Tag Archives: Home Prices

Real estate information firm CoreLogic DataQuick estimated Friday that August home sales in the state—including new and resale houses and condos—totaled 37,228 last month, down 6.0 percent from July's estimate of 39,608. Compared to a year ago, sales fell 12.5 percent short. California sales have come in below average every month for more than eight years, the firm said.

As more companies launch their own home price metrics, the much-watched Case-Shiller indices have readjusted their methodology to adapt—and revealed a different picture of home prices in the last few months than originally reported. While the new index comes as a "welcome improvement," it also throws a wrench into what analysts previously knew about home prices during and after the crash, says Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Builder Application Survey tumbled 9 percent month-over-month in August, according to the latest from the group. The anticipated decline follows a 2.4 percent drop in July new home sales as reported by the Commerce Department. According to initial estimates from the government, sales that month were at an adjusted annual pace of 412,000.

Home sales in Connecticut barely nudged up in July, marking the fifth annual increase in what has so far been a mild year for the state. According to data released this week by the Warren Group, single-family home sales in the Constitution State totaled an estimated 3,152 in July, an increase of 0.7 percent over the same month last year.

Home prices leveled up nationwide in August, boosting long-dawdling markets in the South and accelerating the recovery in other states as foreclosure gluts begin to clear, according to Trulia. According to Trulia, asking home prices only nudged along by 1 percent nationally last month, just a little above the marginal climb in July. Asking prices, meanwhile, leapt ahead by 7.8 percent year over year.

In survey findings released Monday, Better Homes and Gardens found that the current generation of teenagers—dubbed "Generation Z"—already values homeownership as the cornerstone of the American Dream, with 82 percent of teens surveyed saying it is the most important factor. Looking to their future, 97 percent of those surveyed said they believe they will own a home.

CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) rose 1.2 percent from June to July, the company reported, lifting slightly from June's 1.0 percent monthly gain. The improvement includes both distressed and non-distressed sales. Compared to a year prior, July's index was up 7.4 percent, barely down from 7.5 percent in June. As of the July report, the national HPI has risen year-over-year for 29 straight months.

The balance of power in the housing market is continuing its tilt back to buyers—and that could spell a surge in home sales in the coming months. In the brokerage's latest Real-Time Housing Market Tracker, Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson notes two ongoing trends indicating a shift to a more balanced market as the nation heads into fall.

Colorado's unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent in July, and the state's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of two points faster than the national average in 2013, according to a recent report from Wells Fargo's Economics Group. Where housing recovery is concerned, however, Colorado's struggles mirror those of the country as a whole, according to Wells Fargo.

FHFA's seasonally adjusted House Price Index rose 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in June, matching May's rate of growth. The agency also included quarterly comparisons in its June index, finding that home prices were up only 0.8 percent from the first quarter to the second—the first time quarterly price growth has been below 1 percent since early 2012.