All Cash Buyers Commonplace

According to results based on C.A.R.’s 2012 Annual Housing Market Survey, “All Cash” buyers has been on the rise since the mid of 2000’s, increasing from 11 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in 2012. Almost one-third of all home buyers paid with all cash in 2012, which is more than 3 times what it was in 2001 when “All Cash” buyers were merely 8.8 percent. The share of all cash buyers in 2012 was also nearly double the long-run average of 15.1 percent since 1998.

Full Story: http://www.car.org/marketdata/realestate411/re411Feb012013/

Boomerang buyers making a comeback

Buyers who went through short sales or foreclosures are becoming homeowners again, thanks in part to loans from the Federal Housing Administration.

Full Story:  http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=1UpZCPNw0585jJhIkDf64Q

California foreclosure starts plummet 60 percent in January

The real estate website ForeclosureRadar.com reported a 60.5 percent decline in California default notices in January from December.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=azR7foU3t4NSnkKgeb6whw

Foreclosure filings fall to lowest level since 2007

Notices of default, scheduled auctions, bank repossessions and other filings fell to 150,864 last
month, a 7 percent decline from the previous month and a 28 percent drop from January 2012,
according to RealtyTrac.

Read the full story: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/14/real_estate/foreclosures/index.html?iid=HP_River

A sign the housing recovery just might stick

Mortgage applications were higher again in January. If individual buyers dominate home sales
as opposed to investors (who obviously don't add to the numbers of mortgage applications as reported increased), we might see a more sustainable housing recovery.

Read the full story: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/08/mortgage-applications-2/?iid=HP_LN

Consistent boost to California's median home price

California home sales and prices both posted gains in December, with the median price posting strong double-digit gains for six straight months, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=cvL6ZLl1eul4At7Pd--olw