What the Drop In Unemployment Means For Housing Market

thestrandblogger, Feb 6 2012

Home sales rise as home prices continue to fall

Unemployment rate falls to 8.3%

The unemployment rate in January of this year fell to to its lowest point in nearly three years, since February 2009.  This, along with the number of people jobless (12.8 million) — also the lowest in nearly three years — are good indicators that the economic recovery is impacting the job market. (via The New York Times)

Monthly job creation rate better than it’s been in 5 years

Averaging 163,000 jobs a month, the U.S. job creation rate is the best it’s been since before the recession began — the best 12 month report since 2007. (via WSJ Blogs:Real Time Economics)

Home ownership levels still low, as are home prices

Home ownership continues to drop, reaching 66 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The peak of home ownership in the country was in the fourth quarter of 2004, when home ownership reached 69.2 percent. Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index shows that average U.S. home prices are at mid-2003 levels. Many experts feel that prices will stabilize sometime in 2013. (via USA Today)

Home sales are on the rise

For the third month in a row last December, however, home sales rose. David Blitzer of S&P noted that home prices would be the last thing to improve, after home sales increase and inventory decreases. As the economy recovers and home buyers begin to have increased access to credit, depressed home prices will continue to encourage home sales, eventually kick-starting the housing market recovery. (via USA Today)

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Mortgage Rates Edge Up

thestrandblogger, Jan 30 2012

Mortgage rates rise 0.7 points

Last week, mortgage rates rose an average 0.7 points, according to Freddie Mac. Realtor Magazine reports a “series of recent positive reports showing the housing market on the mend” may have affected mortgage rates, halting the downward trend.

Increase in home sales highest in over a year and a half

Existing home sales for December of last year increased 5 percent from the month prior — the biggest month-to-month increase since May, 2010. It is also a 3.6 percent increase year over year from December 2010, when 4.45 million units were sold.

Recovery on the way?

NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, thinks these may be early signs of a sustained recovery — “Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.” (via RealtorMag)

NAR President Moe Veissi believes that with steady improvement in the job market, the housing market will also improve, as more home buyers try to make the most of market conditions — low prices and low rates — in 2012.

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Do Some Houses Sell Faster Than Others?

thestrandblogger, Jan 23 2012

An interesting infographic says “yes”

The site One Block Off the Grid (1bog.org), a free group discount site focused on solar energy solutions for home owners, recently published the following infographic showing some statistics about why some houses sell faster than others.

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