Pending home sales near 2-year high
Pending sales of existing homes rose to their highest level in nearly two years in March, according to the National Association of Realtors' latest Pending Home Sales Index.
The index, which represents contracts signed but not yet closed, jumped a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent from February to March, to 101.4. That's the highest index level since April 2010, when the deadline for a federal homebuyer tax credit program loomed. The index was 111.3 then.
Pending sales were up 10.8 percent from the same time a year ago on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
An index score of 100 is equal to the average level of sales contract activity in 2001, a robust year for home sales and the first year examined by the trade group. The index typically represents about 20 percent of all existing-home transactions. Contracts signed in March typically close one or two months later.
"First-quarter sales closings were the highest first-quarter sales in five years. The latest contract signing activity suggests the second quarter will be equally good," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, in a statement.
"The housing market has clearly turned the corner," Yun said. "Rising sales are bringing down inventory and creating much more balanced conditions around the county, which means home prices will be rising in more areas as the year progresses."
Regionally, the Northeast saw the biggest unadjusted year-over-year increase in pending sales: 18.4 percent. The region was one of two to see a slight monthly decline, sliding 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis to 78.2.
The other region experiencing a month-over-month decline was the Midwest, where the index dipped a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent to 93.3. Nonetheless, the Midwest experienced the second-biggest annual increase in pending sales: 14.7 percent on an unadjusted basis.
The index reached its highest level in the South: 114.1. That's a 5.9 percent seasonally adjusted increase compared to February. On an unadjusted basis, pending sales were up 8.9 percent from a year ago.
In the West, pending sales rose 8.7 percent month to month, to 108, and 5.9 percent from the same time a year ago on an unadjusted basis.
In its latest monthly economic outlook, also out today, NAR upped its forecast for existing-home sales in 2012 slightly from last month, to 4.68 million -- a nearly 10 percent increase from 2011. The trade group expects existing-home sales to rise an additional 1.5 percent in 2013, to 4.75 million.
NAR projects new-home sales will rise 31.6 percent in 2012, to 400,000, and increase a further 32.5 percent in 2013 to 530,000.
After falling 3.9 percent in 2011, NAR expects a 2 percent increase in the median price of existing-home sales in 2012, to $169,500. The association predicts a further 2.1 percent increase, to $173,100, in 2013.
Meanwhile, after rising 2 percent in 2011, NAR projects rents will rise 3.4 percent in 2012 and 3.8 percent in 2013.
This year, NAR predicts the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage will be 4.2 percent, down from 4.7 percent in 2011. By 2013, the rate is expected to rise to 4.9 percent.
NAR expects this year's national real gross domestic product to grow 2.4 percent, followed by 3.1 percent growth in 2013. The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to average 8.2 percent this year and drop to 7.6 percent in 2013.
Earth day is April 22!!
There are many things you can do that are great for the planet and are free or inexpensive to you. These actions will also help lower your energy bills, saving you money while giving ode to the environment. Earth day is about uniting voices around the globe in support of a healthy planet. For more ideas and to find out what events are available in our area, visit: www.earthday.org/2012
FREE LOW COST
? Cut your shower each day by 2 minutes ? Switch your light bulbs to CFLs
? Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth ? Purchase a programmable thermostat
? Turn off lights when you are not in the room ? Lower your heat at night and while away at work
? Carpool or take the bus to work 1 day a week ? Use reusable bags for grocery shopping
? Recycle your food scraps in the yard waste ? When you can, try to shop and eat locally
(if available in your area) or start your own ? Buy compostable bags for kitchen waste
compost bin ? When buying new appliances, make sure they are
? Pay all your bills online energy efficient (not always low cost but it will save you
? Unplug appliances (coffee maker, toaster, money on your utility bills)
printer, etc) when they are not in use
? Purchase products that use minimal packaging
Market Bottom of Cycle?
NWREporter April 2012
Washington homebuyers realizing "market may have reached bottom of cycle"
NWMLS, KIRKLAND, Wash. (March 5, 2012) – With spring on the horizon and consumer confidence on the rise, members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service are reporting positive gains in activity. Pending sales for February increased more than 27 percent from a year ago, more sellers are listing their homes, and brokers are reporting an uptick in multiple offers.
“Buyers are beginning to realize that we may have seen the bottom of this real estate market,” remarked Frank Wilson, branch managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate in Poulsbo and a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors. “Waiting to buy may only result in paying a higher interest rate, having fewer houses to choose from, or finding that sellers do not need to give up as much as they have in the past,” he added.
Brokers reported 7,623 pending sales during February, the highest volume since August when they notched 7,632 mutually accepted offers. Last month’s tally jumped 27.4 percent from twelve months ago, with 20 of the 21 counties in the MLS service area reporting double-digit gains.
Within King County, pending sales were particularly robust in the Lake Forest Park/Kenmore neighborhoods (up 73 percent), Kent (up 61 percent), Burien/Normandy Park (up 58 percent) and central Seattle (up 56 percent). The northeast portion of Snohomish County also experienced strong sales (up 63 percent from a year ago).
“The only thing tempering this from being a hot, thriving market are the short sales and foreclosed properties which represent about one-third of the transactions,” Wilson commented.
J. Lennox Scott, CEO and chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate, said the combination of job growth and historic low interest rates is creating a seller’s market through the mid-price ranges and contributing to surging activity close to job centers. “It’s a special moment in time in real estate history,” he observed, adding “We have a backlog of qualified buyers looking for homes to purchase.”
Buyers have fewer homes to consider compared to a year ago, with inventory down 22.5 percent area-wide. At month end, there were 25,510 active listings in the Northwest MLS database; a year ago, there were 32,922 homes and condos listed for sale.
The selection compared to twelve months ago is down sharply in both King County (off 32.3 percent) and Snohomish County (down 38.2 percent). Measured by months of supply, Snohomish has about 2.1 months while King is slightly better at 2.3 months. (Five to six months of supply is considered to be a balanced market, with less than that presumed to be a seller’s market.)
Northwest MLS brokers added 7,390 new listings to inventory during February, about 400 fewer than the same month a year ago.
Asking prices are comparable to a year ago. System-wide, the median asking price for the current inventory of single family homes and condominiums is $249,900, about $5,000 below the year-ago median figure of $254,950 (down 1.98 percent). Six counties (Ferry, Grant, King, Mason, Snohomish, and Whatcom) reported higher median listing prices in February than 12 months ago.
Northwest MLS members reported 3,846 closed sales last month, up about 25 percent from the year-ago total of 3,080 completed transactions.
Selling prices continued to slip, but the decline was under 9 percent for the first time in nearly a year. The area-wide median price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) was $218,944, down about 8.8 percent from the year-ago figure of $240,000.
For single family homes only (excluding condominiums), prices were down about 7.7 percent from a year ago. Last month’s closed sales fetched a median sales price of $229,000, which compares to the year-ago price of $248,000. Five counties (Clallam Ferry, Grant, Lewis and San Juan) reported year-over-year price increases.
Commenting on the market around Kitsap County, where prices dipped nearly 11 percent, Wilson said he expects prices to “stabilize and even reverse as we move further into 2012.” With 4.3 months of supply in that county, he believes the market is tilting toward sellers. “We continue to see more multiple offer situations on homes that come on the market correctly priced,” he stated.
Wilson also pointed to recently released consumer confidence numbers as a positive indicator. He noted The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index posted sizeable improvements in February, approaching levels last seen a year ago.
In a statement accompanying the latest report, Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said consumers were more optimistic about the short-term outlook than they were a month ago. “Consumers are considerably less pessimistic about current business and labor market conditions than they were in January. And, despite further increases in gas prices, they are more optimistic about the short-term outlook for the economy, job prospects, and their financial situation,” she declared.
Nationally, the overall direction for the housing market is positive, according to analysts with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Its latest figures show the past few months of contract activity are the highest in more than four years outside of the home buyer tax credit impact. In comments accompanying the latest figures, NAR suggested the market isn’t as strong as it could be because of overly restrictive lending standards and contract cancellations due in part to appraised values coming in below a negotiated price.
Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.
Windermere Foundation Fundraiser!
Windermere Redmond is proud to be hosting a Silent
Auction Fundraiser to benefit the Windermere Foundation.
When: Thursday March 15th from 5pm to 8pm
Where: Windermere Redmond Office
~ 16261 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA 98052~
Please RSVP to: 425-883-0088 or to Redmond@windermere.com
A suggested donation of 10$ to the Windermere Foundation
Windermere Foundation was created by Windermere Real Estate to support charities dealing with homeless families in our communities. In 2011 Windermere Foundation Eastside gave over $120,000 to Eastside Charities
~Evening of wine, cheeses, desserts, and a silent auction.
~Open to the public and a great time to network !
Thank you so much!
Lynn Sanborn
Eastside Windermere Foundation Rep
Seattle Ranks HIgh For Real Estate Investing!
The Seattle area will be the nation's fifth-best market for real estate investing next year and the top "buy" market for retail and industrial property, according to a new report.
A separate report released Wednesday says investors are snapping up homes in the area, but other potential buyers are staying on the sidelines.
First, the latest "Emerging Trends on Real Estate" report, by the Urban Land Institute (a real estate think tank) and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, says the Seattle area real estate market will bounce back next year thanks to its "diversified new-age corporate base, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google, as well as other formidable employers like Boeing, Costco and Nordstrom."
The office and apartment markets will be particularly strong in and near downtown Seattle, the report predicts.
Seattle benefits from being a 24-hour global gateway city, Charles DeRocco, director of Real Estate Research at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a report co-author, said during a presentation Wednesday. The nation as a whole, he said, is in the early stages of a slow recovery.
The area moved into the nation's top tier of real estate markets about a decade ago, James Gallagher, vice president of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, said during a subsequent panel discussion. "Then, in the last six or seven years, I think it's gone up another notch."
By this, he means the area has added what has been known as the "California premium" -- an extra cost to get into such desirable markets as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Although he added that foreign investors still rank those two areas above Seattle.
The report rated 51 markets on a nine-point scale in 2012 prospects for commercial/multifamily investment, commercial/multifamily development and for-sale homebuilding. It ranked Seattle fifth (6.6 points, "generally good") in the first category, seventh (5.81 points, "generally good") and seventh (5.21, "fair"), respectively.
The 21 areas rated "generally good" for commercial/multifamily investment are listed in the photos at the top of this story. The worst area was Detroit, followed by Rust Belt sibling Cleveland and foreclosure poster child Las Vegas.
Seattle ranked first out of 15 areas rated for buying and holding retail property, and industrial and distribution property (such as warehouses); second (after San Francisco) for buying and holding offices; and third (after San Francisco and Los Angeles) for buying and holding apartments.
A big risk, in Seattle and nationwide, is oversupply of apartments. Increased rental demand and a lack of financing for other types of construction have fueled a boom in apartment development, as noted recently by Seattle's Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors.
"I predict that in 2014 I'll be up here saying we built too many apartments," DeRocco said.
One unknown is to what extent increased rental demand is fueled by people taking a dimmer view of owning a home, rather than not being able to buy, and whether such attitude changes will last.
Some people are just waiting until they're sure home prices have bottomed out, said Brian Fritz, head of Pacific Northwest activities for apartment developer AvalonBay Communities.
But others, Gallagher said, continue to rent because they foresee moving among jobs and cities over the course of their careers and don't want to be tied down.
"They want to be able to go where the jobs are," he said, adding: "Some of them got burned the last time around" by being tied to a home they couldn't sell.
Young adults also are happy with smaller apartments and more common space, Fritz said. He said his company has cut average apartment sizes from about 900 square feet to just over 700 square feet, while adding things like community rooms with Wi-Fi and coffee bars.
They also want to be in or close to downtown, he said, adding that suburbs are "taking a nap" and won't wake up until closer-in areas fill up.
For those who want to buy, there are lots of options, DeRocco noted. "Now's the time to buy your dream house."
Falling prices and continued low interest rates have brought home affordability to record highs, the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University reported Wednesday. The typical county household made 127 percent of the income needed to buy the median-price house (up from 124 percent last quarter), while the typical first-time-buyer household made 67.5 percent of the income needed for a starter home (up from 66.4 percent).
The median price of an existing house sold in the third quarter was $350,000, down 10.3 percent from a year earlier.
King County home sales were up 27 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, although they fell by a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent from the second quarter, the center reported.
"Potential buyers are still looking for bargains, even when they are not dealing with distressed properties" (houses in or under threat of foreclosure), center Director Glenn Crellin said in the report. "Investors with cash are actively seeking properties where they believe sellers want out more quickly than waiting for lenders to approve loans for the buyers would allow."
Read more real estate news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
New Home Sales Edge Up!
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The modest housing market winning streak continued as the Census Bureau reported Friday that sales of new homes rose again in November to an annualized rate of 315,000.
That was up 1.6% compared with the revised October rate of 310,000 and 9.8% higher than November 2010.
The good news followed other recent positive industry reports. November sales of existing homes rose 12% year-over-year; homebuilding spiked nearly 21% compared with 12 months ago; and mortgage rates hit record lows this week.
The sales hike was in line with expectations: The forecast from Briefing.com was for a 315,000 annualized rate.
The median price for a new home was $214,100 in November. Inventory shrank to 158,000 units, a 6-month supply at the current sales rate.
New homes sales are particularly important because they have a large impact on the overall economy, said Bob Denk, senior economist with the National Association of Home Builders.
"Inventories of new homes are very low: There's nothing on the shelf, so any increase in new home sales will translate directly into new housing starts," he said. "That means putting people back to work."
Residential housing construction has been a missing link in the slow economic recovery. Denk described conditions as still slow but "generating momentum." He expects steady but modest improvement through 2112 with a more robust recovery coming in 2013.
