Housing recovery

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Housing recovery: Average and median sales prices for new homes reach all-time record highs in April

Mark J. Perry | May 23, 2013, 2:55 pm

Highlights from today’s report from the Census Bureau on new home sales in April: 1. Both the average sales price ($330,800) and the median sales price ($271,600) established new all-time record highs in April (see chart above). Compared to a … read more >

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FHFA House Price Index increased in March by 7.3% vs. last year, highest annual gain in US home prices in nearly 7 years

Mark J. Perry | May 23, 2013, 10:27 am

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported today on its House Price Index (HPI) for March, based on the purchase prices of houses involving conforming, conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The FHFA index of … read more >

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April home sales highest for the month in six years, median sales price highest in nearly five years

Mark J. Perry | May 22, 2013, 11:13 am

Some highlights of today’s report on April existing-home sales from the National Association of Realtors (NAR): 1. For the month of April, existing-home sales (at 4.97 million on a seasonally adjusted annual rate) were at the highest level for any … read more >

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Homebuilder ETFs are at their highest levels since 2007

Mark J. Perry | May 8, 2013, 10:38 am

In another sign of an improving US housing market, two major homebuilder ETFs (exchange-traded funds) closed yesterday at their highest levels since 2007 as the housing sector continues to help lead the overall US stock market to record highs in 2013. The … read more >

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For the first time in seven years, both CoreLogic home price indexes posted double-digit annual gains in March

Mark J. Perry | May 7, 2013, 5:33 pm

CoreLogic reported today that its repeat-sales Home Price Index (HPI), based on sale prices for the same homes over time, posted a 10.5% year-over-year gain in March (including distressed sales). That was the largest annual increase in home prices since … read more >

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A few highlights from today’s report on existing-home sales

Mark J. Perry | April 22, 2013, 3:09 pm

A few highlights from today’s report on existing-home sales from the National Association of Realtors: 1. What seemed to receive the most media attention was the 0.6% monthly decline in existing home sales from February to March. However, for the month of March, the … read more >

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Housing sales reports for March indicate an ongoing recovery

Mark J. Perry | April 19, 2013, 4:38 pm

Over the last week, many metro areas have released housing sales data for the month of March, and every report so far indicates strong home sales and price gains last month, here’s a sample: 1. Houston home sales increased 17% … read more >

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Lumber prices skyrocket to 8 year highs on housing recovery

Mark J. Perry | April 11, 2013, 5:18 pm

Thanks in large part to the US housing recovery and an increased number of housings starts, framing lumber prices skyrocketed last week to $451 per 1,000 board feet (see blue line in chart). The last time framing lumber prices exceeded … read more >

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More positive real estate news

Mark J. Perry | April 4, 2013, 12:17 pm

1. The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Index is trading today above 980 for the first time since November 1, 2007 (see chart above, data here). 2. Trulia’s monthly report on Asking Prices was released … read more >

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February home prices posted first double-digit increase since March 2006, a new milestone for the US housing recovery

Mark J. Perry | April 3, 2013, 2:58 pm

CoreLogic reported today that its repeat-sales Home Price Index (HPI), based on sale prices for the same homes over time, posted a 10.2% year-over-year gain in February (including distressed sales). That was the largest annual increase, and the first double-digit … read more >