Bank Repossessions Slip For 24th Consecutive Month

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

Oct 31

19 of 20 Case-Shiller Index Markets Improve In August

October 31, 2012 By Claire Welsh Leave a Comment

Home value rose to close out the summer, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, a national home-valuation tracker. Nationwide, values rose 0.9% between July and August 2012 with 19 of 20 tracked markets showing improvement. Only one tracked city -- Seattle, Washington -- showed a decrease, falling just 0.1 percent. On an annual basis, 17 of the 20 Case-Shiller Index markets improved, led by Phoenix. Home values in the Arizona city are up 18.8 percent from August 2011. The next … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Case-Shiller Index, Home Values, Phoenix, real estate, Real estate pricing, United States, washington dc

Aug 29

New Home Sales Reach Multi-Year High

August 29, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

The market for newly-built homes remains strong. As reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, 372,000 new homes were sold in July on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. A "new home" is a home that can be considered new construction. July's New Home Sales report highlights what today's buyers of new construction and the nation's home builders have witnessed for themselves already -- that the market for newly-built homes is improving in DC and nationwide. The number of new homes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Builder Confidence, July, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Realtors, New Home Sales, New Home Supply, Real estate economics, Real estate pricing, United States, United States Department of Commerce

May 10

8-Fold Increase In “Improving Markets” Since September

May 10, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

The economic recovery continues nationwide, but the recovery's an uneven one. Some metropolitan areas are faring very well this year, posting measurable gains in both employment and housing. Other metropolitan areas, by contrast, are struggling. To help identify those markets in which growth is occurring, the National Association of Homebuilders created the Improving Market Index, a metric analyzing three separate, independently-collected data series "indicative of improving economic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Freddie Mac, IMI, Improving Market Index, Metropolitan area, NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, Real estate pricing, United States

May 04

Planning For A Memorial Day Closing

May 4, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

Planning to close on your home at the end of May? Plan ahead. Memorial Day is coming and the holiday may delay your closing. Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and the 3-day Memorial Day weekend is a popular vacation time in real estate-related industries. Real estate agents tend to take time off because fewer of their clients are actively home shopping on a holiday weekend; mortgage lenders are closed because banks don't operate on a federal holiday; and, title agents are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Neighborhood News Tagged With: Barbecue, Friday, Holiday, Holidays, Memorial Day, Title Company, United States

Apr 18

Single-Family Housing Starts Slip 0.2% In March

April 18, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 2 Comments

Tuesday, the government released its March 2012 New Residential Construction report. The report is made up of three sections, each related to a phase of the "new home" market. The report's first part is Building Permits; the second is Housing Starts; the third is Housing Completions. Of the three sections, it's Housing Starts that gets the most attention from the press -- mostly because, of the triad, it's the simplest for a layperson to understand. However, the manner in which Housing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Building Permits, Census Bureau, Construction permit, Housing Starts, March, Single-family detached home, United States, United States Census Bureau, washington dc

Apr 10

Homes Get More Affordable On March Jobs Data

April 10, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

Homes Get More Affordable - Unemployment Rate

Americans continue to get back to work. Last Friday, in its Non-Farm Payrolls report for the month of March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced 120,000 net new jobs created, plus combined revisions in the January and February reports of +4,000 jobs. The March report marks the 18th straight month of job growth nationwide -- the first time that's happened in 5 years. The Unemployment Rate dipped in March, too, falling one-tenth of one percent to 8.2%. This is its lowest … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Bond market, Bureau of Labor Statistics, District of Columbia, Employment, Jobs, Mortgage loan, Non-Farm Payrolls, report, Stock market, Unemployment Rate, United States, Wall Street, washington dc

Mar 06

Home Affordability Reaches An All-Time High

March 6, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

Home affordability moved higher last quarter, boosted by the lowest mortgage rates in history, a rise in median income, and slow-to-recover home prices throughout District of Columbia and the country. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the quarterly Home Opportunity Index read 75.9 in 2011's fourth quarter. More than 3 in 4 homes sold between October-December 2011, in other words, were affordable to households earning the national median income of $64,200. Never in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Home Affordability, Home Opportunity Index, NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, United States

Feb 14

Fewer Jobless Claims Suggests Higher Home Prices Ahead

February 14, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

Economists believe the strength of the 2012 housing market will be closely tied to jobs. If they're right, the housing market is ripe for a boost. It spells good news for District of Columbia home sellers and may mean the end of bargain-basement prices for buyers. Since peaking in mid-2009, the number of U.S. workers filing for first-time unemployment benefits has dropped 44 percent. Over the same period of time, the U.S. economy has added more than 2 million jobs and the national … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Buyer, Department of Labor, Federal Housing Administration, Initial Jobless Claims, Jobless claims, Jobs, Labour economics, Real estate economics, Real estate pricing, Unemployment, United States

Feb 06

The 10 Longest Commutes In The United States – Washington, DC Ranks #2

February 6, 2012 By Joshua Oliver Leave a Comment

According to the Census Bureau, more than 3.2 million U.S. workers spend over 3 hours commuting to and from work each day. Commutes exceeding 90 minutes in each direction are known as "extreme commutes" in Census Bureau parlance. As compared to typical commute times nationwide, they're aptly named. The national, average commute time is just 25.1 minutes. For home buyers in District of Columbia or in any U.S. city, make sure to make commute times a consideration before placing an offer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Neighborhood News Tagged With: Census Bureau, commute, Commuting, rush hour, Transportation, United States, United States Census Bureau, washington dc