Good news for 946,000 home owners
Another sign of the improving housing market came this week, as reported in this MarketWatch article 900,000 homes regain equity, about a report from CoreLogic that in the second quarter of 2014 some 946,000 home owners moved out of a negative equity position, meaning their houses were now worth more than their mortgage. (more…)
London Home Prices Finally Start to Slow
I saw this headline go across my screen on Bloomberg and my first reaction was to assume that prices were actually going down.
Not so. (more…)
American wealth hits all-time record as housing rebounds
According to figures released this week by the Federal Reserve, the net worth of American households and non-profit organizations increased by $1.5 trillion to a new record $81.8 trillion in the first quarter of 2014.
The good news is that roughly half the increase came from higher residential real estate values, while homeowners’ equity in their real estate increased 2% to 53.6% in the quarter.
Another positive sign is that household borrowing rose at a 2% annualized rate, indicating that we are becoming more comfortable about borrowing again, while that debt represents only 108% of disposable income,compared with 135% in 2007.
Overall these numbers, together with improving Consumer Confidence, suggest that the real estate recovery has a solid basis.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty
Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
http://online.wsj.com/articles/americans-wealth-hits-new-record-in-1st-quarter-1401985427?mod=trending_now_2
Luxury Home Sales Soar
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) published a report this week stating that Luxury Home Sales Soar Above Historical Average.
In a number of posts over the last year I have suggested that with the stock market at an all time high it made sense for wealthy investors to turn their attention to real estate. And that now seems to be happening. (more…)
Harborside joins the Sotheby’s International network
Some weeks I have to give quite a lot of thought as to the subject matter for my posts. This is not one of them.
“After five years of continued success, we are excited to announce our affiliation with Sotheby’s International Realty. We now offer all the advantages of a locally owned real estate brokerage combined with the vision, power and focus of Sotheby’s International Realty.”
As an Englishman I am very familiar with Sotheby’s and the huge impact they have had on real estate sales worldwide. As the owner of a waterfront property for sale I am very excited about the increased visibility I will get from Sotheby’s national and international marketing through 700 offices in 52 countries.
If you have a property which you believe would benefit from active marketing to a wider audience please contact me.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Why I ignore most articles about “the real estate market”
My mother always told me to focus on quality not quantity. I think of that every day as I read the slew of real estate market “commentaries” that come across my desk and am reminded of the saying that there are no bad statistics, but plenty of bad comments on those statistics.
Here’s a good example.
“Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for February showing weak sales with total home sales falling 0.4% since January dropping 7.1% below the level seen in February 2013. ”
What’s the message here? I’d say it was that sales were “weak”.
The next sentence is: “Single family home sales also weakened dropping 0.2% from January falling a notable 6.9% below the level seen in February 2013.”
I’m not quite sure why a 6.9% drop is “notable” whereas 7.1% in the first sentence was not, but again we have “weak” sales and a “notable” drop.
Not good news for the real estate market you are thinking.
But read on.
“The median selling price increased 9.0% above the level seen a year earlier.”
So let me ask you, madam or mister home owner, which part of this story is more significant to you: “weak” sales, or a 9% increase in price?
I thought so. Me too.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 781.631.1223 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Realty in Marblehead
The weather is freezing, but 2014 could be a really good year for real estate
Since its low in March 2009 the stock market, even after the January correction, has increased by 141% and is 12% above its prior 2007 peak.
By way of contrast, the housing market is up 22% from its low and is still 21% below its 2006 peak.
Sources: Dow Jones, Case-Shiller
Throughout the country the cry is the same: there is not enough supply. Come on sellers!
Well, here’s a thought. For most of us our home is our largest asset. During the great recession, as values decreased, we felt worse off. Now, as prices are recovering, we feel better off. But human nature is such that we are reluctant to sell at a price lower than one that could have been achieved in the past. And nationally prices would need to increase 25% to get back to 2006 levels. (more…)
2013 Housing Market in 4 numbers
If you are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 781.631.1223 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Realty in Marblehead
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