Broker Awards
General Manager, Andrew Chung, would like to congratulate the following brokers for their outstanding performance in the month of May 2010:
Sales & Listing Agent of the Month
Teresa Naef
Sales Meeting Minutes 5-16-2010
Yearly Inventory
- Average Price/ Sq. Ft.
From $121 to 120 (12/2007)
$111 -2010 (Homes are more affordable now!)
- Average Days on Market
114 DOM , 96% Sold to list price
DOM increases and sold to list price decreases.
- AVG ACTIVE PRICE - 12/09 -297 1/10 - 293 (1.3% DECREASE)
- AVG SOLD PRICE - 12/09 - 221 1/10 - 230 (4.1% INCREASE)
- 16.4 months of supply of homes.
- National average is 16
Seller’s Market - 3 months or less
Balanced Market 5-6 months
Buyer’s market - anything above 6 months
Web 2.0
- Web 2.0 is the changing trend in the use of the world wide web.
The aim is to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web.
Web 2.0 gives you the option of interacting with others using the same platform, creating a market presence on the web and engaging others in your community on issues and topics you find relevant.
- Web 2.0 sites:
Flikr,MySpace,Facebook,Linkedin, wikipedia, craigslist, twitter, youtube
Activerain.com, realestatewiki.com, googlebase, biggerpockets.com, trulia.com, zillow.com, hotpads.com
- An estimated 2.1 billion people are utilizing
Web 2.0 websites everyday
- Web 2.0 allows you to be the expert on real estate and real estate issues to your community of friends and those that already know like and trust you.
The days of sending high expense items such as newsletters, postcards, letters are over. You can write a quick blog or note about what your doing and everyone in your network will instantaneously be able to see it.
The more you blog, the more that google and other search engines will know that you are legitimate and create search points for your name or blog.
Cary Makes the Cut: Town Listed in Money Magazine's Top 25 Best Places to Live
Cary Chamber of Commerce
July 12, 2010
CARY, NC - Cary, North Carolina has been named the best place to live in the Southeastern United States out of more than 100 cities nationwide by Money Magazine. Cary is the only North Carolina community to make the Money Magazine Top 25 list; Chapel Hill, ranked at 40, was the only other North Carolina community in the top 100. Factors affecting the rankings included median income, population growth, unemployment rates, the cost of residential housing relative to local income levels, and percent of college educated working professionals. This is Cary's fourth appearance on the Money Magazine Best Places to Live list in just eight years; the town has also been previously recognized by Forbes, and Frommmer's to name a few.
"Recognition is due to our residents, our Town staff and our partners--the Cary Chamber and our neighboring municipalities--who all work together to make great things happen in our area," said Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht. "Moving forward, we want to make sure we continue to do those things necessary to make us worthy of this sort of recognition, and above all, keep Cary the kind of place our citizens want it to be."
The New York City publication's pronouncement comes on the heels of Cary's being designated a gold-level Fit Community by the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission. Cary is just one of six municipalities to be named an NCAA Championship City, and earlier this year, Cary joined an elite group of governments to hold Triple A ratings for both its general obligation and revenue bonds from all three leading New York investment firms- Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's. The Town of Cary is a perennial recipient of the Government Finance Officers award for Distinguished Budget Presentation, demonstrating the highest principles of governmental budgeting.
With more than 6,000 businesses calling Cary home--including the world's largest privately held software company, SAS--the Town boasts nationally accredited police, fire, and parks, recreation, and cultural resources department, and Cary leads the state in environmental protection and preservation initiatives including water conservation, water reuse/reclaimed water, and open space and historic resources preservation.
For more details, see the CNN/MONEY MAGAZINE article. For more information about Cary, NC, visit the Town of Cary's Web site, www.townofcary.org.
Durham home prices rise; Raleigh's slip
Triangle Business Journal
November 10, 2009
The Durham metropolitan area, bucking the national trend, posted higher home sale prices during the third quarter. The Raleigh-Cary area wasn’t so fortunate.
Durham’s median home sale price rose 3.6 percent year over year in the third quarter, according to a survey released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors.
The median existing single-family home price in Durham was $184,300.
The median existing single-family home sales price in the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area dipped 6.3 percent to $207,900 in the third quarter, according to the survey.
Nationally, existing home prices dropped 11.2 percent to $177,900. The median is the value at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
NAR reported an 11 percent increase in the number of home sales nationally from the second quarter. Year over year, the number of sales was up more than 5 percent. The NAR report did not provide the number of sales on a local level.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun attributes the increase in sales and the moderation of home prices to the federal tax credit program for first-time home buyers. “It’s given buyers the confidence they needed to get off the fence and take advantage of extremely affordable housing conditions,” Yun said in a statement.
During the third quarter, 123 out of 153 metropolitan statistical areas reported lower median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the third quarter of 2008, while 30 areas had price gains.
Big Rebound in Existing-Home Sales Shows First-Time Buyer Momentum
RISMEDIA
October 26, 2009
Existing-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales--including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops--jumped 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units in September from a level of 5.10 million in August, and are 9.2% higher than  the 5.10 million-unit pace in September 2008. Sales activity is at the highest level in over two years, since it hit 5.73 million in July 2007.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable conditions matched with a tax credit are boosting home sales. “Much of the momentum is from people responding to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing many sellers to make a trade and buy another home,” he said. “We are hopeful the tax credit will be extended and possibly expanded to more buyers, at least through the middle of next year, because the rising sales momentum needs to continue for a few additional quarters until we reach a point of a self-sustaining recovery."
Even with the improvement, Yun said the market is underperforming. “Despite spectacular gains in the stock market, principally from the financial sector recovery, most of the 75 million home owning families have more wealth tied to their homes. Home values could soon turn consistently positive and help the broad base of middle-class families, but we are not there yet,” he said. “We’re getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy. Without a firm foundation for middle-class wealth recovery, the post-recession economic growth likely will be one of the weakest in U.S. history."
Early information from a large annual consumer study to be released November 13, the 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, shows that first-time home buyers accounted for more than 45% of home sales during the past year. A separate practitioner survey shows that distressed homes accounted for 29% of transactions in September.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said affordability conditions remain historically high. “Potential first-time buyers can take heart in that affordability conditions this year are the highest on record dating back to 1970, but with the first-time buyer tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of next month, people could hold back from entering the market,” he said. “Our read is that housing overshot on the downside because homes are selling for less than replacement construction costs in much of the country, and the home price-to-income ratio has fallen below the historical average,” McMillan said.
Total housing inventory at the end of September fell 7.5% to 3.63 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 7.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 9.3-month supply in August. Unsold inventory totals are 15.0% below a year ago.
“The current housing supply is the lowest we’ve seen in two and a half years,” Yun said. “If we could continue to absorb inventory at this pace, home prices would return to normal, modest appreciation patterns next year.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.06% in September from 5.19% in August; the rate was 6.04% in September 2008. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $174,900 in September, which is 8.5% lower than September 2008. Distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes in the same area.
Single-family home sales rose 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million in September from a pace of 4.47 million in August, and are 7.7% above the 4.54 million-unit level in September 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $174,900 in September, which is 8.1% below a year ago. Existing condominium and co-op sales jumped 9.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 680,000 units in September from 620,000 in August, and are 9.7% above the 561,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was $175,100 in September, down 11.7% from September 2008.
Northeast
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast increased 4.4% to an annual level of 950,000 in September, and are 11.8% higher than September 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $234,700, down 7.0% from a year ago.
Midwest
Existing-home sales in the Midwest jumped 9.6% in September to a pace of 1.25 million and are 7.8% above a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $147,600, which is 1.0% below September 2008.
South
In the South, existing-home sales rose 9.0% to an annual level of 2.06 million in September and are 10.8% higher than September 2008. The median price in the South was $153,500, down 7.6% from a year ago.
West
Existing-home sales in the West surged 13.0% to an annual rate of 1.30 million in September and are 5.7% above a year ago. The median price in the West was $219,000, which is 15.0% below September 2008.
Raleigh-Cary Area Tops the Nation in Growth
News & Observer
March 19, 2009
As the national economy lost steam last year, the Raleigh area continued to attract residents, becoming the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country.
According to census numbers released today, the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area, which includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties, grew by 4.3 percent from July 2007 to July 2008, and is now home to close to 1.1 million people. It well outpaced its closest rival, the Austin, Texas, area, which grew by 3.8 percent. The national average was just under 1 percent.
The Triangle has been near the top of the nation's growth chart for more than a decade, as newcomers poured into the area to take jobs in technology, tourism and academia. The resulting building boom, and the jobs that came with it, drew hundreds of thousands of new residents.
Much changed in recent months as the economy fell into a deep recession. While the downturn took longer to arrive in North Carolina, the state's unemployment rate of 9.7 percent is now well above the national average of 8.1 percent.
Next year's figures may show a darker picture for the Triangle.
Even this year marks a slowdown for the area, despite its place at the top of the list. The growth rate was nearly half a point lower than the two previous years, when it was 4.7 percent.
The Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area, which includes Durham, Orange, Chatham and Person counties, didn't make the Top 10, but its population continued to swell at a steady 2.5 percent, up slightly from the year before. Just fewer than 490,000 people live in that area.
Local Agency Reacts to Housing Slump
Business Leader Magazine
January 5, 2009
RALEIGH, N.C. - As the housing slump continues, mid-size Real Estate Companies like, RealPro Realty, LLC., seek reprieve by employing non-traditional methods to help clients buy and sell homes. The unifying element in today’s real estate market is the existence of: One goal, one targeted approach: to sell your property!
“Our goal is to increase buyer activity for the sellers of homes, land and commercial property in this slower market. General brokerage showings are not proving to be enough for the motivated sellers. Being able to offer a definite time frame for property sales is a great relief.”
By creating RealPro Auction, a Global Online Auction Company; RealPro Realty has taken the first step towards solving the ongoing housing crisis. “Having been in the industry for over 30 years, I see the market is now at its worst,” said owner, Colin MacNair. “Our traditional full-service brokerage will continue; this is simply another tool in our toolbox to help generate sales and stimulate buyers.”
Auctions are the best method for obtaining true market value for a home. Aggressive marketing and competitive bidding help to create an environment where there is no limit to the final sale price.
“RealPro Auctions hopes to make a difference by implementing an aggressive marketing campaign that is tailored specifically to each property.” said General Manager Andrew Chung. “This method will work globally to locate all prospective buyers, increasing the likelihood that a property will be sold.” The number one advantage of auctions is the speed of the process. The online auction process is transparent to all parties and bidding activity is in real time. Most sales are complete within 30 days. Also, the "As Is, Where Is" philosophy helps to eliminate any contingencies in the contract; thereby aiding in the speed of the process.
“We’ve studied the market and see a need. Sellers need more activity to create sales,” says MacNair. By employing the Online Auction process, RealPro Auctions is committed to offering solutions to sell homes at the highest market value in the shortest period of time.
Home Prices: Now for the Good News
By Brad Reagan and Elizabeth O'Brien
Oct 20th, 2008
When the headlines about the housing market are apocalyptic, the last thing a homeowner wants to do is sell. But a funny thing happened to Jeff and Jennifer Boyd when they put their three-bedroom house in Philadelphia's Graduate Hospital district on the market this summer: They turned a profit. Just 45 days after the listing went up, a buyer snapped up the property for $555,000-$29,000 more than the Boyds paid in 2006.
"We were pretty hesitant, knowing what the market is like," says Jeff. "But a few weeks later, it was gone."
Here's a surefire way to start an argument: Suggest that the housing market has reached bottom. To be sure, the near-term outlook is still grim, and nobody is forecasting a rapid nationwide rebound. But there are signs that the overbuilding and speculative pricing that inflated the bubble are working their way through the system.
In October 2005, near the peak of the boom, the median sales price for a U.S. home reached 7.3 times per capita income; by this May it had fallen to 5.7, in line with historical norms. Nationally, the rate of decline in sales is slowing, and in some regions sales numbers have actually perked up.
"The indicators are starting to look better," says Adam York, an economic analyst with Wachovia.
Why the disconnect? For starters, the national sales figures that get so much attention-and remain depressing-are brought down by boom-and-bust markets like Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix. David Berson, chief economist with mortgage insurance firm The PMI Group, says that if hard-hit states like California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida are taken out of the statistical mix, the picture is much more promising. According to PMI's "risk index," which estimates the odds of prices falling in a given market, at least 65 percent of the nation's 386 metro areas have less than a 10 percent chance of seeing lower prices two years from now. What's more, the government's sweeping bailout of the financial sector could boost the housing market by making borthe rowing easier for buyers.
We dug into those numbers as well as other forecasts and analysis to determine which markets are in the best shape for a rebound. We also talked with housing experts to learn which kinds of neighborhoods and suburbs are thriving. Our search led us to 25 metropolitan areas that look particularly promising, and there are more than a few surprises. Here, we profile one of the best-looking markets; for the full list of 25, see November's issue of SmartMoney magazine.
Raleigh
North Carolina’s capital seems to have gotten a free pass where the housing slump is concerned. Prices have been buoyed by job growth in the Research Triangle, home to dozens of tech firms. Total sales in the first quarter of this year were the fifth highest on record. In some cities, suburbanites stung by gas prices are moving downtown in favor of walkable neighborhoods. But not in Raleigh. “People move here to get away from that type of living,” says local market analyst Stacey Anfindsen, only partly in jest. Although downtown Raleigh has added hundreds of condos and lofts, the real growth has come in suburbs like Cary, Morrisville and Apex, all on the western side of Raleigh, where home prices have risen steadily.
The subdivision of Preston, where prices are up 3.5 percent over last year, reigns as the area’s übersuburb. The northwest Cary neighborhood was bankrolled in the 1990s by Jim Goodnight, founder of software giant SAS, and supersizes the standard suburban amenities: Most lots are at least a quarter-acre, double the size of newer developments, and prices approach $500,000. Parents can choose from a roster of lauded private and public schools. John Minicucci, a technology analyst, moved his family to Preston in May after stints in New York and Vancouver, B.C., and chose the neighborhood in part because it is already built out; it doesn’t run the risk of being flooded with discounted properties because of overbuilding. “Since this area didn’t really experience the boom, it won’t be as susceptible to tanking,” he says. And he’s loving perks like abundant tee times. Like more than 60 percent of Preston residents, Minicucci belongs to the local country club, which hosts 54 holes of championship golf, two tennis facilities and three swimming pools.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/home-prices-now-for-the-good-news.html
Commercial growth following residential in west Cary
By Beth Hatcher, Staff Writer
Not only are town officials watching the lightning-quick growth in west Cary with a keen eye, so are the big-box chain stores that follow the surging numbers of residents.
All are potential customers, and a theme from the “Field of Dreams” movie tends to hold true in the retail world as well: “If you build it, they will come.”
Big growth doesn’t happen, 25,000 to 45,000 newcomers are expected in west Cary, without attracting the attention of national retailers, well-known names like Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter.
A Harris Teeter store near the massive Cary Park development near N.C. 55 is an example not just of the scope of west Cary’s commercial growth, but its “new suburban” style.
Nearly all the new commercial development in west Cary is in mixed-use projects that include residential and commercial space, said Dan Matthys, a planner with the Town of Cary.
Cary Park, one of the first large subdivisions to break ground west of N.C. 55, includes about 120,000 square feet of commercial space.
Cary Park developer Frank Bridger has seen the mixed-use trend as well.
“You see more amenities now,” said Bridger, who acted as the project manager for Cary Park.
For example the 5,000-residential-unit Amberly development, which straddles Wake and Chatham counties just a stone’s throw from Cary Park, could include up to 280,000 feet of commercial space, according to Town of Cary documents.
These commercial spaces, Amberly’s looking for things like a grocery store, gym, medical offices and restaurants, will provide not only shopping but also jobs.
“The idea of living and working in the same area has forever been appealing to most people who have ever experienced a long commute,” said Beth Hoggard, an Amberly sales agent.
Alston
Town planners have long seen what was in store for west Cary, and planning began years ago. The Alston Activity Center is a Town of Cary-given name to the interchange of the newly completed I-540 and N.C. 55.
Knowing that the area would be ripe for commercial development, town officials took the helm in governing development by creating the Alston Activity Center Plan, a guide for approximately 1,000 acres around the interchange.
The town-initiated plan governs things such as uses, densities and even building facades.
The plan hasn’t been without some controversy.
While town officials wanted a plan that would help steer growth positively around the interchange, some developers felt the plan was too limiting. The plan at first was much more specific about its guidelines. Officials have since made some changes.
Controversy or not, that hasn’t stopped developers from wanting to build in the Alston area.
A sampling of the plans there:
>Parkside Town Commons- this mixed-use development would include 590,331 square feet of retail, 226,301 square feet of office space and 495 multifamily units.
>The Alston Town Center will include 317,880 square feet of retail and 36 live/work units (work and residential space in one location).
>Panther Creek Commons will include 27,200 square feet of retail.
Park West Village
A little further down the road another mixed-use development could also change the face of west Cary, though technically it’s in Morrisville.
Morrisville commissioners recently approved plans for Park West Village, which calls for shopping, apartments, a hotel, a cinema and office space on 100 acres in the the southwest quadrant of the Cary Parkway and N.C. 54 intersection.
1st Carolina Properties in partnership with Casto Lifestyle Properties will develop the “Live, Work, Play” project, which will include approximately 750,000 square feet of retail, 50,000 square feet of office, a 140-room, five-story hotel and up to 321 apartment units.
Commissioners narrowly approved the property in a 4-3 vote amid much controversy in the town, including residents’ concerns about additional traffic and storm water runoff issues.
Commissioners, though, felt comfortable with the developer’s plans to widen N.C. 54 from two lanes to four lanes from the intersection of Cary Parkway to Weston Parkway.
http://www.carynews.com/front/story/8461.html
How will Apex grow?
Business people, town officials and residents discuss ways to attract commerce
By Wendy Lemus, Staff Writer
Like many Triangle communities, the once small town of Apex is asking itself how it’s going to deal with the growth that just keeps coming.With cities elsewhere struggling to keep jobs and people, that’s not a bad problem to have, said Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly.
“It’s often said we’re in the catbird seat here in Apex; we can be very choosy on econonic development issues,” said Weatherly, speaking at an economic development summit at the town’s community center Thursday.
The meeting was the first such joint venture between the town and the Apex Chamber of Commerce. Several residents, local business people and town officials attended.
Apex officials, aware that growth has its own set of problems, sought input on priorities as it tends to those growing pains.
The town’s ratio of residential to commercial, 81 percent to 19 percent, is too skewed toward residential, said Apex Planning Director Dianne Khin. “The main reason to have a more balanced split between nonresidential and residential uses is for tax base purposes,” Khin wrote in an e-mail. “... By having more nonresidential tax base, it essentially subsidizes the residential taxes so that citizens’ property taxes can be kept as low as possible.”
The goal, said Khin, is 60-70 percent residential and 30-40 percent nonresidential.
How to get there?
Community members brainstormed items the town should put priorities on.
Road improvements, utilities expansion and a “unified economic development vision” for the town were at the top. Other priorities identified included readying “certified sites” for prospective businesses to move in more quickly, making improvements downtown, finding more commercial land for office parks and businesses, maintaining Apex’s “small town” character and streamlining the town’s development process.
Most in the room were not surprised that road improvements led the list.
Kent Jackson, Apex’s director of construction management, said the town is making progress on the Apex Peakway. It’s also working on improvements at key intersections, Salem Street and N.C. 55 and Lake Pine at U.S. 64.
Public Works Director Tim Donnelly noted the large recent but necessary expenditures , $73 million for the Western Wake Regional Wasterwater Treatment Plant, $70 million for an electric utility substation and $12 million for water treatment plant expansion. “Those things have to occur for economic development” to happen, Donnelly said.
He encouraged attendees to get behind the wastewater treatment plant project because he said Apex is running out of sewer capacity.
One thing Apex will need to face if it wants to increase its business sector is the potential for offering taxpayer-financed incentives. Holly Springs recently gave Novartis a multimillion dollar package to put a vaccination plant in town.
In a “pros and cons” format, Ernie Pearson of the Sanford Holshouser Business Development Group was invited to speak on the matter along with Justice Robert F. Orr, who is currently running for governor.
Pearson said incentives “are now a routine front-end question” for businesses looking at new locations. “This is somethng we gotta do to compete,” he said.
Orr’s word of advice was “just say no.” He likened incentives to “governmental subsidies of selected businesses ... a process that is fundamentally unfair.”
Weatherly asked the guest speakers about public disclosure in the process of recruiting businesses. Often negotiations are done behind closed doors, with companies demanding not to have their names announced until a decision has been made.
“People paying taxes have a right to know” what’s going on, Orr said.
Pearson said all his dealings with companies and governments have complied with open meetings and public records laws. Apex, Pearson said, “won’t face the reality until you’ve got a company [looking] anyway.”
Other action
Also at the Economic Development Summit in Apex:
>Apex has had the largest extraterritorial jurisdiction ever granted in Wake County, nearly 9,000 acres largely to the west and south. (See map: apexnc.org/docs/ plan/etjRequest.pdf.) The town will do a six- to eight-month study to look at land uses, transportation routes and potential areas for parks and schools. It has been 29 years since Apex had a comprehensive ETJ request approved by Wake County. ETJ gives a municipality the right to apply its zoning and subdivision ordinances to nearby properties that are not within the municipality and not incorporated in another municipality.
>Phase four of Beaver Creek Crossing has been approved. This phase is located on the north side of U.S. 64, across the highway from the movie theater. It will include 242,000 square feet of retail, 40,000 square feet of office, 18,000 square feet of residential and 46 townhomes.
>Broadstone Station, northwest of the U.S. 1 and N.C. 55 intersection, has been approved and will include 350,000 square feet of retail, 90,000-square-foot hotel, 40,000 square feet of office and 288 multifamily homes.
http://www.carynews.com/news/apex/story/7147.html
Sales of existing homes show slight gain in May
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes rose slightly in May, only the second increase in the past 10 months. Prices, however, kept plunging and analysts said the large number of unsold homes indicated the prolonged slump in housing was far from over.
The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums edged up by 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.99 million units in May. Even with the small gain, it was still 15.9 percent below the depressed levels of a year ago.
The median price of an existing home sold in May dropped to $208,600, 6.3 percent lower than a year ago. That is the point where half sell for more and half sell for less. It was the fifth biggest year-over-year price decline in records that go back to 1999.
Existing homes sales account for the bulk of the housing market. The report followed news Wednesday that sales of new single-family homes fell by 2.5 percent in May. That was the sixth drop in the past seven months and pushed the annual sales pace down to 512,000 units.
The two-year slump in housing has dragged down the economy and rising levels of foreclosures are dumping even more unsold homes on the market.
Given the weak economy, many analysts said they were not looking for a turnaround in housing for many more months. "Plunging prices and massive inventory are huge disincentives to home buying," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
Economists said that falling consumer confidence, rising job layoffs and higher mortgage rates were standing in the way of a housing rebound. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported on Thursday that mortgage rates rose across the board in the past week. The 30-year mortgage climbed to 6.45 percent, the highest since last September.
"We do not expect residential real estate markets to turn around soon," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services. "In a sea of weak data, home sales will remain an anchor, not a life boat."
The existing homes report found a 5.5 percent increase in the Midwest, followed by gains of 4.6 percent in the Northeast and 2 percent in the West. Sales in the South dropped of 0.5 percent.
Economists with the Realtors noted that for the past few months sales have rebounded in areas hit hardest by the housing bust. Examples included Sacramento, the San Fernando Valley and Monterey in California; Sarasota, Fla.; and Battle Creek, Mich.
"Stabilization in home prices can only occur with buyers returning to the market, so we are encouraged by rising home sales, particularly in distressed markets," said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist.
Yun said foreclosures and short sales, when a home is sold for less than the value of the mortgage, are a larger portion of the current housing market, particularly in California, and are depressing home prices.
The inventory of unsold homes dropped by 1.4 percent to 4.49 million units in May. That is a 10.8-months supply at the May sales pace, down from 11.2-months in April. That still exceeds the seven-month inventory that is typical.
http://www.newsobserver.com/1566/story/1120999.htm |