Showing posts with label new homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new homes. Show all posts
22 June 2016
Prices for Tampa Bay homes climbed again in May, but are there signs of a slow down?
Original Story: tampabay.com
Prices for Tampa Bay homes continued to increase in May, with three of the four bay area counties showing double-digit gains. A Builder Custom Homes Tampa may be a good fit for you.
The year-over-year median price of a single-family home in Hillsborough jumped 10 percent to $224,500, higher than the state average. In Pasco, the median rose 12.8 percent, to $176,000, and in Hernando, it rocketed 19 percent to $138,000.
But for the bay area's two biggest counties, the increases are not nearly as dramatic as they were early in the year.
"I think it's kind of stabilized,'' Tampa Realtor Rebecca Schmid said of the bay area real estate market. "I don't see it going down but I don't see it going up at this point.''
In Pinellas, the median sale price in May rose 8.1 percent, a healthy gain but the smallest year-over-year increase since November. The county's median price of $200,000 has remained constant since March.
Hillsborough had its second lowest price gain since October.
On a more positive note, both counties showed their biggest increases in months in the number of closed sales — Hillsborough's 14.4 percent jump was its highest since July and Pinellas' 9.4 percent was the highest since September.
Both did better than the state overall, which tallied a 4.5 percent year-over- year increase in single family homes sales.
"Florida's housing market is growing at a more moderate pace," Matey H. Veissi, president of Florida Realtors, said Wednesday. But, he added, "while tight housing supply is having an impact in many areas, still-low mortgage rates, increased jobs and economic growth will continue to boost housing demand."
The top price paid for a home in Hillsborough in May was $2.6 million cash for a newly built, 5,300 square foot waterfront home in Tampa's Sunset Park. Custom Homes in Tampa are beautiful and come in variety of price ranges.
Sales are doing well, "especially on the waterfront in South Tampa,'' said Schmid, who had the listing on the home. "There's just that limited amount of lots and homes available so older homes are being bought up and torn down so there's all this new construction.''
One reason new homes are hot, she added, is that high-end buyers "definitely want all the bells and whistles. The (house that was) there originally had never been updated so I think for somebody it was a good call to tear it down."
In Pinellas, where a penthouse in downtown St. Petersburg's Ovation sold for a record $6.9 million cash in May, agent Rafal Wazio says really expensive properties are doing well while those in the $2.5 million to $3 million range are lagging.
"I'm seeing large estates that normally take five or six years to sell go under contract because their day has come,'' said Wazio, who has a Belleair estate listed at $8.5 million under contract.
Who can afford these places?
"I think in a lot of instances you're looking at people cashing out of large companies, kind of golden parachute deals,'' he said. "Now they are seeing a property they couldn't necessarily go after two or three years ago but always wanted it. It's a perfect combination of money meets opportunity."
For all other buyers, including those who might be able to afford a lower-priced luxury home, "there remains a certain amount of uncertainty as to interest rates and the economy,'' Wazio said. "In the $350,000 to $400,000 range, those were rip-roaring along from January to about two months ago and now I see some stagnancy there as well."
Buyers of higher-end properties seem to be holding back in Pasco, which earlier in the year had several sales over $1 million. The most expensive Pasco home sold in May was a 5,600 square foot lakefront house in Odessa that went for $750,000 — a substantial discount from its original asking price of nearly $825,000.
In Hernando, though, a buyer paid $900,000 — $60,000 above asking price — for a custom three bedroom, three bath home on 66 acres in Brooksville.
In the four-county Tampa Bay area, sales of condos and townhomes rose 4.2 percent in May with the year-over-year increase in prices jumping 6.3 percent to $129,900.
28 January 2013
New Home Sales in 2011: Best since 2009
Story first appeared on USA Today
Sales of new homes cooled in December from November, but sales for all last year were the best since 2009.
The Commerce Department said Friday that new-home sales fell 7.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000. That's down from November's 398,000 rate, which was the fastest in 2 ½ years.
For all of 2012, sales rose nearly 20% from 2011, to 367,000. That's the most since 2009 and the first annual gain since 2005, although that's coming off the worst year for new-home sales since the government began keeping records in 1963. Sales are still below the 700,000 level that economists consider healthy.
The housing market began to recover last year, roughly five years after the housing bubble burst. Stable job gains and record-low mortgage rates encouraged more people to buy homes.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose to 4.65 million last year, the most in five years.
Home prices rose steadily, and the gains appear to be sustainable. Builders finished their best year for residential construction since 2008.
The housing market has a long way back to a full recovery. But most economists expect the recovery will strengthen in 2013.
One reason is more people are looking to buy or rent a home after living with relatives or friends during and immediately after the Great Recession.
And the supply of both newly built and previously occupied homes for sale have dwindled. Fewer homes for sale have helped drive prices higher and made many markets more competitive.
Though new homes represent less than 20% of housing sales, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.
Gains in home building helped boost construction hiring in December by 30,000 jobs, the most in 15 months.
Still, the number of first-time buyers remains low, which has limited sales. Many are unable to qualify for historically low mortgage rates because banks have adopted tighter credit standards and are requiring larger down payments..
22 June 2012
Sales Show Housing Market on the Mend
Story first appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
Sales of previously owned homes in May posted sharp gains compared with a year ago, but were down from April, underscoring the fragility of the housing market's recovery.
The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of existing, or previously owned, homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million units in May.
While that was down 1.5% from 4.62 million in April, it represented an increase of 9.6% compared with a year earlier and represented the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in sales.
The data reflect completed sales transaction of single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums.
The monthly drop reflected tight inventory rather than softening demand. The normal seasonal upturn in inventory did not occur this spring, and the result is a shortage of properties for sale.
That is partly because some potential sellers are keeping their homes off the market in hopes of higher prices in the future. At the end of May, there was a 6.6-month supply of homes for sale, slightly higher than April but 20% below levels of a year ago, according to the report.
Banks have contributed to the tight inventory by limiting the number of foreclosed properties they put up for sale. Distressed properties—which includes foreclosures—accounted for a quarter of all sales in May, down from 31% in the same month a year ago.
Sellers held off selling because they thought they'd have to price their properties really low, and buyers held off because they thought the prices would keep coming down and down and down.
Meanwhile, prices are edging higher. The national median price of an existing home in May was $182,600, up 7.9% from a year ago and the third consecutive month of year-to-year price gains.
In Winnetka, Ill., a dermatologist just sold his $1.04 million home to move into a larger six-bedroom nearby. He wanted a bigger backyard and more space for his family. The house he bought for $1.87 million had been on the market for more than 400 days. Meanwhile, the old house received multiple offers and went into contract within five days.
The family was motivated to buy and sell quickly because they wanted to take advantage of low interest rates. A Freddie Mac survey this week showed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.66%, a record low.
Despite the recent improvements in the housing market, concern that conditions could change has made some people anxious.
Sales of previously owned homes in May posted sharp gains compared with a year ago, but were down from April, underscoring the fragility of the housing market's recovery.
The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of existing, or previously owned, homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million units in May.
While that was down 1.5% from 4.62 million in April, it represented an increase of 9.6% compared with a year earlier and represented the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in sales.
The data reflect completed sales transaction of single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums.
The monthly drop reflected tight inventory rather than softening demand. The normal seasonal upturn in inventory did not occur this spring, and the result is a shortage of properties for sale.
That is partly because some potential sellers are keeping their homes off the market in hopes of higher prices in the future. At the end of May, there was a 6.6-month supply of homes for sale, slightly higher than April but 20% below levels of a year ago, according to the report.
Banks have contributed to the tight inventory by limiting the number of foreclosed properties they put up for sale. Distressed properties—which includes foreclosures—accounted for a quarter of all sales in May, down from 31% in the same month a year ago.
Sellers held off selling because they thought they'd have to price their properties really low, and buyers held off because they thought the prices would keep coming down and down and down.
Meanwhile, prices are edging higher. The national median price of an existing home in May was $182,600, up 7.9% from a year ago and the third consecutive month of year-to-year price gains.
In Winnetka, Ill., a dermatologist just sold his $1.04 million home to move into a larger six-bedroom nearby. He wanted a bigger backyard and more space for his family. The house he bought for $1.87 million had been on the market for more than 400 days. Meanwhile, the old house received multiple offers and went into contract within five days.
The family was motivated to buy and sell quickly because they wanted to take advantage of low interest rates. A Freddie Mac survey this week showed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.66%, a record low.
Despite the recent improvements in the housing market, concern that conditions could change has made some people anxious.
For more Real Estate News,
visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
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blog.
16 May 2012
Homebuilding Goes Up
Story first appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
U.S. builders began work on more homes last month, evidence that the battered housing market is slowly healing.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes in April from March. That's 2.6 percent more than March's total, which was revised higher. Construction rose for both single-family homes and apartments.
Building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell last month from a 3 1 / 2 year high to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 715,000. But that was because of a 23 percent drop in the volatile apartment category. Permits for single-family homes rose almost 2 percent.
Even with the gains, the rate of construction and the level of permits requested remain roughly half the pace considered healthy. But the increase, along with rising builder confidence and stronger job growth, is a hopeful sign that the home market may finally be starting to recover nearly five years after the housing bubble burst.
Builders have grown more confident since last fall, in part because more people have expressed interest in buying a home. In May, builder optimism rose to the highest level in five years, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index.
Construction Project Management teams for homebuilders have reported improving sales and higher traffic from prospective buyers, the survey showed. A gauge measuring confidence in sales over the next six months also rose to 34 from 31.
Recent job gains have likely made it easier for more Americans to purchase a home. Employers have added 1 million jobs in the past five months. And unemployment has dropped a full percentage point since August, from 9.1 percent to 8.1 percent in April.
Mortgage rates, meanwhile, have fallen to record lows, making home-buying more affordable. Still, many would-be buyers are having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
Though new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
There are some hurdles to a smooth recovery: Builders are struggling to compete with deeply discounted foreclosures and short sales — when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what's owed on the mortgage.
Another reason sales have fallen is that previously occupied homes have become a better deal than new homes. The median price of a new home is about 30 percent higher than the median price for a re-sale. That's nearly twice the markup typical in a healthy housing market.
Another report found that U.S. factory output increased in April, helped by a gain in auto production. Busier factories have driven stronger hiring this year and helped the economy grow.
The Federal Reserve says factory production rose 0.6 percent in April, erasing a 0.5 percent decline in March.
Half of the April increase reflected a 3.9 percent jump in the production of motor vehicles and parts. That's the fifth consecutive gain at auto plants and the biggest rise since January.
Overall industrial production increased 1.1 percent in April. In addition to the big gain at factories, output at mines and utilities both showed strong gains in April.
Factory output has risen 18.3 percent since it hit a low in June 2009, the month the recession ended.
U.S. builders began work on more homes last month, evidence that the battered housing market is slowly healing.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes in April from March. That's 2.6 percent more than March's total, which was revised higher. Construction rose for both single-family homes and apartments.
Building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell last month from a 3 1 / 2 year high to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 715,000. But that was because of a 23 percent drop in the volatile apartment category. Permits for single-family homes rose almost 2 percent.
Even with the gains, the rate of construction and the level of permits requested remain roughly half the pace considered healthy. But the increase, along with rising builder confidence and stronger job growth, is a hopeful sign that the home market may finally be starting to recover nearly five years after the housing bubble burst.
Builders have grown more confident since last fall, in part because more people have expressed interest in buying a home. In May, builder optimism rose to the highest level in five years, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index.
Construction Project Management teams for homebuilders have reported improving sales and higher traffic from prospective buyers, the survey showed. A gauge measuring confidence in sales over the next six months also rose to 34 from 31.
Recent job gains have likely made it easier for more Americans to purchase a home. Employers have added 1 million jobs in the past five months. And unemployment has dropped a full percentage point since August, from 9.1 percent to 8.1 percent in April.
Mortgage rates, meanwhile, have fallen to record lows, making home-buying more affordable. Still, many would-be buyers are having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
Though new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
There are some hurdles to a smooth recovery: Builders are struggling to compete with deeply discounted foreclosures and short sales — when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what's owed on the mortgage.
Another reason sales have fallen is that previously occupied homes have become a better deal than new homes. The median price of a new home is about 30 percent higher than the median price for a re-sale. That's nearly twice the markup typical in a healthy housing market.
Another report found that U.S. factory output increased in April, helped by a gain in auto production. Busier factories have driven stronger hiring this year and helped the economy grow.
The Federal Reserve says factory production rose 0.6 percent in April, erasing a 0.5 percent decline in March.
Half of the April increase reflected a 3.9 percent jump in the production of motor vehicles and parts. That's the fifth consecutive gain at auto plants and the biggest rise since January.
Overall industrial production increased 1.1 percent in April. In addition to the big gain at factories, output at mines and utilities both showed strong gains in April.
Factory output has risen 18.3 percent since it hit a low in June 2009, the month the recession ended.
For more Real Estate News,
visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For more national and worldwide Business News, visit the Peak News
Room blog.
For more local and state of Michigan Business News, visit
the Michigan Business News blog.
For more Health News, visit the
Healthcare and Medical News blog.
For more Electronics
News, visit the Electronics America blog.
For more Law News,
visit the Nation of Law blog.
For more Advertising
News, visit the Advertising, Marketing and Media blog.
For more Environmental News,
visit the Environmental Responsibility News blog.
For information on website optimization or for the latest SEO News, visit the SEO Done Right
blog.
24 April 2012
Housing Market Still Not Healthy
Story first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Sales of new homes fell in March by the largest amount in more than a year, indicating that the U.S. housing market remains under strain despite some modest signs of improvement.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that sales dropped 7.1 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000 units. That followed a 7.3 percent increase in sales in February. This figure was revised up from an initial estimate that February sales had fallen 1.6 percent.
The weakness in March could reflect that a warmer-than-normal winter caused sales that normally occur at the start of the spring sales season in March to occur in February instead.
The median sales price was $234,500 in March, down 1 percent from the February price.
Sales of new homes stand at just about half the roughly 700,000-a-year pace that analysts consider evidence of a healthy market.
The supply of unsold new homes fell to just 144,000 in March — the fewest on records dating to 1963. The supply has been falling over the past two years as builders have cut back on construction.
An economist at Barclays Research, said that the low inventory level should trigger a moderate pickup in housing construction in coming months and provide some support to the economy.
Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes fell 2.6 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million units. For previously owned homes, economists consider a healthy annual sales rate to be roughly 6 million.
The sales declines in March were led by a 27 percent drop in the West. Sales in the Midwest fell 20 percent. New-home sales rose 7.7 percent in the Northeast and 3.1 percent in the South.
A separate report on home prices showed that home prices dropped in February in most major U.S. cities for a sixth straight month. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index shows that prices dropped in February from January in 16 of the 20 cities it tracks.
Though new homes represent less than 10 percent of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics compiled by the Realtors.
A key reason for weak sales in the new-home market is that builders must compete with foreclosures and short sales. (Short sales occur when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what's owed on the mortgage.)
About half of the states reported sharp increases in foreclosure activity in February. The pace of foreclosures is rising now that states have reached settlements with the nation's five biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses.
Builders have stopped working on many projects because it's been hard to get financing and to compete with cheaper resale homes.
For more real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Sales of new homes fell in March by the largest amount in more than a year, indicating that the U.S. housing market remains under strain despite some modest signs of improvement.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that sales dropped 7.1 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000 units. That followed a 7.3 percent increase in sales in February. This figure was revised up from an initial estimate that February sales had fallen 1.6 percent.
The weakness in March could reflect that a warmer-than-normal winter caused sales that normally occur at the start of the spring sales season in March to occur in February instead.
The median sales price was $234,500 in March, down 1 percent from the February price.
Sales of new homes stand at just about half the roughly 700,000-a-year pace that analysts consider evidence of a healthy market.
The supply of unsold new homes fell to just 144,000 in March — the fewest on records dating to 1963. The supply has been falling over the past two years as builders have cut back on construction.
An economist at Barclays Research, said that the low inventory level should trigger a moderate pickup in housing construction in coming months and provide some support to the economy.
Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes fell 2.6 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million units. For previously owned homes, economists consider a healthy annual sales rate to be roughly 6 million.
The sales declines in March were led by a 27 percent drop in the West. Sales in the Midwest fell 20 percent. New-home sales rose 7.7 percent in the Northeast and 3.1 percent in the South.
A separate report on home prices showed that home prices dropped in February in most major U.S. cities for a sixth straight month. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index shows that prices dropped in February from January in 16 of the 20 cities it tracks.
Though new homes represent less than 10 percent of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics compiled by the Realtors.
A key reason for weak sales in the new-home market is that builders must compete with foreclosures and short sales. (Short sales occur when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what's owed on the mortgage.)
About half of the states reported sharp increases in foreclosure activity in February. The pace of foreclosures is rising now that states have reached settlements with the nation's five biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses.
Builders have stopped working on many projects because it's been hard to get financing and to compete with cheaper resale homes.
For more real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
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