Mortgage rates are about a full percentage point higher today than they were at the beginning of March. The average rate on the 30-year fixed hit 4.80 percent by the middle of last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That is the highest since April 2011.

Rates have been trending higher on expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its investments in mortgage-backed securities.

Home prices are also trending higher in part due to the fact that there are fewer distressed properties for sale. Excluding distressed sales, prices were up 11.4 percent year over year. Distressed properties have seen big price jumps in the past year, as investors fight to get the remaining bargains.

Markets hit hardest by the housing crash have seen some of the biggest price gains: Nevada home prices were up 27 percent annually in July, California up 23 percent and Arizona up 17 percent. Completed foreclosures nationally were down 25 percent in July from a year ago, according to CoreLogic.

(Read more: Map: Tracking the recovery)

Prices are also getting a boost from the sheer lack of properties for sale. Inventories are way down in local markets across the nation, and home builders are not ramping up production fast enough to meet new demand.

While the inventory situation is not expected to ease very much over the next year, home prices are expected to weaken slightly, as higher rates and weak income growth put a cap on just how high prices can go.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101004096

Concerns about rising mortgage rates, which spiked in to the mid-4 percent range in just the past week, have dampened expectations for home price gains this summer. Analysts also worry that prices are rising too fast, far faster than income growth, and will soon price too many potential buyers out of the housing market.

“Today’s Case-Shiller numbers may reflect where the housing market has been in some of the frothier metros, but they are not indicative of where it’s headed,” said Zillow’s chief economist, Stan Humphries. “The housing market worm has turned over the past few weeks—inventory levels are beginning to show signs of easing, and mortgage interest rates are creeping up. Going forward, both of these factors will help mitigate extreme price spikes caused by very strong housing demand and very low housing supply.”

This latest report only tracks prices on a three-month moving average through the end of April, well before mortgage rates began their climb. Still, Blitzer contends that rising rates will not slow price gains.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100839986

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The real estate glory days have returned to San Francisco.

The median price for a home in the city is back at the $1 million mark, according to the SFGate.com real estate blog On the Block.

It appears that the data from April reveals a median price increase of 32 percent from 2012, according to the Business Journal. That’s higher than the average list price of $799,000, which means “too many buyers [are] vying for too few properties,” the blog reported.

Supply and demand means that a home that sold at auction in 1998 for $106,500 in Twin Peaks is now listed for $995,000, the blog reported.

In general, sellers are getting 112 percent of their asking prices for San Francisco homes, according to Redfin.

A seller’s market — but could it get any hotter?

Yes. Another home, bought in November 2012 for $875,000, is back on the market, less than a year later — for an asking price of $1.2 million. Will it sell for a 100 percent profit? It could — which is saying something.

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Article source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/SF-Median-Home-Price-Tops-1-Million-211448041.html

SFGate
April 7, 2012 04:00 AM
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Saturday, April 7, 2012

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/06/prweb9378666.DTL

Associated Press
May 16, 2011 10:32 AM
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Monday, May 16, 2011

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/16/state/n103255D79.DTL&tsp=1