Home prices gain again in February

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 American cities rose 0.3 percent in February and was up 9.3 percent compared with February 2012. All of the cities covered by the index have risen year-over-year for two consecutive months.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=KP7xsvX9HHSEQKYhZYAQxg

Why rising interest rates could eventually curb price gains

Rising home prices are raising concerns among some housing analysts that prices could again become unaffordable if price gains outpace income growth.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=6leFT3VwiNFj_Lul7XF1mw

Selling your home? The cards are in your favor

Selling your home? In most parts of the country, you have finally regained the upper hand.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=OUE2MkMJBEbrebADzVNGOg

“Underwater” homes decline nationwide

Roughly 20,000 borrowers escaped their “negative equity” positions during the final three months of last year, CoreLogic reported.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=MZGNEN7CGms1hjFJcADCxw

Residential construction spending rises in February

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Dept. of Commerce announced this week that construction spending during February 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885.1 billion, 1.2 percent above the revised January estimate of $874.8 billion. The February figure is 7.9 percent above the February 2012 estimate of $820.7 billion.

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CoreLogic reports home prices rose in February

CoreLogic’s February CoreLogic HPI® report shows that home prices increased 10.2 percent year over years in February, representing the biggest year-to-year increase since March 2006. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 0.5 percent in February 2013 compared with January 2013.

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When prices of homes with pools take a dip

In the winter, the water doesn’t look so appealing, so potential buyers are less likely to shell out extra bucks for a swimming pool.

Their findings, "Projection Bias in the Car and Housing Markets," were published in June by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Their research falls into the broader category of behavioral economics, giving insights into the psychology of spending, such as why some people spend more money at the grocery store when they're hungry.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=BOVJO8jroIdaQ5sFslOIsA

California home prices up

California’s median home price marked a full year of annual price gains, propelled by strong sales of higher-priced homes in February, while a lack of inventory constrained total home sales for the month, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported this week.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=VzIy0IonyClFa5HT30WIdA

Home buyers face dilemma with shortage

The sharp drop in homes for sale poses a tough choice for buyers: Jump in now and compete with hordes of others or wait until inventory improves.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=--0j5Qfzm0E0wFBXTeTQwA

More can afford a home, but lenders remain tight-fisted

Nearly half of all California households can now afford the median-priced home in the state – but that’s no help if they can’t get mortgages.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=HCarMwL9IInrAmid6edaKA

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