No. 1: ‘5 cities poised for a housing pop’
HSH.com’s most popular article of 2011 is, “5 cities poised for a housing pop.”
Publish date: June 14, 2011
Written by: Robert McGarvey
Home prices may be more stable than we think
We all know they story of the boy who cried wolf—if you hear something over and over again, despite how important it might be, it loses its significance the more you hear it.
This has been the case with the mortgage and real estate markets. How many different times—on this blog alone—have we reported that mortgage rates reached new lows? How many times have you heard that home prices have finally hit bottom?
Home sales improving, but what if mortgage rates weren’t this low?
Two recent reports from the National Association of Realtors indicate that home sales (existing and pending) are on the rise. But what if current mortgage rates weren’t as low as they are—how would home affordability, which directly influences home sales, be affected? Would we see fewer home sales?
Home affordability has three inputs: home prices, mortgage terms and income. Unless you’re buying a home with only cash, you’re going to need a mortgage and, as mortgage rates go, so does the cost of homeownership, explains loan officer and HSH.com contributing writer Dan Green.
Mortgage rates are national–home prices aren’t. Why?
Home prices were up in the second quarter or maybe they were down…
According to S&P/Case-Shiller, the U.S. National Home Price Index increased 3.6 percent in the second quarter of 2011 when compared with the first quarter. At the same time, the index has fallen 5.9 percent since the second quarter of 2010.
Let’s ask the right questions about foreclosure help
A new study tells us that a lot of homeowners would be better off with cheaper homes:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American adults shows that 62% believe it’s better for homeowners who can’t afford to make increased mortgage payments to sell their homes and find less expensive ones. Twenty-five percent (25%) think it’s better for the government to assist those homeowners in making their payments. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided.
There was never a housing recovery to begin with
If you’ve heard people discussing the “housing recovery” or that we are seeing the recession’s end, you might reasonably wonder what they’re talking about. If so, you’re not alone.
“There never was a housing recovery,” said Scott Simon, head of the mortgage- and asset-backed securities teams with PIMCO, a massive investment management firm with nearly $1.3 trillion in assets.
Rising mortgage rates shouldn’t block a real estate recovery
For the second time in a few days, a major index has shown that home prices rose in April.
First, we had the Federal Housing Finance Agency tell us that April home prices were up 0.8 percent for April. Next, the well-known Case-Shiller report also said prices rose in April, the first increase in eight months.
Which major U.S. cities are poised for a housing pop?
While it may seem like doom and gloom are the dual engines driving the U.S. real estate market these days, the truth is, there are several markets out there that are poised for improvement in the near future.
HSH.com put together a list of five housing markets which are poised for a pop. We examined home prices, the city’s cost of living index, local unemployment and more.
It’s not a double dip; it’s just one long slide
There’s a lot of talk these days about a double dip recession, an idea which is surely puzzling.
In terms of housing, economic data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency shows that real estate prices reached a bottom in the first quarter of 2009, rose and are now headed down again.
What affect would the rapture have on home prices?
Well, if you’re reading this you didn’t get raptured; in fact, no one did. Contemplating the end of the world is probably something we’ve all done at least once or twice, but I don’t think any of us have had the gusto to put an exact date on the world’s last day.
But as Bruce Watson of AOL’s Daily Finance, writes, “Ultimately, though, the way that [Harold Camping] calculated humanity’s expiration date is less important than the interest that his prediction generated.”
