It’s safe to sell your home again?

While analysts debate when the housing market will hit bottom, for a surprising number of cities the turnaround has already begun. In December, prices rose in 109 of the 384 metro areas tracked by data firm CoreLogic. Making sense of the story There are certain signs to help determine if a particular neighborhood is on the verge of a rebound. For instance is local employment on the upswing? That’s a critical factor for a region to get itself on the path to recovery. Improving jobs picture has led to shrinking housing stock across the country, as investors and bargain hunters have started buying up foreclosures that have been preventing a recovery. For years, buyers were scared of overpaying for a home, but less so now. Many buyers have grown accustomed to thinking they’ll score deals, so they tend to act slowly, and typically start bidding around 10 percent to 15 percent below list price. However, a growing number of buyers are beginning to realize that if they wait too long in this market, they may miss out. Sellers can hold firm on price if they’re patient. The days of having to deal with low-ball offers are coming to an end. The higher the price, the more patient the seller must be. Cheaper homes are affordable to more buyers and appealing to investors, so recoveries usually start there. Sellers should keep in mind that while they don’t have to placate low-ball offers anymore, they also can’t shoot for the moon either. Working with a REALTOR® and setting a realistic price from the get-go is key. Sellers should know what they’re competing against. Homeowners should let their home’s value dictate the price. While this may seem self-evident, some owners may have lost sight of it during the bust. On the one hand, some sellers clung to the false hope of a return to boom prices, so they set prices unrealistically high. Others may have gone too far the other way, and set their price too low. It’s also important that sellers understand they’re no longer competing with gutted foreclosures. Buyers are tired of looking at worn-down, neglected, distressed properties and often don’t have much extra money to do a lot of fixing up. REALTORS® often report their clients are willing to pay a little more for a home that’s ready to move into. Full Story: http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/19/real_estate/housing-market.moneymag/index.htm?iid=HP_River

First gain for Calif. prices in 16 months

The median price for an existing, single-family home in California rose 1.6 percent in March compared with the year before, marking the first year-over-year increase in 16 months, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported Monday.

Full Story:http://www.ocregister.com/articles/median-349624-statewide-months.html

As Rents Increase Home Ownership Becomes More Attractive

Rising rents, coupled with slumping home prices and interest rates near record-lows, are boosting demand for homes at entry-level prices.

Making sense of the story
Increased buying activity from investors and second-home purchases may be factors behind the recent pickup in home sales, but real estate agents say they are fielding more calls from anxious tenants complaining about rising rents.
Average apartment rents rose by 2.7 percent last year, while the national vacancy rate dropped below 5 percent for the first time since 2001, according to a quarterly survey released Wednesday by REIS Inc., a real estate research firm.
The largest rent increases came in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., which saw increases of 5.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Such increases are one reason why industry analysts believe 2012 will be the first year since 2005 when the share of apartment renters that moves out to buy a house increases from the previous year.
Historically, the cost to rent an apartment has been about 10 percent lower than the after-tax cost of owning a home. That rental discount began to fall in 2010 and disappeared entirely last year, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank who track housing costs. By the end of 2011, the bank’s research found that the cost to rent an apartment was about 15 percent higher than the cost to own a home.
It isn’t always easy for home buyers to make it to the closing table though. Lending and appraisal standards remain tight, keeping many would-be buyers out of the market. And aspiring buyers are competing with savvy investors who have turned buying and reselling foreclosed homes into a business.

Read Full Story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304750404577322011443831768.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews