173           37            210
2014           1,238          392              1,630    -8.32%         176          29            205        -2.38%

YTD        
Totals
2012           3,116        1,004             4,120                         390        114            504
2013           3,417        1,162             4,579                         478          98            570
2014           3,134        1,082             4,216     -1.93%        420        104            524       -8.07

Foreclosures Down for the Count??

Foreclosures in the news again!!

Yet, it is good news for home owners this time!  Foreclosures continue to decline both as a percentage of listed homes and of homes under contract.  The same is true for homes knows as a "Short Sale" in which the home owner owes more than what he/she can sell the home for in the present market.

With the continuing improvement in values caused by increased buyer activity(hoping to get the lowest rates before they go up) and the housing shortage,   you can expect fewer foreclosure filings and fewer foreclosure as time goes on.

Enjoy an encouraging read:

HOME » BUSINESS » REALTY NEWS

Hampton Roads foreclosure rate dipped in June

Posted to: Business Realty News 

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By Sarah Kleiner Varble
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 11, 2013

VIRGINIA BEACH

The Hampton Roads real estate market on Thursday got a double dose of good news as it lumbers toward recovery.

The percentage of sales that were either foreclosures or short sales – a segment that’s collectively considered “distressed” – dropped to a three-year low across the region, according to the Real Estate Information Network, a Virginia Beach-based multiple listing service.

And the median price of existing homes sold in South Hampton Roads in June leapt 10.6 percent to $219,500, up from $198,500 in June 2012, according to REIN’s data.

It was the largest year-over-year increase in any month since the market began to recover early last year.

Vinod Agarwal, a professor of economics at Old Dominion University, said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the local recovery is picking up steam but that it’s too early to say whether June’s figures were an anomaly or the start of a trend.

“It’s only one month,” Agarwal said.

The share of distressed sales in Hampton Roads is still significantly higher than it was before 2008, Agarwal said.

The percentage of sales of existing homes that were distressed in June dropped to 22.8 percent – the lowest it has been since June 2010, when it was at 20.8 percent.

“Once it comes down to about 10 percent or below, the effects of distressed sales would become insignificant,” Agarwal said, meaning median prices likely will climb.

Ideally, the share should decrease to 5 percent or below, he said.

Otherwise, the housing market continues to show signs of improvement, Agarwal said.

Median prices were up significantly in June, and sales volume in South Hampton Roads increased about 6 percent year-over-year.

The number of days a home spends on the market dipped to 83 – the lowest level since September 2010.

A statement from REIN said economists partly are attributing a spike in activity to the recent increase in mortgage rates, which spurred some fence-sitters to buy out of fear that rates would climb even higher.

Sarah Kleiner Varble, 757-446-2318, sarah.varble@pilotonline.com

Local Market Roars Back! Home Sales

 

 

Local Market Data:   REIN(Real Estate Information Network) is Hampton Roads MLS system with a report on sales in the past month.  

 

 

Just more good news.