In the aftermath of the nation’s housing-market collapse and recession, more than 500 midsize and large cities have seen a rise in the share of homes that are rented rather than owned, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census data.
via USATODAY.com.
Here are some charts showing nominal and real (CPI inflation-adjusted) housing declines in 20 Case-Shiller metro areas. Charts are grouped by 10 least expensive and 10 most expensive areas. Additional tables show housing declines from the peak. An explanation follows the charts.
A growing number of Americans can’t afford a home or don’t want to own one, a trend that’s spawning a generation of renters and a rise in apartment construction.
via msnbc.com.
I dont think we have to choose between real prices and price-to-rent graphs to ask “how far out of line are house prices?” I think they are both showing that prices are not far above the historical lows. Prices might overshoot to the downside because of supply and demand issues; there is a large overhang of vacant housing units and many distressed properties still coming on the market, plus demand is soft with weak employment, fairly tight financing, negative home buying sentiment and some usual buyers excluded because of credit issues. But I dont think national real prices are that far out of line.
via Calculated Risk
“Last year the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit pulled a significant number of sales forward and, to an extent, artificially supported prices. So, absent the tax credit, it is understandable that we see prices continue to decline when compared with last year,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic. “As we move further away from that support, we will see a leveling of prices and eventually organic improvements in the market.”
They would rather have it in the bank or the stock market. I’m not sure where else but certainly not excited about putting large amounts of capital into a housing situation. That is what we are seeing at the level of the property
via Calculated Risk
Given the renewed housing bust what might one expect going forward?
A senior economist for Wells Fargo believes it is unreasonable to expect more than 3% growth going forward as long as housing remains deeply underwater.
Negative equity reached a new high with 28.4 percent of all single-family homes with mortgages underwater, up from 27 percent in Q4 2010, due to accelerating home value declines.
via zillow
