All Economics is Local

Housing Stays Highly Affordable For Fifth Consecutive Quarter

Housing hovered for the fifth consecutive quarter near its highest level of affordability in 19 years.

Indianapolis-Carmel and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., shared the ranking as the most affordable major housing markets in the country. In Indianapolis, which has held this top ranking for nearly five years, almost 95 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $68,700.

New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., continued to lead the nation as its least affordable major housing market during the first quarter of 2010. Slightly less than 21 percent of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable to those earning the New York area’s median income of $65,600. This was the eighth consecutive quarter that the New York metropolitan division has occupied this position. National Association of Home Builders   Detailed metro tables

AP County-Level Economic Stress Index Updated

Associated Press has updated its Economic Stress Index with April 2010 data. The Economic Stress Index measures the relative economic impact of the recession and its recovery by integrating the cumulative effects of three economic indicators: unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Associated Press

 

1st Quarter 2010 House Price Index

For the 25 most populated metropolitan areas in the U.S., four-quarter price declines were greatest in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area. That area saw price declines of 8.9 percent between the first quarters of 2009 and 2010. Prices held up best in the Washington- Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area, where prices rose 11.7 percent over that period. Federal Housing Finance Agency (full metro list begins on page 29) PDF

 

2010 Quality of Life Metro Rankings

Criteria: The study looked for well-rounded metros with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks, and strong educational systems. Portfolio/bizjournals.com

Home Prices Rising in More Metro Areas, First Quarter Sales Up From a Year Ago

In the first quarter, 91 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas showed higher median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the first quarter of 2009, including 29 with double-digit increases; three were unchanged and 58 metros had price declines. In the fourth quarter 67 areas reported gains and 123 were down, while only 30 MSAs in third quarter of 2009 showed annual price increases. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS®

Slowing of Quarterly Home Price Declines

The best performing markets manage to post positive gains in the face of tax credits that ended in April. Honolulu, Hawaii saw quarterly prices rise to 3.3 percent, pushing it to the number one position on the list this month. The 15 lowest performing markets post comparatively steep price declines—averaging an -11.1 percent price change. Clear Capital

Metro Foreclosure Hot Spots Buck National Trend in First Quarter With Annual Declines in Foreclosure Activity

Seventy-seven percent of Nation's Large Metros Post Year-Over-Year Increases in Foreclosure Activity, but Eight of Top 10 Metro Foreclosure Rates Decline From Q1 2009. Cities in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona once again accounted for all top 20 foreclosure rates in the first quarter among metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000 even while the majority of those top metros reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the first quarter of 2009. Realtytrac via Yahoo Finance

America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets

Forbes looked at price growth and sales rates in the country's 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas. We took the cities in the midst of year-over-year price declines, based on National Association of Realtors data, then calculated how quickly these cities are shedding inventory from their peaks, which occurred between four and six months ago. Forbes

Domestic Migration Tracks Housing Affordability

There have been changes in metro domestic migration (people moving from one part of the country to another) trends in the last few years, but the principal association is with housing affordability. New Geography

Detailed Tables (PDF) 

Most Overvalued, Most Undervalued of the 330 Largest U.S. Metro Areas Examined

Study findings for the fourth quarter of 2009 show that house prices in the U.S. fell by only 0.1 percent quarter-to-quarter and are close to achieving stabilization. Despite economic conditions that remain dire and an unemployment rate that remains stubbornly high, stability in home prices is a good thing when compared with the wild peak-to-trough ride experienced by many of the nation's housing markets. IHS Global Insight

Best Affordable Suburbs in America 2010

The focus is not luxury, but rather communities where families can live well for less and enjoy good schools, low crime, and reasonable commutes. The selected suburbs were limited to towns within 25 miles of the most populated city in the state, with populations of 5,000 to 60,000, median family incomes of $51,000 to $120,000, and lower-than-average crime rates. BusinessWeek

Fourth Quarter Existing-Home Sales Surge- Prices Up in More Areas

In the fourth quarter, 67 out of 151 metropolitan statistical areas reported higher median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2008, including 16 with double-digit increases; one was unchanged and 84 metros had price declines. In the third quarter only 30 MSAs showed annual price increases and 123 areas were down. National Association of REALTORS

Ten Cities To Go From Renting To Buying

The premium to buy--the spread between what you'd spend on renting and what you'd pay each month for a mortgage--is far narrower now than its 15-year average. And economists predict a significant home-price hike in five years. So upgrading will cost much less than usual, and home buyers are likely to get a good return on their investment. Forbes

Only 4 Out Of 337 Cities Added Construction Jobs In 2009 As Construction Spending Drops To Lowest Level In 6 Years

Construction employment grew in only four out of 337 metropolitan areas in 2009 as spending on construction projects dropped by $100 billion in December to a six-year low of $903 billion. Leominster-Fitchburg, Mass., lost a larger percentage of its construction work force (38 percent) during 2009 than any other metropolitan area. Other areas experiencing sharp declines in construction employment during the year include El Centro, Calif. (36 percent); and Santa Fe, N.M.; Pocatello, Idaho; and Kokomo, Ind. (all 29 percent). Meanwhile, the Houston, Texas area lost the most construction jobs (25,500) between December 2008 and 2009.The Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America

Las Vegas, Cape Coral, Merced Foreclosure Activity Rates Highest Among Major Metro Areas In 2009

Cities  in four Sun Belt states accounted for all top 20 foreclosure rates in 2009  among metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more, but foreclosure  activity showed signs of spreading into previously insulated areas as  unemployment became more of a driving factor. RealtyTrac (full list of metros)

Mixed Messages in the Data According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

Four markets – Charlotte, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa – posted new low index levels as measured by the past four years. Any gains they might have seen in recent months have been erased and November is now considered their current trough value. On the flip side, there are still some markets that continue to improve month-over-month. Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco have seen prices increase for at least six consecutive months. Standard & Poor's

Cities Where Homes Are Losing Most Value

It's not news that Las Vegas, where value has dropped 48%, Miami (down 38%), and  Orland (down 31%) saw a burst of homebuilding fueled by bad loans and rampant house flipping between the years of 2002 and 2006, and that those building bubbles subsequently collapsed. But it's the exurban cities just outside of easy commuting distance from the most desirable West Coast and Sunbelt metros where home values have taken the biggest pounding. Forbes

Most Overvalued, Most Undervalued of the 330 Largest U.S. Metro Areas Examined

Study findings for the third quarter of 2009 show that house prices in the U.S. ended a two-year decline, and edged up slightly over the second quarter. The rate of decline has decreased among metro areas as the market has begun to stabilize. Yet it is not certain that the housing market is on a recovery path. Economic conditions remain dire and significant headwinds exist in stubbornly high unemployment rates. IHS Global Insight

Cities Recovering From The Foreclosure Crisis

No American city fully sidestepped the housing foreclosure problem. But tell-tale boarded-up windows and lines of once-glittering condominiums standing empty are images largely absent from several metro areas. And many of these real estate markets are well-poised to recover. Forbes

As Some Top Metro Foreclosure Activity Rates Decrease, New Foreclosure Hot Spots Emerge In Q3 2009

Cities in California, Florida and Nevada accounted for the 10 highest foreclosure rates in the third quarter among metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more. But five of those Top 10 metro areas reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the third quarter of 2008, while many other metro areas with Top 50 foreclosure rates reported sharp increases in foreclosure activity. RealtyTrac

Existing-Home Sales Surge in Many States in Third Quarter, Metro Prices Moderating

The wide range of market performance and reversals around the country, ranging from double-digit gains to double-digit losses in both sales and prices, underscores just how local real estate truly is. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS

Broad Improvement in Home Prices

Data through July 2009,S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, show that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved compared to last month’s reading. This marks approximately six months of improved readings in these statistics, beginning in early 2009. Standard & Poor

Sun Belt Dominates First Half 2009 Foreclosure Rankings but Unemployment-related Foreclosures May be Spreading

Cities in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continued to document the nation’s highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2009, with those states accounting for 35 of the 50 highest foreclosure rates among metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more. RealtyTrac

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT SHRINKS IN 319 OF THE NATION'S 336 LARGEST METRO AREAS IN JULY, CONTINUING MONTHS-LONG SLIDE

Construction workers in communities across the country continued to suffer extreme job losses this July according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found construction employment declined in 319 of the nation's largest communities while only 11 areas saw increases and six saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009. Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America

Home Prices Decline Slightly in Second Quarter: 2009 2Q

Of the recently released purchase-only indexes for the 25 most-populated metropolitan areas in the U.S., four-quarter price declines were greatest in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division. That area saw price declines of 28.2 percent from the second quarter of 2008. Prices held up best in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Metropolitan Area, where prices rose 2.9 percent over that period. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

Home Prices on an Upswing in the Second Quarter of 2009

Data through June 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index improved in the second quarter of 2009. In spite of the recent positive data, the overall numbers remain weak, with all metro areas posting negative annual returns, and 15 out of the 20 metro areas reporting double digit annual declines. S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index

Housing Affordability Continues To Hover Near Highest Level In 18 Years

Indianapolis, once again, was the most affordable major housing market in the country during the second quarter. Almost 95 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $68,100. Indianapolis has now topped the affordability list 16 consecutive quarters. Also near the top of the list of the most affordable major metro housing markets were Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; and Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich. NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index

Declining Number of Home Listings in July Evidence U.S. Housing Market Continues to Stabilize

• Key markets in California continue to experience significant decreases in home listings, with month-over-month decreases of 5.3 percent decrease in Los Angeles (and a decline of 55.3 percent year-over-year) and a month-over-month 4.1 percent decrease in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Austin, Texas, had the largest decrease in inventory with a month-over-month decline of 10.5 percent. 
• While most markets saw declining inventory, Baltimore added 1.3 percent more properties in July compared to June.
• Housing inventory in Las Vegas declined 6.5 percent in July, with the number of MLS-listed homes at the lowest level ZipRealty has tracked in four years. ZipRealty  

2nd Quarter Existing-Home Sales Rise in Most States, Helped by Affordable Metro Prices

Existing-home sales in the second quarter showed healthy gains from the first quarter in the vast majority of states, and price declines have increased affordability in most metro areas, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors®.

Total state existing-home sales, including single-family and condo, rose 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.76 million units in the second quarter from 4.58 million units in the first quarter, but remain 2.9 percent below the 4.90 million-unit pace in the second quarter of 2008. National Association of REALTORS

Four States Dominate Top 10 Metro Foreclosure Rates

Foreclosure filings were reported on 16,798 Las Vegas properties in July, one in every 47 housing units — more than 7.5 times the national average and the highest foreclosure rate among metro areas with a population of at least 200,000. The city’s foreclosure activity increased nearly 6 percent from the previous month and 89 percent from July 2008.

Seven California metro areas documented foreclosure rates among the top 10 in July. Stockton posted the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate — one in every 62 housing units received a foreclosure filing — followed by Modesto at No. 3 (one in 63), Merced at No. 5 (one in 66), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 6 (one in 67), Bakersfield at No. 7 (one in 76), Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 8 (one in 83), and Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville at No. 10 (one in 105).

Other cities with top 10 metro foreclosure rates were Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 4, with one in every 64 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., at No. 9, with one in every 103 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. RealtyTrac