Updates on the U.S. Housing Market

For mortgage companies, investors, homeowners and potential home buyers, the ongoing issues in the housing market is of great importance as it impacts the decisions made to pursue home ownership, invest in properties, refinance or seek assistance with mortgage payments and even gauge what types of lending solutions can be offered to help in the recovery process.

Signs of Hope

Recent news and economic statistics suggest signs of recovery mixed with ongoing challenges. For example, a recent Reuters article, entitled, “Signs of Recovery Grow in U.S. Housing Market,” the following main points were found:

·         Permits for homebuilding neared a 3.5 -year high in February, suggesting a budding recovery in the housing market was still on track even though groundbreaking activity on home construction has slipped. 

·         Sales of new homes in February fell from January but jumped more than 11 percent compared with the same month last year.

·         Prices have risen. The median new home price jumped 8.3 percent to an eight-month high of $233,700, which is compared with February 2011 when prices rose just 6.2 percent.

·         Realtors have noticed higher traffic volume and are moving more houses off the market than a few years ago, illustrating more positive news.

·         Builder confidence has risen steadily in recent months with more permits being pulled for near-term and long-term construction projects.

Another article noted the mix in positive and negative results that seem to define a market in transition, stating, “Home resales fell in February, but prices rose from a year earlier. Housing starts slipped, while permits for home building approached a 3-1/2 year high in February.”

Ongoing Challenges

Challenges remain as the same article notes:

·         There is a glut of unsold properties many of which are short sales and foreclosures.

·         Banks are still restricting financing options with tight lending activity still the norm.

·         The results are not consistent throughout the United States with spotty recovery in some markets and ongoing foreclosures and housing problems in other areas. For example, it was reported that new home sales surged in the Northeast and West but slumped in the South and Midwest.

Thoughts on the Future

Other sources like a recent Bank of American Merrill Lynch report concluded that a real recovery is not really set to occur until 2014. However, there are many tactics now being enacted to bring the recovery closer, including HARP 2.0 to help homeowners in New Mexico and other states as well as ongoing foreclosure prevention efforts to bring down inventory and help increase home values once again.

We, at Indigo Mortgage, are determined to do our share in bringing the recovery sooner than later with our participation in HARP 2.0 as well as our overall operating philosophy guided by the Christian faith that ensures that everything we do is with integrity so that home buyers, home owners, and investors alike all receive the mortgage solution that is right for their needs so that they maintain their home, commercial property, or church. This helps boost the local economy and bring about the recovery and renewed confidence that our country needs and deserves

Posted by Indigo Mortgage at 11:33 AM No comments: