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First-time home buyers are an ever-shrinking segment of the real estate market. In December, The percentage of first-time buyers tied the lowest level ever recorded in the National Assocition of Realtors' Realtors Confidence Index this year at 31 percent of the market.

Luxury Listings Lag Cheaper Properties as Inventories Rise

By: editor; Tue, Jan 24, 2012

Sales are typically slow in winter, but this January is proving especially sluggish for luxury homes even though sales for all existing homes have increased through the last three months of 2011.

Is the Problem Too Many Homes?

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jan 19, 2012

Is an oversupply of housing units the real reason that America is suffering from low prices? Is the glut is so serious that it will plague local housing markets and depress home values for a number of years to come?

Home Sellers’ Equity Shrinks

By: Steve Cook; Wed, Nov 16, 2011

They say that the longer sellers hold onto properties, the more equity they will realize. In recent years, however, just the opposite has been the case.

Will Home Value Insurance Work?

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Nov 10, 2011

The idea of insurance to protect homeowners from declining home values has been batted around for years, but now it's a reality. On September 28, Ohio homeowners became the first in the nation who can buy a real insurance policy to protect their primary residences against lost value when they sell.

Case-Shiller: Welcome Back to 2003

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Oct 25, 2011

Remember 2003? That was the year Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was the hottest movie, the year that America invaded Iraq, and in 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas. Your home was worth then just about what it's worth today.

Are Sellers Withdrawing?

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Oct 17, 2011

A decline in inventories is normal at this time of the year as real estate markets buckle down for the fall and winter season. But the 20 percent plus drop in inventories from last year at this time suggests something else is going on.

RE/MAX Confirms Prices Trail 2010

By: editor; Fri, Oct 14, 2011

The latest national housing report from RE/MAX is the second price report to show national average prices down modestly from last September, confirming fears that markets have not fully recovered from the second dip in prices during the first quarter of this year.

Prices Grow Grimmer as Fall Begins

By: editor; Thu, Oct 6, 2011

Home prices through August are down 4.4 percent on the year according to the most depressing price report issued since the double dip in the first quarter.

Apartment Rents Rising Faster than Last Year

By: editor; Mon, Oct 3, 2011

4 Comments

Effective rent growth is significantly higher so far this year than it was at this time in 2010, and at this pace rents may rise more in 2011 than they have since 2005.

Case-Shiller: July was a Very Good Month

By: editor; Tue, Sep 27, 2011

Through July, home prices registered a fourth consecutive month of increases up 0.9 percent in July over June.

Prices Cool with End of Summer

By: editor; Thu, Sep 22, 2011

We're not out of the woods yet and the market trends tell us we're settling in for a long, cold winter.

Luxury Sales Languish

By: editor; Thu, Sep 22, 2011

The end of the spring-summer buying season is taking its toll on luxury properties. Median days on market for homes selling over $500,000 has fallen 40 percent since the peak of the season in May.

DC, Baltimore Enjoy Best August Sales since the Bust

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Sep 12, 2011

Pending sales in the Washington DC and Baltimore markets returned to boom levels for the first time in years, even though prices experienced a seasonal decline.

Summer Prices Fail to Warm the Double Dip Chill

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Sep 8, 2011

As summer days fade away into fall, the long term impact of this year's buying season on prices is coming into clear focus.

Case-Shiller Prices Recover in Second Quarter

By: editor; Tue, Aug 30, 2011

Home prices rose in the second quarter almost as much as they fell in the first, but prices at the end of June still trailed June 2010 levels-which still reflected demand generated by the tax credit boomlet.

Old Rules No Longer Apply

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Aug 19, 2011

Never before have housing markets experienced low interest rates, high unemployment, and a glut of inventory hiding in the shadow.

RE/MAX Faults Lenders, Appraisals

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Aug 19, 2011

Strict lending standards, bad appraisals and concern about the economy all contributed to lower than normal sales in July.

First-time Buyers Evaporate

By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 20, 2011

First-time buyer market share fell 18 percent below the level of a year ago, reducing absorption of distressed properties, which accounted for nearly half of all sales during the month.

Home Sales Seen Eking Out an Increase

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Apr 19, 2011

Though deteriorating home price expectations among consumers could cause some potential homebuyers to remain on the sidelines this spring, leading indicators suggest that home sales will manage to eke out a slight rise from last year's record lows.

Depressed Prices Descend into Dreaded Double Dip

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Mar 29, 2011

Home prices officially reached the long feared double dip in January as prices of single-family homes in 20 major cities fell for a sixth straight month, according to the authoritative S&P/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's.

RE/MAX Survey: February Prices Down 5.9 Percent from 2010

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Mar 18, 2011

Though February home sales rose over January, they were 3.0 percent below the level of February 2010 and median prices were off 5.9 percent from a year ago in the 54 U.S. markets surveyed in the RE/MAX National Housing Report.

Buyers’ Selection of Luxury Homes Grows

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Mar 8, 2011

Inventories of homes for sale for over one million rose above 30,000 nationally last week according to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing's weekly housing report.

Three Biggest Lenders Close Over Half of U.S. Mortgages

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Feb 15, 2011

More than half of last year's mortgage originations were generated by just three lenders, according to the Fourth Quarter 2010 Mortgage Lender Ranking from MortgageDaily.com.

Challenges Face Luxury Homes

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jan 21, 2011

Things were looking up for luxury home sales during the tax credit boomlet last year. However, the credit wasn't the primary reason; after all, $4000 isn't a compelling incentive to well-heeled move up buyers in the million dollar plus housing bracket.

Home Prices Teeter on a Double Dip

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Dec 28, 2010

A 20-city composite of home prices through October as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller Indices is teetering on the brink of falling below recent lows in 2009 to create a price new low and achieve the "double dip" in prices long feared by the real estate industry.

Shared Equity: Roadmap to Homeownership Sustainability

By: Frances Flynn Thorsen; Fri, Dec 10, 2010

Shared equity initiatives for low income families who buy homes below market value deliver sustainable homeownership solutions, low delinquency and foreclosure rates, and families who sold shared equity homes were able to use sales proceeds to purchase market-rate homes, according to Urban Institute.

Midwest Home Prices Plunged in November

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Dec 9, 2010

Home prices have fallen on a national basis for three months in a row, declining by 5.8 percent in November compared to August, according to a leading price index released today. The Midwest region experienced the biggest quarterly price change (-9.9 percent) and increasing numbers of local markets dropped into double dip territory.

Mortgage Rates Soar

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Nov 18, 2010

Freddie Mac's weekly survey of interest rates rose for the first time in eight weeks, soaring 22 basis points for a 30-year fixed loan, the highest rates have been since August and the largest one-week increase since June 4, 2009 when the rate on a 30-year fixed rose 38 basis points.

Falling Prices: CoreLogic Makes it Two in a Row

By: Steve Cook; Wed, Nov 17, 2010

Home prices declined for the second month in a row after rising slightly for the first seven months of the year, according to CoreLogic's Home Price Index for September.

Sellers’ Profits Fell 8 Percent Last Year

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Nov 15, 2010

Even though home sellers are holding on to their homes longer, they are making less profit from the equity in their homes when they sell, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors.

Rental Vacancies Shrink, Ownership Vacancies Rise

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Nov 4, 2010

4 Comments

Nothing shows the pendulum swinging away from home ownership and towards rentals more clearly than the latest vacancy data from the Census Bureau.

Owning Now Cheaper than Renting in 18 Major Markets

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Oct 8, 2010

Rising rents and falling property values in many major markets are combining the change the rent vs. buy equation for thousands of potential homeowners around the country. Suddenly homeownership is within reach of buyers who don't need a tax credit to make the numbers work.

Price Increases Slowed Down Quickly in June

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Aug 17, 2010

Year-over-year home prices increased in June for the fifth consecutive month, but at a much lower rate than April and May, reported CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI).

Gloomy Fannie Sees a Flat Fall

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Aug 16, 2010

Fannie Mae's economists see 2.5 percent overall growth in the second half of 2010 but forecast housing will be flat for the remainder of the year due to a greater than expected number of sales being pulled forward into the second quarter by the homebuyer tax credit.

Apartment Rents are on the Rise

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Aug 9, 2010

5 Comments

Apartment rents have made an about face during the first half of the year and they'll continue to rise if vacancies tighten as predicted as more and more households become renters.

Nearly Half of Sellers Cut Prices

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Aug 6, 2010

The number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 5.3 percent in July as compared to June, according to a monthly review of MLS-listed properties within 26 of the country's largest housing markets conducted by the national online real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

Prices Fall on Move-in Properties, Rise on Fixer-uppers

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jul 27, 2010

Prices on homes ready to be occupied fell an average of 6.8 percent between May and June, but prices for damaged foreclosed properties increased by 5.9 percent during the same period.

New Financial Reform Legislation Transforms Appraisals

By: Steve Cook; Sat, Jul 24, 2010

The financial regulatory reform bill signed into law the week could result in more accurate home valuations, higher appraisal costs, faster closings, more completed transactions and maybe even higher prices, according to critics of a controversial quasi-governmental regulation that the legislation eliminated.

RE/MAX Finds Low Rates Lift Sales

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jul 20, 2010

In the wake of the homebuyer tax credit, home sales and prices are holding their own, due largely to record low interest rates and the most affordable prices in years, according to the RE/MAX June survey of 54 metropolitan areas.

Falling Home Prices Ignite Boom in Foreign Buyers

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jul 19, 2010

12 Comments

The number of American homes bought by foreign nationals has nearly doubled in the past year as falling property values and record numbers of distress sales encouraged immigrants and foreign investors to take advantage of affordable prices. With home purchases by US citizens plummeting in the wake of the tax credit, foreigners are now poised to gain an even larger ownership share of the US residential market.

First-time Buyers Fade in April

By: Steve Cook; Mon, May 24, 2010

14 Comments

The end of the tax credit brought about a significant decline in first-time homebuyers in April, the heart of the 2010 home buying season.

Improving Values Discourage Property Tax Appeals

By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 21, 2010

16 Comments

In recent years, falling market values have inspired millions of homeowners to appeal their property tax assessments in hopes of lowering their tax bills, especially in "sand states" where values have fallen the most since 2006. But this year, the rush to judgment may be over.

Remodeling to Recover in 2010

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Apr 15, 2010

Home improvement spending will recover this year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Pending Sales Return to December

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Apr 5, 2010

The snow melted, the spring housing market warmed up and the deadline loomed for the home buyer tax credit. All three combined to help NAR's Pending Sales Index rise 8.2 percent in February following a dismal January.

Retirement Markets Lose Population

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Mar 25, 2010

Sunbelt markets are experiencing slower population growth because older Americans are staying put in family homes, according new Census estimates released yesterday.

Inventories Rose in February

By: Steve Cook; Wed, Mar 24, 2010

The national housing inventory has risen to its highest level since September, before first-time buyers started rushing to put contracts on houses and beat a November 30 deadline that Congress subsequently extended to April 30. 2010.

Investors Soar as First-timers Fade

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Feb 26, 2010

Fresh data from Campbell Communications' monthly survey of more than 1,500 real estate agents found that the investor market share of buy-side transactions has jumped nearly six points since November, while first-time buyers have fallen more seven percentage points since October.

Inventory Highest in Six Months

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Feb 26, 2010

The national inventory of existing homes is larger now than it has been since the run-up of sales since thousands of first-time buyers rushed to the closing table last fall to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit.

Mortgage Rates Finally Fall

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jan 7, 2010

5 Comments

Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages switched gears this week, falling slightly for the first time in a month, but remained above last month's record lows.

Rates Rise Into 2010

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Dec 31, 2009

Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages ended 2009 with the longest ascending streak of the year, rising for the fifth straight week, to 5.14 percent.

Foreclosure States Lose Population

By: Steve Cook; Sun, Dec 27, 2009

The real estate recession, which has frozen more then 10 percent of homeowners in their homes, has slowed domestic migration dramatically.

Mortgage Rates Break 5 Percent

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Dec 24, 2009

After hitting historic lows three weeks ago, mortgage rates rose above 5 percent this week.

Spring Price Recovery Forecast

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Dec 22, 2009

Improvement in both levels of inventories and unemployment are projected to prevail in the spring of next year.

Shadow Inventory Rises 54 Percent

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Dec 18, 2009

The 1.7 million homes currently in the "shadow inventory" significantly increases calculations of the inventory of homes for sale, according to a new report from First American CoreLogic.

Homeowners Lost Only $489 Billion in 2009

By: Steve Cook; Wed, Dec 9, 2009

Forty-eight of the 154 markets tracked by Zillow showed gains in home values during 2009.

Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows

By: Steve Cook; Wed, Nov 25, 2009

The average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.00 percent, according to Bankrate.com.

Mortgage Rates Sink to Seven-Month Low

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Nov 12, 2009

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to a seven-month low of 5.19 percent.

Underwater Homeowners Come Up for Air

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Nov 10, 2009

The percentage of American single-family homes with mortgages in negative equity fell to 21 percent in the third quarter, down from 23 percent in the second, according to the third quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Report.

Apartment Market Improves Slowly, Vacancies Remain High

By: Steve Cook; Fri, Oct 30, 2009

The apartment market showed signs of improvement in the third quarter, but vacancies and rent levels remain low.

Arizona, California Markets Lead Top Ten List for Home Sales

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Oct 27, 2009

The country's top ten ZIP codes for home sales based on sales-to-list price ratio have diversified significantly this quarter.

Home Price Discounts Shrink as Inventories Fall

By: Steve Cook; Sun, Oct 11, 2009

Falling inventories are helping home sellers gain a negotiating edge over buyers for the first time in many months.

Higher Prices, Fewer Sales Forecast in California Next Year

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Oct 8, 2009

California's real-estate market will rebound in 2010, with modest price increases and steady sales activity, according to a forecast by the California Association of Realtors released yesterday.

National 30-year Fixed Mortgage Rate Falls Below 5 Percent

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Oct 6, 2009

Yesterday rates for 30-year fixed purchase mortgages decreased 4.94 percent after falling last week to 4.96 percent, down from 5.02 percent the week.

One-third of African-Americans Turned Down for Mortgages

By: Steve Cook; Thu, Oct 1, 2009

Homebuyers of every racial minority from African-Americans to Pacific Islanders were more likely to be denied a mortgage last year than white Americans, according to data from lenders released yesterday by the Federal Reserve.

Price Cutting Eases Condo Glut

By: Steve Cook; Mon, Sep 28, 2009

The glut of unsold and foreclosed condos that paralyzed resort and urban markets two years ago has significantly eased in wake of price-cutting and discounting in a number of markets, signaling that the end of the bargain era is in sight and stable markets are on their way.

Loan Demand is Strong as Fewer Banks Tighten Credit

By: Steve Cook; Tue, Aug 18, 2009