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Feb 12, 2015
Local Real Estate Market Update - Cache County, Logan Area
Here is a look at the housing statistics for Decemeber 2014 for Cache County and Logan area.
December 2014 was a banner month for number of homes sold with a nearly 25% increase over December 2013. In Decmeber 2013 there were 85 homes sold and in December 2014 that shot up to 106.
Although the median sales price for the month of December was down, the year-to-date median price rose 2.4% which means overall for the 2014 year, home values appriciated by approxiamately 2.4%. Home values are moving in the right direction.
If you would like to know what your home is worth in todays real estate market, give me a call. 435-770-6884
Photo source: http://utahrealtors.com/news-center/housing-statistics/state-summary/
Feb 12, 2015
What will Mortgage Rates Do?
As Mortgage Rates Inch Up, Applications Fall
Mortgage rates moved higher last week, which brought a quick end to a “miniboom in mortgage refinancing” that had been occurring lately, CNBC reports.
Total loan applications – which reflect applications for refinancings and home purchases – fell 9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Feb. 6, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. The portion of applications for refinancing dropped 10 percent week-to-week, while purchase applications, viewed as a gauge of future homebuying activity, dropped 7 percent. Purchase applications are now back below levels from a year ago.
"The 30-year mortgage rate increased to its highest level since early January last week, with rates moving up sharply towards the end of the week,” says Michael Fratantoni, the MBA’s chief economist. “The refinance index has fallen to its lowest level since the week ending January 9.”
But loan demand continues to trend higher compared to four weeks ago, mostly attributed to a boost in lending from the Federal Housing Administration’s recent move to lower insurance premiums, which took effect Jan. 26. FHA refinance volume continues to rise, while conventional refinancing is falling. FHA refinance applications increased 223 percent from four weeks ago and FHA purchase applications have surged 39 percent.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.84 percent last week, from 3.79 percent the week prior, the MBA reports.
Source: “Higher Rates Lead to Drop in Mortgage Applications,” CNBC (Feb. 11, 2015)
Feb 12, 2015
Housing Optimism gets Boost from Increasing Incomes
Income Increases Boosting Housing Optimism
The number of households saying their income is significantly higher than it was a year ago is on the rise, as is the number expecting their financial situation to continue to move significantly higher over the next year — both reaching all-time survey highs in Fannie Mae’s January 2015 National Housing Survey, a poll of 1,000 Americans’ attitudes toward owning and renting a home.
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Twenty-nine percent of households say their income is “significantly higher” now than it was 12 months ago. Also, 48 percent say they expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next year.
The increases in income are translating into higher optimism about the housing market. The number of households who said it was a good time to buy a home rose 3 percentage points in January to 67 percent, according to the survey. Also, the share of households who say they’d rather buy than rent if they were to move rose 5 percentage points to 66 percent, marking the first increase since September 2014, the survey shows. What’s more, 44 percent of households now say it’s a good time to sell, tying an all-time survey high.
"Consumers are as positive about their personal finances at the start of 2015 as they have been since we launched the National Housing Survey in 2010, and this optimism seems to be spilling over into housing market attitudes," says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "Consumers are more optimistic about the environment both for buying and for selling a home today, and the share who plan to own on their next move has jumped back up, reversing a three-month trend toward renting. … Overall, these are good signs to start off 2015 and are consistent with our expectation that strengthening employment and economic activity will boost the speed of the housing recovery."
Additional findings from Fannie Mae’s January survey include:
- The majority of households believe home prices will rise over the next year, an average of 2.5 percent over the next 12 months.
- 45 percent of respondents say they believe mortgage rates will also rise over the next year, falling by 3 percentage points compared to one month earlier.
- 52 percent of respondents believe home rental prices will rise over the next year — a slight decrease month over month. The average 12-month rental price expectation fell to 3.6 percent.
Source: “Consumers’ Positive Financial Attitudes a Good Sign for Housing,” Fannie Mae (Feb. 9, 2015)
Feb 12, 2015
Foreclosures Fall
Foreclosures on a Free Fall, 66% Below Peak
Foreclosures are making up a much smaller share of many markets’ housing inventories and slowly falling back in line with historical norms. Completed foreclosures totaled about 39,000 nationwide in December 2014, a 13.7 percent year-over-year decrease and a 66 percent plunge from the peak in September 2010, according to CoreLogic’s December National Foreclosure Report.
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What’s more, the 12-month sum of completed foreclosures for 2014 — 563,294 — is at its lowest point since November 2007, according to the report. Completed foreclosures have fallen every month for the past 34 consecutive months. Historically, prior to the housing crisis, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide.
"Completed foreclosures last year were less than half the 1.2 million peak in 2010, but remain twice the level of normal activity over 10 years ago," says Sam Khater, CoreLogic’s deputy chief economist.
Yet, "the steady decline in the number of completed foreclosures is a good sign of healing in the U.S. housing market," adds Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "Nonetheless, there remain many pockets of the country with very high foreclosure inventories, underscoring the unevenness of the nation's housing recovery."
Completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, about 5.5 million completed foreclosures have occurred across the country.
While foreclosures overall are falling, many markets continue to struggle with the clearing of foreclosures from their pipelines. About 552,000 homes nationwide, as of December 2014, are in some state of foreclosure, known as foreclosure inventory. That represents a 34 percent year-over-year decrease. Also, all states posted double-digit year-over-year decreases in foreclosure inventory, except for West Virginia (which saw a 9.5 percent decrease) and the District of Columbia (which posted a 21.7 percent increase).
In its latest existing-home sales report, the National Association of REALTORS® reported that many markets are seeing foreclosure and short sales fetch higher dollars at sale with discounts slowly shrinking. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 15 percent below market value in December, down from 17 percent in November. Short sales were discounted, on average, by 12 percent below market value, compared to 13 percent in November.
5 States With the Highest Completed Foreclosures
Five states alone accounted for nearly half of all completed foreclosures nationally. The following five states posted the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending December 2014, according to CoreLogic’s report:
- Florida: 118,000
- Michigan: 49,000
- Texas: 35,000
- California: 29,000
- Ohio: 28,000
5 States With Highest Foreclosure Inventory
The following states saw the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes in December 2014:
- New Jersey: 5.2%
- New York: 4%
- Florida: 3.7%
- Hawaii: 2.7%
- District of Columbia: 2.4%
Source: “CoreLogic Reports 39,000 Completed Foreclosures in December 2014,” CoreLogic (Feb. 10, 2015)
