And, you might ask, how did we make the cut? The healthy markets that made the list have 1) strong job growth (Bureau of Labor Statistics) which bodes well for housing demand; 2) low vacancy rates (U.S. Postal Service)–low enough to encourage new construction, but not so low that inventory and sales are restrained; 3) …
Tag Archive: housing market
Sep 17
5 Reasons to Buy a Home Now
Based on prices, mortgage rates and soaring rents, there may have never been a better time in real estate history to purchase a home than right now. Here are five major reasons purchasers should consider buying: Supply Is Shrinking With inventory declining in many regions, finding a home of your dreams may become more difficult …
Jun 27
Gooood News! Pending and closed home sales in the Seattle area are ‘up’!
Seattle home prices up 2% in April Home prices in the Seattle metropolitan area, including King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, rose 2 percent in April, their biggest monthly gain since before the housing crisis began. The region’s 2 percent rise follows a 1.7 percent jump in March after seven straight months of declines providing further signs …
Jun 18
Hey Dude! Where are the homes for sale?
Lowest number of homes for sale since 2006 In the US there are currently 2.5 million homes listed for sale. This is the lowest number since 2006. Why is this, you ask? ‘Underwater’ home owners without enough equity to sell and move on are making their house payments and have decided to stay put. Potential sellers …
May 30
Zillow reports one-third of homeowners underwater with mortgage
Zillow just reported that their data shows nearly 16 million homes in this country are now in a negative equity position where the house is worth less than the mortgages on the home. This number is dramatically higher than the approximate 11 million reported by other entities. Why the huge difference? Zillow professes to take into consideration ALL …
May 25
The ‘bottom’ here?!
Recovery just around the corner… or here? Experts have been calling a bottom for the housing market ever since the bubble began to collapse in 2006… and they’ve been uniformly wrong. So, are we finally there? David Stiff, chief economist of Fiserv, the financial-services technology company that produces the widely followed Case-Shiller indexes, says ‘yes.’ House …
May 18
Is Now the Time to Buy Your First House?
It’s been a scary few years for the housing market. But at some point, the nightmare has to end (please?). Is now the time? Should first-time home buyers consider jumping into the market? After all, home prices have fallen 34% from their 2006 peak and mortgage rates are hovering at or near record lows. On …
May 01
Hit the bottom…?
Every day there seems to be more positive news about the real estate recovery…Check out a quote by Ivy Zelman which appeared last week in a Wall Street Journal article Stunned Home Buyers Find The Bidding Wars Are Back. “We very much believe we’ve hit bottom,” said Ivy Zelman, chief executive of a research firm, who was among the …
Apr 18
New Foreclosure Wave: What Will Be the Impact?
KCM Blog reported two months ago that foreclosures will significantly increase this summer as a result of The National Mortgage Settlement. This month, both Reuters (Americans brace for next foreclosure wave) and CNNMoney (Flood of foreclosures to hit the housing market) concurred. However, we believe this increase in distressed properties will have a much different impact on the housing market than previous increases …
