Tag Archives: Home Sales

Financial analysis firm Zelman & Associates released a survey signaling mixed results in the homebuilding industry, with new home orders grinding to a halt in May despite 20 percent year-over-year increases. The survey reported that builder sentiment gravitated towards stability, with an industry score topping off at 32.3 on a 0-100 scale, up from 29.6 in May. The Washington, D.C., builders' market remained top dog, while other regions rose only incrementally. Homebuilding starts hovered at 613,000.

Job growth slammed into a wall last month, with employment figures dropping and the number of jobless rising a grim indication that the housing markets may lose steam. According to Census data, the economy added only 18,000 new jobs in June, falling short of expectations that data would trump the 25,000 jobs brought on in May. Numbers for job loss in April and May also hit 9.2 percent and 9.1 percent, with economists saying that the market still needs a net gain of about 150,000 jobs.

HUD and the Treasury Department jointly released the June edition of the Obama administration├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Housing Scorecard, offering mixed results as home sales crested on a slight uptick and an oversupply of foreclosed properties remained in place. According to the Scorecard, existing home sales jumped slightly over June, trending from 25,100 to 26,900. Mortgage rates elevated the new home sales by staying low, with a number of borrowers refinancing their mortgages to recoup losses and boost their savings.

Home sales in Massachusetts fell by more than 25 percent over May in comparison with rates from the same month last year, while home prices shot up, interrupting a five-month-long trend, according to The Warren Group.

With total U.S. debt soaring past $14 billion in May and negotiations over a controversial ceiling raise splintering at the highest levels, analysts worry that the Federal Housing Administration may shut down if the federal government defaults on August 2 -- a crisis scenario that would wreak havoc in housing markets, tightening the credit supply and spoiling a recovery. Analysts suggest that a default by the government would unfairly and adversely impact minority homeowners.

May housing numbers are in for the state of California and numbers look grim. The survey, conducted by the California Assoc. of Realtors, credits the struggling economy and stringent lending standards for the decline.

RE/MAX issued a report this week that yields a net gain in month-over-month statistics for home sales and prices in May, aligning with an expected seasonal drive by homebuyers, investors, and foreign buyers to real estate. Adding to a three-month trend on the upside, the company says home prices climbed 3.7 percent between April and May, while closed sales transactions rose 3.2 percent. RE/MAX says activity appears to be coming back in line with the seasonal trends expected this time of year.

The real estate information marketplace Zillow has expanded its database of homes, leveraging user-submitted data to add more than 25 million new home valuations generated from the company's proprietary Zestimate algorithms, which are Zillow's own market value estimates based on various details available about individual properties. The company says it now has data, Zestimates, and Rent Zestimates on more than three-quarters of all homes in the United States.

The Department of Treasury and HUD jointly released the Housing Scorecard for May on Thursday, finding that housing markets remain fragile with a seven-month stretch of declining home prices. The scorecard tracks monthly housing and economic data. The May edition called housing prices weak, noting only a minor boost for sales in April. Other industry reports echo the assessment with mortgage applications still falling, eroding home equity, and weak job growth -- all impacting the mortgage market.