There was another tick-up in home prices in July, a further indication that housing markets may be stabilizing, according to a report issued last week. Prices for the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price index of 20 cities rose 1.6% from a month earlier, the third consecutive month of gains. They went up 1.4% in June. Prices were still down 13.3% compared with July 2008, but even that performance was better than expected. A panel of industry experts surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a 14.2% loss. “The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate and we now seem to be witnessing some sustained monthly increases across many of the markets” said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. The Case-Shiller index compares the sale price of a home to its price the last time it was sold, then factors in changes in prices over time. That, ideally, yields a more accurate picture of home price fluctuations than simply calculating the median or average prices of all homes sold during the month. Those averages can be skewed by changes in the mix of homes sold during any one period. Source: CNN/MoneyAt least 43 percent of potential first-time home buyers told Zillow.com that extending the $8,000 federal tax credit would go a long way toward motivating them to buy a home in 2010. Nearly 18 percent called the credit the “primary influence” in their decision; 25 percent said it would be a “significant influence;” 27 percent said the credit would have “some” influence on any homebuying decision; and 31 percent said it would have no influence. If the 18 percent of those who called the credit a primary influence ultimately bought a home, that would equate to 334,000 buyers from Dec. 1, 2009, to Nov. 30, 2010, and would cost taxpayers $14.86 billion, the online real estate marketing firm calculated. Zillow also noted that based on its survey, about 80 percent of first-time home buyers in the coming year will buy whether there is a credit or not, but it argues that expanding the credit is worthwhile. “While 334,000 may seem like a small number relative to the total number of home buyers who would claim the credit, their addition to the market next year could make the difference between a robust annual increase in home sales next year and a flat or negative change in home sales relative to this year,” Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries says. Source: Zillow.comBuyers seeking a foreclosed property should realize that not every foreclosure is a good deal. Would-be buyers of foreclosures should have the property thoroughly inspected, says Dan Steward, president of the Tampa-based inspection firm, Pillar to Post. Lenders are not held to the same disclosure requirements as sellers. Steward says damage isn’t always obvious. While it doesn’t take an expert to see that a toilet has been ripped out, it does require someone with knowledge to know that ripping it out damaged a pipe 20 feet down the line. The best way for the buyer to get the property is to follow the bank’s instructions closely, says Ryan Melvin, co-owner of More Realty Group in Las Vegas, which specializes in foreclosures. Another quirk that sometimes surprises buyers of real-estate-owned properties, or REOs, is the scrutiny that banks place on the buyers’ credit, even though they are using a different lender. Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted via email from The Kurt Real Estate Group
