Tag Archive for Great Recession

Housing Market Continues To Gain Strength

April 4, 2014 Housing Market Comments Off on Housing Market Continues To Gain Strength

Freddie Mac’s new Multi-Indicator Market Index measures the stability of the nation’s housing market based on home purchase applications, payment-to-income ratios, proportion of on-time mortgage payments, and the local employment picture. Based on these components, the Index determines how each market is trending and whether it’s becoming more or less stable. Overall, the housing market is in better shape than it has been at any point since the beginning of the Great Recession. Since June 2009, for example, home sales are up 13 percent, housing starts are up 55 percent, serious delinquencies are down 32 percent, and the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.5 percent to 6.7 percent. Still, there is room for improvement. Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist, said – in many markets – a better employment picture, along with some income growth, makes it possible for people considering buying a home to stay within reasonable payment-to-income ratios. But, according to Kiefer, some high-cost markets are starting to feel an affordability pinch. Of the 50 states included in the Index, 25 plus the District of Columbia are improving based on three-month trends. Among the 50 metropolitan areas included, 35 are improving. Freddie Mac expects more markets to move closer to their long-term stable range as we enter the spring home buying season. More here.

96% Of Local Markets Better Off Than 4 Years Ago

April 1, 2014 Housing Market Comments Off on 96% Of Local Markets Better Off Than 4 Years Ago

Among 410 U.S. counties recently analyzed by RealtyTrac, 96 percent were better off than they were four years ago, at the peak of the foreclosure crisis. The analysis looked at four key categories of housing market health, including home price appreciation, affordability, percentage of bank-owned sales, and the unemployment rate. Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said the housing recovery has taken root in hundreds of counties across the country and almost all local markets are better off than they were in 2010. And most analysts expect continued improvement this year. According to Blomquist, though price gains have caused a drop in affordability in some areas, builders and homeowners that have regained equity should help boost for-sale inventory, which will balance those markets and moderate price increases. Also in the report, just 8 percent of county housing markets are better off than they were before the housing bubble burst in 2006 – but 30 percent were healthier than six years ago, when the Great Recession began. More here.