Weekly Summary of US Housing News - Christina LoNigro Lazrak

This is my weekly summary of US National housing market news, sometimes it helps me gain perspective and to balance what I see on the ground in the local real estate markets. This is not investment advice, but a summary of news and musings for real estate investors and stock investors and for my own benefit. Do your own due diligence and contact your realtor , to list and sell your home. Real estate markets are LOCAL, so contact your realtor for a competitive market analysis,CMA. See my previous post on New England home price improvement.


US National Housing market news for last week:
Monday, March 26,The FHA is no longer insuring mortgages for anyone with a credit dispute of more than $1K.
Tuesday, March 27,  Good News on Lennar (LEN): New orders +33% Y/Y to 3,022 homes."We have been able to increase sales prices and have started to reduce sales incentives," says CEO Miller
Also on Tuesday, The decline in the Case-Shiller price index: brings home prices for both the 10 and 20-city composites back to early 2003 levels. Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, and Las Vegas prices are below 2000 levels. Denver, Detroit, and Phoenix are the only cities to post positive Y/Y gains in January, while Miami, Phoenix, and D.C. were the only cities to post monthly gains.
Thursday, March 29,  Pulte Group (PHM ) leads a decline in homebuilders (XHB) after S&P Capital IQ cuts PHM to Strong Sell from Hold. The firm expects foreclosure activity to pick up as the year progresses, adding additional pressure to prices and new home sales, and sees housing growth below consensus. Hovnanian (HOV ) also is cut to Sell
Friday, March 30, Though the overall US housing market remains bleak (or perhaps because of it,your regional market may be different), the rental income generated by U.S. landlords is soaring, and has reached its highest share of GDP since the '70s. that is GOOD news for investors!
Monday, April 2, "All indications suggest that the key spring selling seasonhas gotten off to a solid start," writes Wells Fargo, basing the conclusion mostly on anecdotal data. Of particular interest are sales gains not being dependent on incentives. Holding things back are conservative appraisals and tight underwriting, both of which should subside over the course of the year.


Is the ETF XHB,one year daily chart below,still a 6-12 month leading indicator for real housing prices ? Or is the price index for a collection of home builders looking toppy? For more on the XHB  and its components click here

OH Canada, OH Canada ! Rather oh Vancouver, oh Vancouver?

Snapshot of Vancouver

• During 2005 to 2010, the compound annual growth rate in Greater Vancouver was set at 10% while the 20 year average was 6%.
• The average price of both single and multifamily homes during 2011 was $796,000, however, the CMHC predicts this average to rise during 2012 to $800,000.
• 48% of households own their homes in Vancouver compared to 68% nationally.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) estimated that the national home sales for both 2012 and 2013 will remain in sync with the 10 year average for annual activity. More here


What is different about the Super Rich in Russia and China ? Well.......
Here is an interesting article from Kasia Moreno, of Forbes on a study she did comparing 1,253 of the biggest fortunes in 12 countries, including Russia and China:

•  Russia and China are among the countries with the highest percentage of self-made fortunes.
•  Russia’s and China’s rich are lone wolves.

Have a great week making a difference out there, and maybe I will see you on one of the social media sites. I don't post much, investing a lot of time with clients-its SPRING !