March home prices suffer double-dip setback - Yahoo! News

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. single-family home prices dropped in March, dipping below their 2009 low, as the housing market remained bogged down by inventory and weak demand, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.2 percent in March from February on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with economists' expectations.

The price index was below the low seen in April 2009 during the financial crisis. The glut of houses for sale, foreclosures, tight credit and weak demand have kept the housing market on the ropes even as other areas of the economy start to recover.

The 20-city composite index was at 138.16, falling below the 2009 low of 139.26.

"This month's report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, said in a statement. "Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight."

Eight cities fell 1 percent or more in March, while Washington was the only city where prices increased on both a monthly and yearly basis. Prices in the 20 cities fell 3.6 percent year over year, topping expectations for a decline of 3.3 percent.

"The declines sustained in the last 12 months have almost erased the gains of the previous 12 months. The housing market is treading backward, but not drowning," said Cary Leahey, economist and managing director at Decision Economics in New York.

In the first quarter, the national index fell 1.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to a decline of 1.8 percent in the previous quarter. On a non-adjusted basis, they fell by 4.2 percent in the quarter. Nationally, home prices are back to their mid-2002 levels, the report said.

Financial markets saw little reaction to the data, with U.S. stock index futures pointing to a higher open on optimism that new aid for Greece from the European Union was on the horizon.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr, additional reporting by Ellen Freilich, editing by W Simon )

via news.yahoo.com

More data that shows the real estate market is more than just soft. This quote by David Blitzer is disheartening: "Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight." We will keep an eye on this to see how things trend over the next couple of months which are traditionally good months for selling a home.

Pending Home Sales: Pending Home Sales Dive 11.6% in April - CNBC

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes dropped far more than expected in April to touch a seven-month low, a trade group said on Friday, dealing a blow to hopes of a recovery in the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index dropped 11.6 percent to 81.9 in April, the lowest since September. Pending home sales lead existing home sales by a month or two.

Economists, who had expected pending home sales to fall 1.0 percent last month, said bad weather in some parts of the country might have affected home shopping.

"There may some temporary factors like bad weather in the South," said Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

"Higher gasoline may be making potential home buyers a bit cautious. It is signaling further weakness in housing, but we do expect housing to turn around later this year. It just hasn't happened yet."

Pending home sales in the South, which was ravaged by tornadoes, dropped 17.2 percent. Sales were also down in the Midwest and the West.

The weak housing market is one the headwinds facing the economy as it make a slow recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s. The economy grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter after expanding at a 3.1 pace in the last three months of 2010.

via cnbc.com

The market continues to stagnate. Until there is some certainty about where the economy is going the housing market will continue to trudge along the bottom. There has been very little positive news to give buyers a reason to buy a home. I expect we will be like this for at least another 2 years.

New home sales at 4-month high, supply drops - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New single-family home sales rose for a second straight month in April and supply was the lowest in a year, but an overhang of previously owned homes on the market will stifle any housing market recovery.

The Commerce Department said sales increased 7.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 unit annual rate, the highest level since December, while prices also rose. Economists had expected a 300,000-unit pace.

All four regions recorded gains in sales, with the West reporting a 15.1 percent rise. However, compared to April last year sales were down 23.1 percent.

"Although the headline figure has moved sharply on a month-to-month basis, reflecting in part the impact of harsh weather in earlier months, the bottom line is that the new home market continues to bounce along the bottom," said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

An oversupply of used houses and a relentless wave of foreclosed properties are curbing the market for new homes, even as builders are keeping lean inventories.

There were a record low 175,000 new homes available for sale last month, down 2.8 percent from the prior month.

Data last week showed a steep drop in new home construction in April and a dip in sales of previously owned homes.

"There's still a tremendous overhang in the housing market, and while new home sales are starting to percolate, that doesn't change the fact that we still have such huge inventory," said Michael Yoshikami, chief investment strategist at Ycmnet Advisors in Walnut Creek, California.

Stocks on Wall Street were little changed, while prices for U.S. government bonds fell ahead of new debt sales later in the week. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies.

SLUGGISH GROWTH

While the report cast a positive light on the housing market, it did little to change perceptions the economy remained mired in a soft patch.

That view was reinforced by a Richmond Federal Reserve survey showing manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region stalled in May, after expanding during the previous seven months.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index came in at -6, a sharp contraction from the reading of +10 in April, dragged down by declining shipments and new orders.

It added to a raft of other data ranging from retail sales to industrial production that have painted a picture of an economy struggling to regain momentum as the second quarter started, with employment only the bright spot.

The government is expected to report on Thursday that the economy grew at a still tepid 2.1 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to a Reuters survey, rather than the 1.8 percent pace it estimated last month.

The upward revision will most likely reflect a slightly faster pace of inventory accumulation than initially thought.

The Commerce Department report also showed the median sales price for a new home rose 1.6 percent last month to $217,900. Compared with April last year, the median price increased 4.6 percent.

At April's sales pace, the supply of new homes on the market dropped to 6.5 months' worth, the lowest since April last year, from 7.2 months' worth in March.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

via news.yahoo.com

New Home sales appear to be in decent change, but builders are keeping their inventories low because demand is low due to a huge supply of resale homes. Those resale homes will be around for a lot longer.

Notice of Trustee Sale filings were down 27.9 percent in April 2011

Notice of Trustee Sale filings were down 27.9 percent in April 2011 from the prior month, falling to the lowest point we've seen since we began tracking Arizona in August 2009, and down 415 percent from the same time last year. There was a similar dip in foreclosure sales, with a 22.2 percent drop in sales Back to Bank and a 15.4 percent decline in Sales to 3rd Parties month-over-month. Cancellations rose 18.8 percent month-over-month, which together with the drop in filings led to 10.6 percent fewer properties Scheduled for Sale.

Most expect housing recovery is years away | Phoenix Business Journal

Only about 5 percent of the population believes the residential real estate industry has recovered — the same percent as last year, a new report shows.

Homebuyers, sellers and renter site Trulia.com and online marketplace RealtyTrac on Wednesday released the results of an ongoing survey tracking Americans' attitudes regarding the housing industry. The resulting report found that about 54 percent of respondents don't expect real recovery until 2014 or later.

An even smaller number, about 3 percent, forecast recovery happening before the end of this year. Another 156 percent see the change happening in 2012. Finally, close to a quarter said things will improve by 2013. One Trulia expert said he expects the market to be volatile through at least the end of 2011.

“Most Americans, as our latest survey revealed, overestimated how quickly the housing market would bounce back, but when it does, it will likely be a long and gradual process,” Trulia co-founder and CEO Pete Flint said. “On the flip side, mortgage rates won’t stay low forever and even if home prices continue to fall for a bit, now is still a good time to enter the housing market."

He expects about 18 months before Americans see real stability in the market.

A separate RealtyTrac report found Arizona is the No. 2 state in the country for home foreclosures, but that filings had actually dropped from the previous month.

Next Article: Top jobs for new grads are in tech, sales

via bizjournals.com

I am with those that think the recovery will not show in Arizona until late 2012 or 2013 at the earliest.

Home building, manufacturing slump in April - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Housing starts and building permits fell in April and factory output slumped as an automobile parts shortage crimped production, showing the economy got off to a weak start in the second quarter.

Corporate results from Home Depot Inc added further evidence of a decline in housing after the No. 1 home improvement chain noted poor weather hurt the spring selling season and sapped its sales.

Groundbreaking for new housing dropped 10.6 percent to an annual rate of 523,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday, as a glut of homes on the market discouraged new projects. March's starts were revised up to a 585,000-unit pace from the previously reported rate of 549,000 units.

The report pointed to prolonged weakness for the sector. Economists had forecast housing starts rising to a 568,000-unit rate. Compared to April last year, residential construction was down 23.9 percent, the largest decline since October 2009.

Starts in the South slumped to a two-year low.

"We're still struggling to find the bottom here for the housing market. It does not bode well for construction in the near term, and there's a good deal of overhang in terms of inventory," said Michael Woolfolk a senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York.

A separate report showed the Japanese earthquake had hit U.S. manufacturing output, which fell 0.4 percent in April after 9 consecutive monthly increases, the Federal Reserve said. Overall industrial production was flat, buoyed by gains in mining and utilities.

Excluding cars and parts, manufacturing output rose 0.2 percent.

Capacity utilization, a measure of how close to flat out factories are running, fell unexpectedly in April, suggesting scant inflationary pressures in the world's largest economy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's, the world's largest retailer, said its U.S. business continues to struggle even as international sales held strong.

U.S. stocks fell on concerns about the economic recovery, while Treasury debt prices rose and the dollar firmed against a basket of currencies.

TOO MANY HOUSES ON THE MARKET

Residential construction is being crowded out by an oversupply of used homes on the market, in particular, foreclosed properties, which sell well below their value.

In March, the spread between the prices of new and previously owned houses was about $54,200.

Home builders' sentiment was flat in May, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday.

Though builders expected a modest improvement in sales during spring, they anticipated market conditions to weaken in the next six months.

Residential construction accounts for about 2.2 percent of gross domestic product. Investment in home building contracted in the first quarter after a modest increase in the last three months of 2010.

Groundbreaking last month was depressed by a 24.1 percent tumble in the volatile multi-family homes sector, where starts for buildings with five or more units dropped 28.3 percent. Single-family home construction fell 5.1 percent.

New building permits dropped 4.0 percent to a 551,000-unit pace last month. March's permits were revised down to a 574,000-unit pace and economists had expected overall building permits in April to remain unchanged at the previously reported 585,000-unit pace.

Permits were held down last month by an 8.8 percent drop in the multi-family segment. Permits to build single-family homes slipped 1.8 percent.

New home completions rose 4.1 percent to 554,000 units in April.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

via news.yahoo.com

Zillow: Phoenix home prices decline, 68 percent underwater | Phoenix Business Journal

Home values in Phoenix are continuing to decline, according to a first quarter report released by Zillow.com.

Phoenix also has the highest percentage of homeowners with negative equity on their mortgages at 68.4 percent, the report noted.

Home values in the Phoenix metro area dropped another 2.3 percent between the last quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. The year-over-year drop was 11.2 percent. The home value drop from the market peak in Phoenix is 55.3 percent.

The report surveyed 132 markets.

Other markets with a large percentage of mortgages underwater include Atlanta (55.7 percent), Riverside, Calif. (50.7 percent), Tampa, Fla. (59.8 percent) and Sacramento, Calif. (51.2 percent).

Other markets with a large drop in values from the peak include Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (55.4 percent), Detroit (55.5 percent) and Orlando (55.2 percent).

However, the greatest concern is the current drop in values during the last quarter.

“Home values in the United States fell faster in the first quarter of 2011 than they have in any quarter since 2008, when the housing market experienced its worst performance,” the report states. “Very few markets were exempt from home value declines in the first quarter.”

The markets recording the largest declines for the quarter include Chicago (4.8 percent), Atlanta (4.4 percent), Detroit (5.2 percent), Minneapolis-St. Paul (4.8 percent), St. Louis (4 percent) and Sacramento (4.2 percent).

Only four markets recorded increases or remained flat. They are Fort Myers, Fla. (2.4 percent increase); Champaign-Urbana, Ill. (0.8 percent increase); Honolulu, Hawaii (0.3 percent) and Sarasota, Fla. (no change).

Next Article: Arizona takes 1070 fight to Supreme Court

via bizjournals.com

This is not good news. It will be a long while before this market settles down.

Reagor: Foreclosure activity eased in April

My plan had been not to lead this column with news about foreclosures this week, instead focusing on a more positive indicator or trend in metro Phoenix's real-estate market.

But the foreclosure numbers from April quickly changed my mind. Pre-foreclosures fell to 4,200 last month, their lowest level since December 2007, according to real-estate-research firm Information Market.

In Arizona, pre-foreclosures are notice-of-trustee-sale filings that signal that a lender has started the legal process of taking a home back from a borrower.

In April, foreclosures dropped to 4,500, which is 500 fewer than in March. Foreclosures are legally known as trustee sales.

And the number of active residential notices, or pending foreclosures in metro Phoenix, dropped to 30,790. A year ago, this key market indicator was 30 percent higher.

A few more months of drops in foreclosure activity like April's, and it finally could be safe to say the region's housing market is starting to recover.

- Loan-modification investigation: The Arizona attorney general is asking for a court-ordered injunction to stop two people accused of deceptive loan-modification practices.

The two men, Robert Daniel Hayes and Camerin Charles Hawthorne, offer loan services under the company names Mediation Services and Metropolis Loans, according to the attorney general.

The complaint alleges the men solicited loan-modification customers over the phone and charged them upfront fees of $2,500. A new Arizona law makes it illegal for loan-modification firms to charge fees before trying to modify a mortgage.

The complaint also alleges Mediation Services told customers it was affiliated with CitiMortgage, and they had been preapproved for loan modification.

Attorney General Tom Horne has asked a Maricopa County Superior Court to prohibit the men from continuing the practices.

A hearing for the complaint has been set for May 20.

via azcentral.com

This is a positive sign. Let's hope that the trend continues.