By Mike Colpitts Buffeted by high unemployment and weak consumer sentiment, housing markets are encountering sluggish home sales in the midst of what is typically the busiest home buying season of the year. Home sales should see an improvement towards the end of summer, but the average US home is projected to decline 7.1% in… Continue reading Huge Downgrade in US Housing Market
Category: Arizona
arizona housing market
Sarah Palin’s Daughter Turns Landlord
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol is becoming a landlord in Phoenix. The ex-Dancing with The Stars contestant, whose out of wedlock pregnancy alarmed the Republican religious right wing during Palin’s run to win the vice presidency, has moved out of her Phoenix area home, and has put it on the market as… Continue reading Sarah Palin’s Daughter Turns Landlord
Rigid Land Use Spiked Home Prices
By Mike Colpitts Rigid land use restrictions contributed to the housing bubble burst and still play a major role driving home values lower, according to a new study conducted by a Washington, D.C. think tank. “The majority of losses in the housing crash were overwhelmingly concentrated in metropolitan areas with restrictive land development regulations,” said… Continue reading Rigid Land Use Spiked Home Prices
New Home Building Starts Recovery
By Mike Colpitts Despite new home builder sentiment in the industry being exceptionally low, new home construction is in the early stages of recovery. The latest National Association of Home Builders confidence index was 16 in May. A reading under 50 indicates poor sentiment. However, new home developments are showing signs of life scattered throughout… Continue reading New Home Building Starts Recovery
Record $1 Billion Real Estate Auction
By Mike Colpitts A leading real estate auction company will put $1-billion in commercial property and notes up for auction, marking a new record for the largest real estate auction in U.S. history. The Las Vegas event illustrates the enormity of the real estate auction business selling-off assets for banks and mortgage service companies handling… Continue reading Record $1 Billion Real Estate Auction
Tight Rental Market Squeezes Tenants
By Mike Colpitts A lack of rental housing for the first time in years in the multi-family residential market is sending the rental market into a recovery. Vacancy rates fell to the lowest level in 2010 in more than four years as a leading rental advisory firm forecasts higher rents in 2011. Witten Advisors, a… Continue reading Tight Rental Market Squeezes Tenants
Cash Home Sales Hit Record as Sales Decline
By Mike Colpitts Cash home sales hit a new record high in February as sales declined following three consecutive months of rising sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales dropped 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88-million units from 5.4 million in January. Home buyers paying cash made up… Continue reading Cash Home Sales Hit Record as Sales Decline
New Normal in Real Estate Arrives
By Kevin Chiu Like a delivery truck motoring up the driveway the “New Normal” in real estate has arrived packaged as a surprise. You can let it get you down, or make sure that you protect yourself and your family from the financial hand-cuffs that the New Normal may deliver. Real estate economists and analysts… Continue reading New Normal in Real Estate Arrives
Mortgage Interest Rates Drop on Japan Fears
By Mike Colpitts Interest Rates on home mortgages dropped as a result of investor worries over the disaster in Japan and fears of contagion over financial markets falling across the world. Mortgage rates showed a drop across all types of loans offered to home borrowers, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Drop on Japan Fears
Half of Homeowners Qualify for New Mortgage
By Mike Colpitts Only about half of all homeowners would qualify to buy a new mortgage under current more restrictive mortgage lending guidelines. In the U.S. 54% of homeowners with a mortgage would qualify to put 20% down from the sale of their present home, according to Core Logic, which researches the mortgage industry. The… Continue reading Half of Homeowners Qualify for New Mortgage