California Distressed Home Sales Continue Decline

Distressed home sales in California in April declined to their lowest level since February 2008, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Distressed sales fell to 24.4 percent, down from 27.9 percent in March and 45.8 percent in April last year.

CAR also said the share of lender-owned sales fell to single digit percentages for the first time since late 2007 – 9.2 percent in April, compared with 10.2 percent in March and 24.3 percent in April 2012.

In Sacramento County, CAR said the share of distressed single-family home sales in April was 32 percent, down from 37 percent in March and 60 percent in April 2012.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/23/5441832/distressed-home-sales-decline.html#storylink=cpy

California Real Estate Posts Strongest Price Increase in US

Real estate prices continue to rise, and housing markets in the West are leading the way. Some East Coast markets are exhibiting weakness. 

In March, the median sales price for new homes was $247,000, increasing from the previous month's $226,400, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The average sales price fell, however, to $279,900 from $286,300. 

A forecast from the National Association of Realtors projects that the national median existing-home price will rise about 7.5 percent this year from 2012. 

The trade group said that the national median existing-home price for all housing types was $184,300 in March, rising from $173,000 the previous month. The price was 11.8 percent higher than 12 months prior and up for the 13th consecutive month. 

U.S. home prices increased 1.0 percent between January and February based on Lender Processing Services Inc.'s Home Price Index. That left the index at $210,000. Compared to a year earlier, the index -- which represents the price of non-distressed sales by taking into account price discounts for REO and short sales -- was up 7.3 percent. 

California and Washington home prices rose 2.2 percent from January -- the most of any states in the LPS report. Nine of the 10-strongest metropolitan areas were in the Golden State. Nevada's 1.8 percent followed, then 1.6 percent in Hawaii and 1.4 percent in Illinois. The only state with a decline was Connecticut: down 0.3 percent.

Half of the top 10 metropolitan markets identified by Pro Teck Valuation Services in its April Home Value Forecast were in California. Two of the worst markets were in Florida, and another two were in Louisiana. 

CoreLogic's Home Price Index inched up 0.5 percent in February from January and was up 10.2 percent from February 2012. 

Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic announced that it acquired Case-Shiller on March 20 from Fiserv Inc. for $6 million. 

A seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent increase between January and February was reported for the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index. Compared to the same month last year, FHFA's index was up 7.1 percent. The index stands 13.6 below its April 2007 peak. 

FHFA, which utilizes purchase prices on homes financed with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans to determine its index, said that the Middle Atlantic had a 1.9 percent year-over-year increase -- the worst of any area. The Pacific was up more than any other area: 15.3 percent. 

Another index, the FNC Residential Price Index, indicated that national home prices increased 0.2 percent from January to February -- a 28-month high and the 12th consecutive increase. Compared to a year earlier, the index was up 6.1 percent, "its fastest acceleration since July 2006." 

Phoenix and Las Vegas had the biggest month-over-month gain of any metropolitan statistical area at 1.9 percent. Phoenix and the biggest year-over-year gain at 29.3 percent, while No. 2 Las Vegas had a 14.5 percent increase from February 2012. 

US Home Prices Post Highest Increase Since 2006

Home prices rose by 9.3 percent across the nation’s 20 major metropolitan areas in the year ending in February 2013 for the highest annual increase in growth since May 2006, according to real estate market trends reported today by S&P/Case-Shiller.

For the first time since early 2005, all 20 areas have posted year-over-year increase for at least two consecutive months, and the rate of annual growth accelerated in 16 of the cities, according to the group’s Home Price Indices for February.

“Home prices continue to show solid increases across all 20 cities,” David M. Blitzer, Index Committee chair at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement interpreting the latest real estate market trends. “Despite some recent mixed economic reports for March, housing continues to be one of the brighter spots in the economy.”

The largest annual price increases were seen in Phoenix, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Atlanta, Blitzer said. The Atlanta housing market suffered a wave of foreclosures in 2012, while the Western cities were among the hardest hit by the housing market collapse.
In other real estate market trends, investment in residential real estate accelerated from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, making a “positive contribution” to economic growth, Blitxer said. The mix of housing is also shifting to include a larger-than-typical share of apartments.