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Why Rise in Home Prices May Not Mean Much—Yet

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:40:12 +0000

Average home prices through May increased for the second month in a row, according to the latest SP/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which measure both the top ten and top twenty housing markets in the US.

Prices are still down from a year ago, but those annual drops are improving.

“On a monthly basis, all 20 cities and both composites posted positive returns and 17 of those cities saw those rates of change increase compared to what was observed for April. Seventeen of the 20 cities and both Composites also saw improved annual rates of return,” notes SP’s David Blitzer.

“We have observed two consecutive months of increasing home prices and overall improvements in monthly and annual returns,” he added. “However, we need to remember that spring and early summer are seasonally strong buying months so this trend must continue throughout the summer and into the fall.”

This is not the first time since the initial home price collapse in 2006 that we have seen prices rise, only to fall again. We saw large price gains in 2009, thanks to the home buyer tax credit, and we saw slight gains last spring due to some seasonality and a big run on distressed properties by investors.

So how do we know if the latest gains we are seeing are here to stay?

Much of the answer lies in foreclosures. Many markets have seen their supply of foreclosed properties fall dramatically, due to huge investor demand.

Take Phoenix, for example, where investors claim there is just not enough to buy. Home prices there are up 11.5 percent from a year ago.

Miami and Tampa are also seeing solid gains. But Atlanta continues to be the weakest spot; as foreclosure supplies there surge, prices are down 14.5 percent.

Foreclosures are falling nationwide, but the crisis is far from over, and the concern is that all the delays in foreclosure processing will continue to wreak havoc on home prices for at least another year, if not longer.

There were 1.4 million homes in some stage of foreclosure in June, down slightly from 1.5 million in June of 2011, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

Completed foreclosures, however, fell more dramatically, down 24 percent from a year ago. This is likely due to renewed loan modification efforts by lenders, as well as new state legislation, that are keeping many homes from final foreclosure.

The big questions continue to be how long these foreclosure delays will last and how successful foreclosure alternatives and loan modifications will ultimately be. And these numbers don’t include loans that are delinquent but not yet in the foreclosure process. Those number around 3.6 million according to Lender Processing Services.

With so many different home price surveys showing gains this spring, and in the absence of a home buyer tax credit, it would appear that this price recovery is the real thing.

But there is in fact one government stimulus in play that some have been discounting, and that is record low interest rates. Those low rates should be giving home buyers even more purchasing power than we are seeing in the price numbers.

The concern is that these price gains are largely on the low end, distressed sector, where the bulk of home sales are right now. Lack of supply is pushing prices up there, but not, perhaps, in the rest of the market, where sales are still sluggish, and buyers need mortgages, unlike so many all-cash investors.

While some housing analysts have already called a bottom to home prices, others warn we may not have seen the last of the losses.

The spring market was slightly better than expected, especially for the home builders, but we have to remember that the builders and the overall housing market are not necessarily the same.

Home builders may be seeing gains due to the drop in supply of distressed properties, but that drop in supply could in turn slow the existing home sales market and push price numbers down yet again.

-By CNBC’s Diana Olick
Questions? Comments? And follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/48417387?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

Bay Area Property Management Company, Stokley Properties Inc., Offers Renters …

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:54:46 +0000

The Bay Area’s Stokley Properties Inc. advises the public on what a strong rental market in the San Francisco East Bay Area means to home owners and renters, especially those who may have lost their homes due to foreclosure.

Walnut Creek, CA (PRWEB) February 02, 2012

As the San Francisco East Bay Area real estate market continues to lean toward a strong rental market, Bay Area property management company,Stokley Properties Inc. would like to offer new and foreclosed-upon renters tips on securing a lease.

For a first-time renter or for someone re-entering the rental world after being far removed from it for years, Concord property management company, Stokley Properties recommends considering the following:

1)    Preparation is key. Have every necessary document ready.

2)    Those that have lost their homes due to a foreclosure or a short sale should have a letter of explanation ready. This should not be left to chance. Property management companies, such as Stokley Properties Inc., can work with people who have lost their homes, but they need to be prepared with documentation so that upon review of their application, their situation can easily be understood.

3)    Do not to prevaricate. If the property is priced correctly and is a clean and well-maintained home – in a desirable neighborhood – it will not stay on the market long. Therefore, renters are encouraged to bring their checkbooks, and if they like the property, to snap it up immediately!

The continuing havoc that the real estate industry has been cycling through is the main reason rental properties have been making a strong showing this year and beyond. Because of short sales and foreclosures, people who were once homeowners are now renters. For those who finds themselves in this situation, it is important to be aware of the market and what the competition is, as well as what they need to be prepared.

“I have been very happy with Joe Stokley and his team. All the clients I referred to him have expressed great happiness with the service he provided when they needed to rent a property. His property management service is very well received. I look forward to referring many more clients to him. We have known each other for many years and enjoy a close working relationship,” said Don and Norma Flaskerud, Realtors(R) of RE/MAX CC Connection.

For more information about any of Stokley Properties’ services, call 925-658-1415 or view the property management company on the web at www.stokleypropertieseastbay.net. Stokley Properties is located at 1630 N. Main St., Suite 54, in Walnut Creek.

About Stokley Properties Inc.

The Walnut Creek company, Stokley Properties, provides complete property management services throughout the greater San Francisco East Bay Area, including Concord, San Ramon, the Bay Area, Brentwood, Martinez and Oakland. It provides professional real estate investment advice to enable clients to make well-informed decisions. Services include advertising and marketing, residential screening, leasing and retention management, property inspections and more.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebproperty-management/bay-area/prweb9160781.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/02/prweb9160781.DTL

New Foreclosure Numbers: Vallejo-Fairfield Fourth Highest in the Nation

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:43:52 +0000

Real estate signs in front of homes for sale March 23, 2010 in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty

One out of every 140 housing units in the Vallejo-Fairfield metro area is facing foreclosure, according to the latest numbers from RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for July 2011, making the North Bay region the fourth most-impacted in the country. This is a 33 percent jump for the region since last month.

Statewide, the foreclosure activity rate is one out of every 239 housing units, marking a 4 percent increase for California since last month, but a 16 percent decrease compared with July 2010.

Nationally, the rate of foreclosure has decreased 4 percent since June and 35 percent since last year.

But RealtyTrac’s Daren Blomquist told KQED intern Nick Fountain that the decrease in foreclosure activity is not necessarily as good as it seems.

“We have to say that there’s no marked improvement in the economy or the jobs market or the housing market that is causing this improvement in the foreclosure picture,” he said.

Blomquist said the national decline, which has been going on for 10 months, is primarily due to a slow down in processing of foreclosures as a result of of the “havoc” created last October when lenders “got into hot water using slopping paperwork and documentation.”

“So, at this point, the decline is more of a short-term fix,” he said.

Locally, San Francisco County showed a 39 percent increase in foreclosure activity since June, which Blomquist attributed to a jump in bank repossessions. Similarly, activity this month in Contra Costa County increased 17 percent and Alameda County 15 percent.

But several regions outside the Bay Area are faring far worse. While the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area ranks 28th nationally in foreclosure rates and Vallejo-Fairfield ranks fourth, the Stockton area ranks second. There, foreclosure activity increased 57 percent from June to July, to a rate of one in every 124 homes.

Check out the chart below, created by Fountain and online producer Lisa Pickoff-White, to see how some California counties fare in the new report.

For more on the Bay Area housing market, listen to Wednesday’s Forum program.

Article source: http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/08/11/new-foreclosure-numbers-vallejo-fairfield-fourth-highest-in-the-nation/