Case-Shiller Home Price Indices Post Highest Growth Rates Since 2006

May 01

Case-Shiller Home Price Indices Post Highest Growth Rates Since 2006

May 1, 2013 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

Case-Shiller Posts Highest Gains Since 2006

Housing markets continue to improve according to the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Indices released April 30 for February's data. The Indices consist of a 10-City Composite Index and a 20-City Composite Index with housing markets for each city reported based on a three-month rolling average of home prices. Case Shiller Posts Highest Growth Rates Since 2006 The data released yesterday comprised the Indices' highest growth rates since May 2006. For the 12 months between February 2012 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Case-Shiller, Home Appreciation, Housing Prices, January, Real estate pricing, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

Nov 23

More Bullish Data : Housing Starts Climb 3.6%

November 23, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 1 Comment

According to a joint release from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Starts rose 3.6% in October 2012, climbing to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate of 894,000 units. A "housing start" is a new home on which construction has started and the report gives buyers and sellers across DC yet one more reason to be optimistic for the 2013 housing market. Regionally, Housing Starts varied. The West and Midwest Regions posted gains between … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Census Bureau, Existing Home Sales, Housing Starts, Midwest Region, National Association of Realtors, New Year, Northeast Region, Single-family detached home, United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

Nov 16

Bank Repossessions Slip For 24th Consecutive Month

November 16, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

According to data from RealtyTrac, a national foreclosure-tracking firm, the number of foreclosure filings increased 3 percent in October as compared to September 2012, climbing to 186,455 U.S. properties. RealtyTrac defines a "foreclosure filing" as any foreclosure-related action including a Notice of Default, a Scheduled Auction, or a Bank Repossession. On average, 1 in every 706 U.S. homes had a foreclosure filing during the month of October. For the 24th consecutive month, the number … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Florida, foreclosure, Foreclosures, National Association of Realtors, New Jersey, New York, October, RealtyTrac, REO, United States

Nov 05

HOA : The Role Of Homeowners Associations In Housing Communities

November 5, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

Homeowners associations (HOA) are legal corporations formed by a real estate developer to market, to manage, and to sell homes and lots in a residential subdivision. They're most commonly formed for condominiums and planned urban developments (PUDs), a category which includes suburban communities. HOA Articles of Incorporation typically grant developers privileged voting rights in governing the association during its infancy, while providing the means for the developer to exit financial … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Articles of Incorporation, condo, HOA, Homeowner association, PUD, Real estate development, Recreational vehicle, Restrictive covenant

Oct 24

Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (October 24 , 2012)

October 24, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent Wednesday. For the ninth consecutive meeting, the vote was nearly unanimous. And, also for the ninth consecutive meeting, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker was the lone dissenter in the 9-1 vote. The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008. In its press release, the Federal Reserve noted that, since its last meeting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Ben Bernanke, Eurozone, Fed Funds Rate, Federal funds rate, Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve System, FOMC, mortgage, Mortgage loan, QE3, washington dc

Oct 17

Home Builder Confidence Moves To 6-Year High

October 17, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

As home prices rise, so does home builder confidence. Tuesday, the National Association of Homebuilders reported its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI) at 41, a one-tick improvement from September and the highest HMI value since June 2006 -- a span of 77 months. The Housing Market Index is a homebuilder confidence indicator. When it reads 50 or better, the HMI suggests favorable conditions for home builders nationwide. Readings below 50 suggest unfavorable conditions for builders. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Buyer, HMI, Home Builders, Home construction, Housing Market Index, NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, Real estate pricing, September, U.S. Housing Market

Oct 15

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 15, 2012

October 15, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

Mortgage markets improved slightly last week. With a dearth of new U.S. economic data due for release, investors turned their collective attention to the Europe, China, and the Middle East. U.S. mortgage rates fell slightly in the holiday-shortened week. The combination of civil protests, economic slowdowns, and growing political tensions caused investors to dump risky assets in favor of the relative safety provided by the U.S. mortgage bond market. According to Freddie Mac, the average … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: China, District of Columbia, Fixed rate mortgage, Freddie Mac, Greece, Middle East, mortgage, Mortgage loan, Point (mortgage), Wall Street, washington dc

Oct 04

With Tomorrow’s Job Report Due, Mortgage Rates May Finally Rise

October 4, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

It's a dangerous time for home buyers in District of Columbia to be without a locked mortgage rate. Friday morning, at 8:30 AM ET, the government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report for September. More well-known as "the jobs report", Non-Farm Payrolls data has the power to move mortgage rates up or down. Unfortunately, ahead of the release, we can't know which. Last year, job growth more than doubled between August and September. If this year shows that same growth, DC mortgage rates … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: August, Bureau of Labor Statistic, Employment, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Mortgage loan, NFP, Non-Farm Payrolls, September, Wall Street

Sep 25

Existing Home Sales Leap To 2-Year High

September 25, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 1 Comment

The home resale market put forth another strong data set last week. Home sales prices are higher nationwide and sales volume has moved to a 2-year high. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 4.82 million "existing homes" sold on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis in August, representing a near 8 percent improvement from the month prior and a nine percent jump from August 2011. An existing home is a home which has been previously occupied. Home sales were unevenly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: August, dc, District of Columbia, Existing Home Sales, Existing Housing Supply, First-time buyer, Mortgage loan, NAR, National Association of Realtors, Percentage, real estate, Real estate pricing, Sales, washington dc

Sep 13

FOMC Expected To Announce New Stimulus Today

September 13, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

The Federal Open Market Committee ends a 2-day meeting today, the group's sixth of 8 scheduled meetings this year. As a DC home buyer or would-be refinancer, be ready for mortgage rates to change. The Federal Open Market Committee is a 12-person sub-committee of the Federal Reserve. Led by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, it's the group within the Fed tasked with voting on U.S. monetary policy. The act for which the FOMC is most well-known is its management of the Fed Funds Rate. The Fed Funds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Ben Bernanke, Fed Funds Rate, Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve System, FOMC, Mortgage loan, mortgage rates, QE3, stimulus, Wall Street