It was reported last week that Pending Home Sales (contracts on existing homes) fell 16% in November, not at all surprising since buyers expected the $8,000 tax credit to expire at the end of October. This artificially boosted contract signings for August-October and artificially depressed them for November. Still, November pending sales were higher than at any time from mid-2007 to mid-2009.
Wednesday, the minutes from the Fed's December 15–16 meeting were released, revealing some debate over the future of their purchases of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which helped keep interest rates at record lows. The Fed said it would end MBS purchases March 31, but according to the minutes, "a few" of the Fed's 12 members are in favor of expanding and extending the program. On the other side, one member felt "improvement in...the economic outlook suggested that...(MBS purchases) could be scaled back."
Who knows what will happen. Most experts feel the rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will head up during the next two years, so smart homebuyers are focusing on taking advantage of the present very favorable rate situation along with the tax credit still available.
~ Courtesy of Chuck Chrobak, Golf Savings Bank, 425.330.9657, CChrobak@GolfSavingsBank.com
Monday, January 11, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Eastside Statistics - December, 2009
Current Residential & Condo listings - 3,460 (down 18.30% from last year)
New listings taken this month - 612
Pending sales this month - 573 (up 79.06% from last year)
Percent of listings that sold this month - 16.56%
Median closed sales price - Dec. ‘08, $470,000
Median closed sales price - Dec. ‘09, $465,000
Rate of appreciation = -1.06%
~ Courtesy of NWMLS
King County Statistics - December, 2009
Current Residential & Condo listings - 9,652 (down 17.05% from last year)
New listings taken this month - 1,986
Pending sales this month - 1,767 (up 51.41% from last year)
Percent of listings that sold this month - 18.31%
Median closed sales price - Dec. ‘08, $370,700
Median closed sales price - Dec. ‘09, $350,000
Rate of appreciation = -5.58%
~ Courtesy of NWMLS
Snohomish County Statistics - December, 2009
Current Residential & Condo listings - 4,436 (down 17.49% from last year)
New listings taken this month - 935
Pending sales this month - 719 (up 31.44% from last year)
Percent of listings that sold this month - 16.21%
Median closed sales price - Dec. ‘08, $307,000
Median closed sales price - Dec. ‘09, $280,000
Rate of appreciation = -8.79%
~ Courtesy of NWMLS
Western Washington pending home sales mark best December since 2006
“Home for the holidays" took on special meaning for 4,399 buyers whose purchase offers were accepted during December, according to the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. That volume of pending sales was up more than 35 percent from a year ago and marked the best December since 2006.
Brokers say it's a tough market, but point to several indicators for good activity during this year's first quarter. "The distance seems great, but the direction is a good one," observed NWMLS director Dick Beeson.
"With what our agents already have in the pipeline, I'm optimistic about a positive first quarter," said NWMLS director Meribeth Hutchings, the broker at Windermere RE/Lake Stevens. "We had a very strong December and the momentum seems to be there to keep things moving," she remarked, noting three agents were in the office on New Year's Eve writing offers.
Shrinking inventory, the extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit, and favorable interest rates are among factors brokers believe will sustain activity.
"Affordability has never been better," said Dick Fulton, a past chairman of the NWMLS board of directors whose career spans more than two decades. Fulton, the executive vice president at Coldwell Banker Bain, suggests would-be sellers list their property soon, rather than wait until spring, to take advantage of favorable conditions. With inventory much smaller than a year ago, sellers should benefit from more exposure to a good pool of buyers, he suggests.
Inventory area-wide is down about 15.6 percent from a year ago. For the four-county Puget Sound region, the number of active listings is down more than 18 percent.
NWMLS members reported 4,711 closed sales during December, up 54.7 percent from the year-ago total of 3,045 when the holiday slowdown was compounded by record low temperatures and snow.
Dick Beeson, owner/broker of Windermere Commencement Assoc. in Tacoma, said the market is "chugging along," despite hurdles associated with the lending market, appraisals and foreclosures. "The hardest part of the process still remains the uncertainty of the lending market as banks continue to ratchet up the qualifications and criteria for borrowers. Appraisals are difficult because even if the value comes in at the purchase price many lenders do a second review of the appraisal and find fault with the outcome, therefore creating a problem for buyers and sellers." He also noted the large volume of foreclosures has driven down prices – something he believes will persist throughout much of this year.
Brokers say it's a tough market, but point to several indicators for good activity during this year's first quarter. "The distance seems great, but the direction is a good one," observed NWMLS director Dick Beeson.
"With what our agents already have in the pipeline, I'm optimistic about a positive first quarter," said NWMLS director Meribeth Hutchings, the broker at Windermere RE/Lake Stevens. "We had a very strong December and the momentum seems to be there to keep things moving," she remarked, noting three agents were in the office on New Year's Eve writing offers.
Shrinking inventory, the extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit, and favorable interest rates are among factors brokers believe will sustain activity.
"Affordability has never been better," said Dick Fulton, a past chairman of the NWMLS board of directors whose career spans more than two decades. Fulton, the executive vice president at Coldwell Banker Bain, suggests would-be sellers list their property soon, rather than wait until spring, to take advantage of favorable conditions. With inventory much smaller than a year ago, sellers should benefit from more exposure to a good pool of buyers, he suggests.
Inventory area-wide is down about 15.6 percent from a year ago. For the four-county Puget Sound region, the number of active listings is down more than 18 percent.
NWMLS members reported 4,711 closed sales during December, up 54.7 percent from the year-ago total of 3,045 when the holiday slowdown was compounded by record low temperatures and snow.
Dick Beeson, owner/broker of Windermere Commencement Assoc. in Tacoma, said the market is "chugging along," despite hurdles associated with the lending market, appraisals and foreclosures. "The hardest part of the process still remains the uncertainty of the lending market as banks continue to ratchet up the qualifications and criteria for borrowers. Appraisals are difficult because even if the value comes in at the purchase price many lenders do a second review of the appraisal and find fault with the outcome, therefore creating a problem for buyers and sellers." He also noted the large volume of foreclosures has driven down prices – something he believes will persist throughout much of this year.
Monday, January 4, 2010
National Real Estate News
Last Tuesday the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for 20 cities came in UP a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for October. This was the fifth consecutive monthly increase for the index. Year-over-year, prices are still down 7.3%, but that's a less steep rate of decline than we've been seeing.
It looks like home prices could be stabilizing, though well below their peaks in most markets. This price decline, plus the dramatic drop in mortgage rates, have made homes more affordable than they've been in a long time. A writer for the Wall Street Journal compared home price index values, mortgage rates and average weekly earnings going back to 1987. The finding? On average, housing is as affordable now as it was in the mid-1990's, when homes were a real steal. Of course, this conclusion is based on average prices, so affordability may be greater or less in individual markets.
Christmas Eve, the Treasury lifted the limit on the money it can put into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep their net worth positive over the next three years. Some economists point out that Fannie and Freddie could now replace the Fed as a big buyer of mortgage-backed securities to help keep mortgage rates down after March 31. That would be great, but nothing is certain. Smart buyers are taking advantage of TODAY'S low mortgage rates AND the expanded tax credit that requires a signed contract by April 30 and a closing by June 30!
~ Courtesy of Chuck Chrobak, Golf Savings Bank, 425.330.9657, CChrobak@GolfSavingsBank.com
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