Existing Home Sales ROSE by 9.4% in September to 5.57 million, compared with market expectations for a smaller increase to 5.35 million.
- This increase has lifted sales to their highest level since July 2007.
- Over the past year, existing home sales have increased by 9.2%. However, this is 23.2% below their September 2005 record high.
- About 45% of sales were estimated to be to first-time home buyers, spurred by low prices and the home buying tax credit from the government.
- About one-third of sales were estimated to be distressed.
The Inventory of Homes Available for Sale FELL by 7.5% to 3,630k. With this decline, the inventory of homes available for sale is now 15.0% below its year ago level. This reduced the months supply to 7.8, its lowest level in since March 2007. This is supply is significantly lower for relatively low priced homes and substantially higher for relatively high priced homes. However, there appears to be a large "shadow" inventory of homes available for sale, both from homeowners who have kept their homes off the market because of low prices and from financial institutions temporarily holding foreclosed homes off the market.
Home Prices continued to decline compared to their year ago levels. Over the past year, average prices have fallen by 6.5% while median prices have tumbled by 8.5%. Year-on-year prices have declined in 37 of the last 38 months and are still falling moderately, partly reflecting a shift in the composition of sales to lower priced homes and partly reflecting the much lower prices associated with distressed sales.
Excerpts from a 10/23/09 Existing Home Sales report by Steven A. Wood, Chief Economist of Insight Economics.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
New housing starts rose less than expected
Published Tue, Oct 20 2009 11:20 AM by Adam Quinones
New housing starts rose less than expected to 590,000 annualized units, economists were expecting a rise of 610,000 units after a read of 598,000 in August (which was revised lower to 587,000 annual units). The rise in new housing starts was a factor of a 3.9% increase in single family construction starts while multifamily starts fell by 15.2%. Building permits fell by 1.2% to 573,000 annual units led by a 3.0% decline in single-family permits while multi-family permits rose by 6.0% to 123,000 annualized units. ...
New housing starts rose less than expected to 590,000 annualized units, economists were expecting a rise of 610,000 units after a read of 598,000 in August (which was revised lower to 587,000 annual units). The rise in new housing starts was a factor of a 3.9% increase in single family construction starts while multifamily starts fell by 15.2%. Building permits fell by 1.2% to 573,000 annual units led by a 3.0% decline in single-family permits while multi-family permits rose by 6.0% to 123,000 annualized units. ...
Monday, October 19, 2009
Fed continues to slow down on the purchase of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS)
The Federal Reserve today reported on their weekly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the four trading days between October 8 and October 14, the Federal Reserve purchased a total of $21.42 billion agency MBS. In those four days the Federal Reserve sold a total of $5.32 billion agency MBS with almost all sales being Fannie Mae 5.5 MBS coupons. After sales, the Fed's weekly net purchases were $16.1 billion.
The goal of the Federal Reserve's agency MBS program is to provide support to mortgage and housing markets and to foster improved conditions in financial markets more generally. Only fixed-rate agency MBS securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are eligible assets for the program. The program includes, but is not limited to, 30-year, 20-year and 15-year securities of these issuers.
Since the inception of the program the Federal Reserve has spent $941.03 billion, or 75.28% of the allocated $1.25 trillion which is scheduled to run out in March 2010.
This is the fifth consecutive week the Fed has reduced MBS purchases. A slowdown of daily purchases is expected as the Fed begins to exit from the agency MBS purchase program. Up to this point the gradual withdrawal has not affected the performance of MBS coupons against benchmarks. This is a function of a slowdown in new production from originators.
The goal of the Federal Reserve's agency MBS program is to provide support to mortgage and housing markets and to foster improved conditions in financial markets more generally. Only fixed-rate agency MBS securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are eligible assets for the program. The program includes, but is not limited to, 30-year, 20-year and 15-year securities of these issuers.
Since the inception of the program the Federal Reserve has spent $941.03 billion, or 75.28% of the allocated $1.25 trillion which is scheduled to run out in March 2010.
This is the fifth consecutive week the Fed has reduced MBS purchases. A slowdown of daily purchases is expected as the Fed begins to exit from the agency MBS purchase program. Up to this point the gradual withdrawal has not affected the performance of MBS coupons against benchmarks. This is a function of a slowdown in new production from originators.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Seattle-area prices back to July 2005 levels
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Last updated 10:24 a.m. PT
By AUBREY COHEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Seattle-area house prices posted record declines in January, bringing them back to levels
not seen since July 2005, according to a new report.
The typical house in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties was worth 15 percent less in
January than it was a year earlier and 3.6 percent less than in December, according to
Standard & Poor's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The year-to-year drop was the
12th straight record for the index, which goes back to the start of 1990, while the monthly
decline tied the record set in December.
Seattle ranked ninth out of 20 areas S&P tracks for annual decline and 13th for monthly
drop. Area prices have fallen 19.7 percent from their July 2007 peak.
S&P's 20-city composite posted a record annual decline of 19 percent and was down 2.8
percent from December. No area posted a monthly or annual gain, while 13 had record
annual declines, 14 fell by more than 10 percent and nine were down more than 20
percent.
"There are very few bright spots that one can see in the data," David Blitzer, chairman of
S&P's Index committee, said in a statement. "Most of the nation appears to remain on a
downward path."
Patrick Newport, U.S. economist for the analysis firm IHS Global Insight, called the
report "a reminder that housing is still in deep recession."
Recent reported increases in new and existing home sales, and housing permits and starts
covered February and March, after the period in the latest S&P report, Newport noted.
"Therefore, it is possible that the market hit bottom in January and is starting to
improve."
Seattle-area prices back to July 2005 levels Page 1 of 2
http://www.seattlepi.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/404450_housi... 3/31/2009
He said Global Insight was not ready to make that call, because recent weather swings
have distorted data.
The S&P report gauges market movement by tracking repeat transactions of specific
houses, rather than depending on what happens to sell in any given month. The latest
report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service put the median King County house
sales price at $375,000 in February -- down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, 2 percent
from January and 22 percent from the peak of $481,000 in July 2007.
S&P's middle price tier, $271,524 to $395,118, posted the smallest drops, 2.6 percent
from December and 13.5 percent from a January 2008. The values of lower-priced homes
were down 3.9 percent from December and 17.4 percent from a year earlier. Moreexpensive
houses posted monthly and annual declines of 4.2 percent and 14.8 percent,
respectively.
S&P's 20-city index is now back to levels last seen in September 2003 and has fallen 29
percent from its peak in July 2006.
The smallest declines were 4.9 percent from a year earlier, in Dallas, and 1.2 percent
from December, in Charlotte. Phoenix posted the largest annual and monthly drops, 35
percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
The only "marginally positive" trend S&P noted was that January's year-to-year drops
were smaller than December's in Cleveland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, while Las
Vegas was one of six areas with somewhat smaller monthly declines.
Values have dropped more than 30 percent from their peak in nine areas and more than
40 percent in five: Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco and San Diego.
Aubrey Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8362 or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com.
© 1998-2009 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle-area prices back to July 2005 levels Page 2 of 2
http://
Last updated 10:24 a.m. PT
By AUBREY COHEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Seattle-area house prices posted record declines in January, bringing them back to levels
not seen since July 2005, according to a new report.
The typical house in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties was worth 15 percent less in
January than it was a year earlier and 3.6 percent less than in December, according to
Standard & Poor's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The year-to-year drop was the
12th straight record for the index, which goes back to the start of 1990, while the monthly
decline tied the record set in December.
Seattle ranked ninth out of 20 areas S&P tracks for annual decline and 13th for monthly
drop. Area prices have fallen 19.7 percent from their July 2007 peak.
S&P's 20-city composite posted a record annual decline of 19 percent and was down 2.8
percent from December. No area posted a monthly or annual gain, while 13 had record
annual declines, 14 fell by more than 10 percent and nine were down more than 20
percent.
"There are very few bright spots that one can see in the data," David Blitzer, chairman of
S&P's Index committee, said in a statement. "Most of the nation appears to remain on a
downward path."
Patrick Newport, U.S. economist for the analysis firm IHS Global Insight, called the
report "a reminder that housing is still in deep recession."
Recent reported increases in new and existing home sales, and housing permits and starts
covered February and March, after the period in the latest S&P report, Newport noted.
"Therefore, it is possible that the market hit bottom in January and is starting to
improve."
Seattle-area prices back to July 2005 levels Page 1 of 2
http://www.seattlepi.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/404450_housi... 3/31/2009
He said Global Insight was not ready to make that call, because recent weather swings
have distorted data.
The S&P report gauges market movement by tracking repeat transactions of specific
houses, rather than depending on what happens to sell in any given month. The latest
report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service put the median King County house
sales price at $375,000 in February -- down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, 2 percent
from January and 22 percent from the peak of $481,000 in July 2007.
S&P's middle price tier, $271,524 to $395,118, posted the smallest drops, 2.6 percent
from December and 13.5 percent from a January 2008. The values of lower-priced homes
were down 3.9 percent from December and 17.4 percent from a year earlier. Moreexpensive
houses posted monthly and annual declines of 4.2 percent and 14.8 percent,
respectively.
S&P's 20-city index is now back to levels last seen in September 2003 and has fallen 29
percent from its peak in July 2006.
The smallest declines were 4.9 percent from a year earlier, in Dallas, and 1.2 percent
from December, in Charlotte. Phoenix posted the largest annual and monthly drops, 35
percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
The only "marginally positive" trend S&P noted was that January's year-to-year drops
were smaller than December's in Cleveland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, while Las
Vegas was one of six areas with somewhat smaller monthly declines.
Values have dropped more than 30 percent from their peak in nine areas and more than
40 percent in five: Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco and San Diego.
Aubrey Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8362 or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com.
© 1998-2009 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle-area prices back to July 2005 levels Page 2 of 2
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