Home Prices were up for the third straight month. But before you start popping the champagne, this should not be seen as a major improvement in the housing market. Instead the monthly rise is attributable to the expected seasonal increase in Spring home sales which is why it is always important to compare the year over year numbers.
Those numbers reflect a less positive outlook. Home prices were down nationwide year over year by 4.5% according to the most recent Case Schiller index.
The most interesting feature of this housing reports is the growing divergence in the regional markets. While on a local level, the market in New England generally continues to decrease slightly with certain pockets--- mainly the major urban areas --- remain flat. There are some market that keep falling to newer and newer lows, such as: Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, Tampa and Detroit.
However, certain markets appear to have hit price bottom. This is particularly true for Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Denver and Washington DC. Most of these markets are hovering near the bottom in a saw-tooth pattern. While Manhattan values are up even more dramatically seeing an increase of 13% year over year.
This gives even more credence to the concept that the Real Estate Market is local and if not local then definitely regional due to the differences in local economies, jobs and the amount of foreclosure inventory there is in any specific market place.
Yet regardless of the region sales of Distressed Properties which include Short Sales and Foreclosure Sales, which include homes purchased after they received a notice of default or that were repossessed by lenders, accounted for 31 percent of the market in the April-June quarter. That is approximately one in every three homes that were sold in Q2 were distressed properties...
But according to Diana Olick CNBC Real Estate Reporter, “the good news is many of these distressed sales are clearing faster, with streamlined short sales now making up a greater share of all distressed sales. Banks are getting rid of troubled loans/properties before having to go the more costly route to foreclosure!"
To view the CNBC video go to: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000042246
To learn more about Short Sales visit my website at: NHShortSale911.com
Or call me at 603-387-1674
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