“Every Single Thing About Housing Is Flashing Green”
These were the words used by J.P.Morgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, in a recent interview with CNBC. Dimon pointed out that housing formation was up, inventory down and housing affordability was at an all-time high.
In my mid-year 2011 Marblehead Reporter review I wrote: The biggest restraining factor today is probably confidence, or the lack thereof.”
The following news items indicate that confidence is returning to the real estate market across the country. (more…)
Housing starts unexpectedly increase to 4 year high
Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg, November 20,2012
New-home construction unexpectedly climbed to a four-year high in October, more evidence of a revival in the industry that’s helping propel the U.S. economy.
Housing starts rose 3.6 percent to a 894,000 annual rate, the fastest since July 2008 and exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg survey, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 82 economists called for an 840,000 pace.
Permits for the construction of single-family homes also advanced to the highest in four years. Full Story
First Fannie and Freddie: next up FHA?
The Editors, Bloomberg View, November 18,2012 The Federal Housing Administration may report this week that it could exhaust its reserves because of rising mortgage delinquencies, a development that could result in the agency needing to draw on taxpayer funding for the first time in its 78-year history. This would follow the $137 billion spent on bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Just like Fannie and Freddie, the FHA has played an important role in stabilizing the housing market, but the three agencies are now backing almost 90% of new mortgages. As my daughter would say, it’s complicated. Read Bloomberg View article
Refinancing – don’t make just the minimum payment
You’ve heard the ads: refinance now and save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year.
And it’s true. Let’s take as an example somebody who took out a $300,000 mortgage in the summer of 2009 at 5%. Principal and Interest (P&I) payments would be $1,610 per month. Suppose she now refis at 3.75% with no costs. The monthly payment would drop to $1,315, a saving of $295 per month, over $3,500 a year. Yippee!
The reason my website includes a mortgage calculator that shows the amortization table is to demonstrate just how expensive it is to borrow money over 30 years. It is rather like paying only the minimum on a credit card. In fact, a 30 year mortgage pays down just 3% of the principal in the first year. (more…)
Single Family Home Prices – are they up or down?
Sales are up and returning to normal levels (see last 2 blogs).
But what about prices?
The median price of SFHs in Marblehead bottomed in the first half of 2009. Since then the median price for each 6 month period has gone up compared with the same period the year before – until 2012. In the first half of this year the median price declined 11%. 11%!!!!
How can this be when almost daily we hear reports that prices have shown year on year increases across the country, while in Massachusetts areas such as Brookline and Weston (quite nice, but where’s the ocean?) have reached all-time highs. (more…)
200th SFH sold today
Sales of Single Family Homes have reached 200 for the year for the first time since 2007. Good news.
Countdown to 200 home sales
Much like the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop countdown in Times Square (but with a billion or so fewer people watching), the countdown is on to reach 200 SFH sales for the first time since 2007, another sign of a market returning to normal.
Here is a table showing sales for the last 12 years with the date that the 200th sale was recorded (in the years when sales reached that level). (more…)
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