Real Estate Latest Trends

Summary of Home Sales Pace by the National Association of Realtors

Sales of existing home sales in September dropped another 1.2%, a whopping 10% overall drop since end of August.

The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million homes is the lowest seen by the National Association of Realtors since they began tracking the combined sales of single-family units + condos in 1999.

The largest drop in home sales in October (versus sales in September) was seen in the West which fell 4.4%. Sales dropped 1.7% in the Midwest and remained flat in the Northeast and South.

Consistent with last month’s report, an annual comparison is even worse. The West is down over 33%, South almost 20%, Midwest close to 17% and the Northeast down 12.6%. Nationally, the overall annual sales pace is down 20.7% and those figures are seasonally adjusted.

Home prices are slowing their dip but experts say this is still a way off the expected recovery they want. Home prices have been going down since the financial crisis that has so crippled the globe started resulting in almost bargain properties and even luxury homes are being priced lower than their original list prices. Homes listed a few months back that have not yet been sold are ending up with lower price tags but even with that, their lenders opt to sell to turn them back into liquid assets they can use. Abandoned homes are proving to be headaches to their investors for they have yet to recover the initial cost of their acquisitions and at lower than normal prices, they are selling them off at a bargain.

Many minor banks are failing due to massive exposure to the housing market problems that has left them with so many houses to sell that they are having to resort to selling it at discount prices just to get some cash back into their businesses to keep them going. Many local banks are auctioning their several properties to unload some of their liabilities before they fall into disrepair sending their values down more. These and some homes that are actually being sold are the fluctuations being seen as positive movement that belies their true nature. (more…)

Image source: www.co.berks.pa.us

The most trend followed today is that National banks are already operating and trying to find a spot in the insurance and securities industries and they are continuing their push to enter into real estate transactions.”? In a 5-3 decision today the Supreme Court ruled that mortgage lending subsidiaries of federally chartered banks are subject to federal oversight but it is not considered as a state regulation. Michigan regulators had sought to block the operations of Wachovia Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of Wachovia Bank, after the subsidiary surrendered its registration in Michigan. State law required bank subsidiaries to register with a state regulatory agency and submit to state supervision. The Court’s ruling gives a tremendous competitive advantage to federally chartered banks over financial and non-financial competitors as it increases the value of the federal charter at the expense of state licensing, marketplace competition and potentially even consumer protection measures.

Promotional events are being staged by home-building trade companies that arrange array of  custom builders to put up those housing models side-by-side. These groups furnish these house models lavishly, to the public. Events like this in the US are being held in Chicago often three events per year. This 2008, the Cavalcade of Homes which was  supported by the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association, will be having a series of events. Usually, there are six builders that will construct eight homes. Prices for this are not yet confirmed but definitely some of which will be within the homeowners budget since it was gotten in the exhibit.