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Subscribe to RSSWASHINGTON — Home prices rose in August in half of major U.S. cities measured by a private survey, a sign that prices are stabilizing in some hard-hit portions of the country.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index showed Tuesday that prices increased in August from July in 10 of the 20 cities tracked. That marked the fifth straight month that at least half of the cities in the survey showed monthly gains.
The biggest price increases were in Washington, Chicago and Detroit. The greatest declines were in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
The August data provides a "modest glimmer of hope" that some areas may have bottomed out and could be turning around, said David M. Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee. He noted that cities in the Midwest — Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis — have shown some strength since May.
Still, Robert Shiller, the co-founder of the index and a Yale economics professor, said in an interview on CNBC that overall home prices were "flat" and a recovery in the struggling housing market was not on the horizon.
Over the past 12 months, prices have fallen in all but two cities. Detroit and Washington were the only two cities to show year-over-year gains.
The index, which covers half of all U.S. homes, measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The August data are the latest available.
"We certainly believe the bulk of the decline in housing is behind us and indeed, one might even say that 'housing' is more likely to improve from here," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist for BTIG. "But given the overwhelming level of inventory that remains on the market ... further price declines seem almost assured to help clear the market."
Prices are certain to fall again once banks resume millions of foreclosures that have been delayed because of a yearlong government investigation into mortgage lending practices.
Those homes at risk of foreclosure promise "to keep pressure on prices for some time," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc.
Home prices have stabilized in coastal cities over the past six months, helped by a rush of spring buyers and investors. But this year, home prices in many cities, including Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa, have reached their lowest points since the housing bust more than four years ago.
Many people are reluctant to purchase a home more than two years after the recession officially ended. Even the lowest mortgage rates in history haven't been enough to lift sales.
Some can't qualify for loans or meet higher down payment requirements. Many with good credit and stable jobs are holding off because they fear that home prices will keep falling.
Sales of previously occupied home sales are on pace to match last year's dismal figures — the worst in 13 years. Sales of new homes fell to a six-month low in August and this year could be the worst since the government began keeping records a half century ago.
Foreclosures and short sales — when a lender accepts less for a home than what is owed on a mortgage — makes up about 30 percent of all home sales last month, up from about 10 percent in past years. The large number of unsold homes and foreclosures are sending prices lower and hurting sales.
A breakdown of the data from August, with Maureen Maitland, Standard & Poor's; and Karl Case, Coman/Hepburn Professor, Partner, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller Index.
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Buy now. Prices are never going to be lower. Inventories are dropping, the "shadow" inventory is not materializing and rents are only going up, up, up.
jtruck,
I completely agree with you, but only for people that are planning to stay put for a number of years. Real estate has always been a long term investment. People that bought and refinanced thinking they could sell in a year or two with big gains got really burned.
Buy a nice home now with a 4.5% 30 year mortgage. Live, love, enjoy your home. Owning today is cheaper than renting. In 25 or 30 years, you will have a real nice nest egg.
Do not buy unless you can see yourself staying put for 5 to 10 years, longer is better. If you think you may have to move sooner, rent with an option to buy. Lock in the sale price now, get a portion of your rent going towards the eventual purchase of the house. If you move in 2 years, you have lost nothing. If you decide to stay and buy, you have a home that you like at a good price. Sellers today will look at nearly any reasonable offer.
Let me guess: You two are real estate agents.
jtruck - I already did and I bought a Condo AND another house recently and saved a ton-o-dough too!
Wow, you guys really drink the kool-aid don't you?
Reality is actually the opposite of the MSNBC drivel, as usual.
Home Prices Fall More Than Forecast in August
"The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 3.8 percent from August 2010, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 3.5 percent decline.
“There is still a big imbalance between demand and supply,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, who projected a 3.9 percent decline. “Prices will keep declining into 2012.”
Prices were little changed in August from the prior month after adjusting for seasonal variations, following a 0.1 percent decrease in July from June. The July reading was previously reported as a gain. Unadjusted prices rose 0.2 percent from the prior month after a 0.9 percent July advance.
Nonetheless, prices were down in 18 cities in the 12 months ended in August, led by an 8.5 percent decrease in Minneapolis."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/home-prices-in-u-s-cities-fall-more-than-forecast-3-8-case-shiller-says.html
It was only "unadjusted" prices that showed a slight gain... and remember the "prices" are raised by including closing costs, appliances, boats, cars, etc...
I'll tell you why this is bogus. First of all trust. Those of us who lived through the boom-bust cycle, won't trust RE agents and assessors anymore. I don't like that the mortgages get bought and sold and go through several hands, you never know who owns the mortgage. Buy the HOUSE outright with cash! Don't do mortgages.
Second, I looked at property around the corner for $75,000 (2 bd 2 ba) very reasonable for Chicago. But the taxes were $16,000 a year!!!! WTF?
No way Jose.
IReckon2012
hahahah!!! Saved a ton of dough compared to 2006 prices, LOST a ton of dough compared to 2014 prices!
LOL!!! Sounds like you got conned!
Sally in Chicago
Ive come to realize what you and many others have about real estate agents. Theyre generally colossal scumbags.
I for one will NEVER use another one, and why should anybody! They're sooo many online tools now that make them irrelevant. Give 6% away right off the top?!?! No way jose!!!
I purchased a 5.85 acre organic avocado with a 2 fully equipped off grid bedroom cabin in Hawaii for <$200K 2 months ago. Helluva deal.
just because PRICES are up doesnt mean SALES are up. READ people.
Sally, I am from Chicago too. You must be wrong about the annual taxes...no way a 75 K house (even if discount 75 %) has 16 K taxes. For our market 16 K taxes me it is assessed at the equivalent of 750 K.
PS..I do actually see a bit of a pick up in sales in the north west burbs (and no I am not an agent)
Gary 420
I agree with your assessment. I am a landlord and can now charge rents that surpass cost of ownership. But, people should recognize that landlords have assumed the "risk" of ownership. Rent if you want flexibility to be mobile or you cannot afford to tie up cash in a down payment. But recognize that landlords must be compensated for tying up their down payment/investment and to cover "losses" incurred during vacancies resulting from "your" need for mobility. I find it bizarre when financial writers say that ownership is cheaper than renting when they give you the typical monthly payment for principal and interest compared to rents and they neglect to tell you that your rent covers real estate costs, maintenance, and a return on equity invested. Long-term rents should be a tad higher than owning because the mobility that the renter enjoys.
Buy a house with cash!!!! You got to be kidding , with the low interest for home loans you can invest your cash in something with higher return, check your financial adviser . 15 years is a good plan. Price for houses will go up anyway , all is matter of time, like struck said, population is growing and the inventory of new and no new houses will go down, let the free market stabilize prices , then they will go up. and about the "recession officially ended" who has the switch to officially end this recession.
I bought a house to live in, not to invest in. I paid off the mortgage despite the fact that the house likely lost significant money but I don't care. I own a HOUSE, not a pile of money. The perceived value of the house is down but the house has not changed in value at all to me. Thanks to paying off the house (by living for five years like I was broke... fast food trips were saved up for) All I have to pay is electric, gas and taxes (plus some other lesser items) which is far less a month than renting.
What a B.S. Story Headline. Here is what another news source lead with.
"Home Prices Fall More Than Forecast in August"
Keep trying to carry that water MSNBC, don't let the truth get in the way.
One more reason the government should stay out of this and let the markets work themselves out as they are doing!
Actually another 1-2million foreclosures are expected to hit the market in 2012. This articles starts off by saying a "private survey", which is code for "not really reliable". As long as the market is flooded with houses, 9% unemployment hangs around, prices still too high, and too much job insecurity, you're not going to see people buying much. This is just another article brought to you by the American Realtors Association to spin you into thinking NOW is the time to buy. It's not. Continue to be patient, watch the interest rates keep falling, and make sellers sell their houses for what they're worth, not what they bought them at the inflated prices.
Sally in Chicago:
16k in Taxes... No surprises there in the heart of the UNIONS and the DEMS.
Ownership comes with much responsibility and many hidden costs.
Things to consider when buying a home:
There is always upkeep (yard work, etc) and maintenance (especially if you have an older home).
Insurance and property taxes will continuously rise. Even though my house lost value (like everyone else) my RE taxes keep jumping tremendously.
Owning a house is not for everyone.
I have owned my hone for 17+ years and have used it as a home. But if I had to do it all over again I would have just rented.
I guess the headline was intended for the casual reader to give the impression that things were improving.
After reading the full article, it's obvious that the opposite is actually true.
Typical disconnect by msnbc.
Mike-L "I bought a house to live in, not to invest in."
That's the ultimate 'Smart Move'. You have a place to live no matter what, with money left over for other things, while most people are struggling to make ends meet.
Also, when inflation hits, as it will soon, you will have something solid that will only go up in value, while everyone that 'invests' in 'pieces of paper' to get a 'fast buck' will lose most of what they have.
Live long and prosper.
LOCATION ... LOCATION ... in this market you get what you pay for even in the same city!!!
In Las Vegas you can pay $90,000 vs $250,000 for the same house all depending on it's location.
BUT ... the $250,000 house WAS $500,000 during the sucker boom!!!!
ROY WILSON,
People have been saying for over 5 years now that inflation will hit, inflation will hit. They have been correct, but it is very very low, except for food and energy (oil). If you mean ,6,7,8,10% per year, you are WRONG, and you will be wrong for several years more. However, you will be correct at some point if you just keep repeating the same 'song-and-dance' long enough. I can say unemploymmet will be dramatically lower, but the real question is WHEN and not IF, and what exactly would be "dramatically" lower unemployment? And since you said soon, tell me how soon and how much. We have had 1% to 3% inflation since around 1990 and this probably will not change in a Capitalistic Economic Environment, so when is it and how much? When you set a definite time frame and amount of increase then we will see how accurate your predictions are.
Full disclosure: I'm a full time real estate investor. I own rental property, am an agent, develop residential lots, owned business that sold housing materials and build homes. That said, I've been doing this a long time from a multitude of angles. 2008 and 2009 were miserable, 2010 wasn't much better. 2011 feels like a turning point, and when I say "feels" i mean that I'm showing large, measurable gains in house sale volume, pricing and rents. I also watch inventory closely. Current inventory of houses for sale in my area are 1/6 what they were in 2007 (the high point). Housing starts in my area are 1/8 the 20 year average and have been that way for 4 years. Essentially, there is no housing available, no new housing starts and rents are skyrocketing in my area. Available housing is getting scarce and when people that do have money can't find what they are looking for, they will pay a premium. We're seeing that already. If you don't buy now, you will be shocked to find that you missed the boat in a few years. We're nearing the end of a 7-year recessionary cycle in housing.
Hey pjam09 I agree with you!
MSNBC (Media Propaganda Arm of the POTUS) will stop at nothing and continue to lie to the American people! I live in NJ (Most densely populated state in the USA) and housing prices just continue to fall, fall, fall.
I wouldn't expect anything but shady news being reported by this illiterate news organization. Shame on you MSNBC and the liberal ideologues that drink form this corrupt outlet...
jtruck,
RE: your post #1.23 "...in my area..."
Sir, what area of the U.S. are you referring to?
Virginia (not DC)
Who wrote this article?? One paragraph says the home prices in Detroit have risen and in another that prices have declined. What ever happened to editors????
Allen, agree with you on sloppy editing. However, Detroit is really an anomaly. Entire neighborhoods are vacant. There are livable houses being sold for $5000. So if the average price ticks up from $5000 to $6000, it looks like the city is coming back. I am bullish on real estate, but I would stay out of Detroit. There are radical plans on the table to make the city viable. Some of the plans are abandoning dozens of square miles of the city and relocating the population to a much smaller area. In 50 years, half of Detroit could be farmland. It was built for a much different time and will look much different going forward. Las Vegas and Miami will eventually come back. There are probably incredible properties in those cities that can be had for a song. Detroit is just too risky right now for me.
No where does it say Detroit housing has gone down...The article says Detroit is turning around after hitting an all time low this year...at any rate it's good to know thing may be on the upswing. Regardless I thing Detroit is a poor pulse indicator for MI or the midwest. Like Vegas, Detroit is a city that will have to be dealt with differently than most other cities in this economy. It's woes come from the last 15 years and huge areas of it are a waste land. There talk of demolishing sections of it's suburbs and returning it to farm land or woods
They may have changed the article, however, the article currently states that Detroit is showing a year-over-year gain; meaning prices are higher from the point of measuring verses the point of measuring a year ago. So prices on October 1, 2011 are higher than October 1, 2010. It also says that Detroit bottomed out during the spring buying period. So, the prices there hit their low some time in March or April and recovered to show a gain toward the end of year.
Being from Detroit, this is what's happening. It's a distressed city. You can buy property very very cheap. Except the property located in midtown, near the University which is rehabbed or brand new. Expensive for Detroit.
Houses depreaciate. It does not make sense to wish for higher home prices. Cheap is good. As technology gets better, we should be able to afford things for less work. But what we have is the opposite. People have to spend more for housing than the past generations. They borrow mortgage and pay interest for money that was created out of nothing. This is outright slavery. Banks do not lend out existing money. They create money when we borrow. This new money pushes prices higher and makes other people to submit to slavery. This needs to stop! Google for "How do banks create money" to understand the robbery. Government wants higher home prices because money creation through mortgage loans inflate the money supply and makes the economy look good.
What a B.S. Story Headline. Here is what another news source lead with.
"Home Prices Fall More Than Forecast in August"
Keep trying to carry that water MSNBC, don't let the truth get in the way.
The foreclosures are not being put on the market so there is less inventory. Many are living in homes for years now that they are not paying for. So where I live, realtors are asking more for houses now. If you buy now your may be getting a lower interest rate but you are paying more for the house. And although assessments have gone down, property taxes are way up.
I agree, I was happy to see my assesed value go down, then the clerk said "maybe so, but that doesn't mean your taxes have as well". Yep, she was right, when my property taxes came due there was a slight tax increase,
Mine too. I have ended up paying $100.00 more per month in taxes. I got my home for less that the assessed value, but my mortgage payment went up in the middle of the year. What's going on here and how do I fix this mess?
You know why the home prices went up, dont you. The banks were bailed out. That enabled them to hold on to the properties after they foreclosed on them. The owners lost their equity and were kicked out. Then the banks turned around, refused to sell lower, waited it out and now are again making profits. The only people who lost were the people who got foreclosed. Some few people got some deals, granted, but majority of the people still can't get homes at decent prices.
The bailout was a really greedy and calculated decision to rob the american people (not the first time)
Yep, but now the foreclosure flood gates have been opened back up -so expect inventories to rise again.
Ah someone that does not know how foreclosures really work. First the owner more than likely has lived for free for almost a year so even if they had equity in their house they saved more than that not making payments.
The banks will offer the house at a foreclosure auction for what they are owed if the house has more value someone will offer more. The bank cannot bid more than it is owed. In the rare case where there are not a bunch of other liens on the property the owner will get this amount above the banks bid and some investor and not the bank will take the house. That investor may make a profit but there are lots of investors and they know the tiny number of properties on the foreclosure you can make a profit on. These houses go well over the bank offer price.
The only time the bank gets the house is when they are upside down. The bank can sit on it all they want and it will still be upside down. All this time they are paying the taxes and home owners dues. The banks hold very few, most are turned over to Hud or Faniemay and sold for way under market value.
What about the interest that the bank got ? There is no limit on how many times the bank can resell its property is there? :) Kick one guy out, sell it to another for what is owed (conveniently forget that you collected all the money as interest in the intial payments that the person made + the downpayment on the property). Then find another one, make that person pay a down payment, and if that guy succeeds in paying of the mortage, well the bank got its interest. If not, kick him out, and now you get to keep those interest payments as well, find the third guy. If I was a bank, I would keep reloaning my asset again and again, and keep foreclosing it back... Nice.
Anyway, agreed that its risky for the banks, but then, its obviously more risky for the owners. I am not siding with somebody who could not pay what was promised. Even if they lost a job, they should have not tried to bite more than they could chew.
All I am saying is that banks are not to pitied either. They exactly know how to make money and financial gains, after all they are in the Money Business!. My point was, there was no need to bail anybody out.
Bloomberg titled its article "Home prices fall more than forecast 3.8%" according to the Case Schiller report. As usual MSNBC spins the news. Hopium for all.
True, here are the highlights.
Home Prices Fall More Than Forecast in August
"The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 3.8 percent from August 2010, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 3.5 percent decline.
“There is still a big imbalance between demand and supply,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, who projected a 3.9 percent decline. “Prices will keep declining into 2012.”
Prices were little changed in August from the prior month after adjusting for seasonal variations, following a 0.1 percent decrease in July from June. The July reading was previously reported as a gain. Unadjusted prices rose 0.2 percent from the prior month after a 0.9 percent July advance.
Nonetheless, prices were down in 18 cities in the 12 months ended in August, led by an 8.5 percent decrease in Minneapolis."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/home-prices-in-u-s-cities-fall-more-than-forecast-3-8-case-shiller-says.html
This is bad news.
I agree. The cause of the whole housing crisis was wildly inflated, unrealistic prices. Why on earth would we want to return to those false prices? Besides, if prices go higher, who the hell can afford them, considering the big decrease in income?
Don't worry, it's not actually true.
We can still hope for affordable housing someday, no matter what propaganda MSNBC prints.
Home Prices Fall More Than Forecast in August
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/home-prices-in-u-s-cities-fall-more-than-forecast-3-8-case-shiller-says.html
Spider: I disagree with you. The crisis was not created by price increases (inflated or unrealistic). The crisis was that people who had NO business buying a $200K, $300K, $400K, etc. home were given the opportunity to do so with lending practices gone awry.
People bought houses on ultra low adjustable rate loans without reading the fine print of the back loading of interest (i.e. rate is 1.75% and APR is 6.99% with interest tacked onto the loan) or even 'standard' ARM's which the rates went up 1.5 to 2.5% AND they had HELOC's on top of that, with income at the 'starting mortgage rate' level. It was a recipe for disaster and we saw it happen.
People's greed and desire for 'bigger and better' and 'instant gratification' got the best of them. The argument that people were told one thing and then surprised at the refinance time is utter BS. If you are making a significant purchase, read the documents you are signing and understand the terms and conditions. If you don't understand them, you probably should not be entering into the contract. I also think many people rarely think of the future and what happens *then* at the refinance time.
I agree it would be 'better' if the mortgage process was more straight forward (just went through it myself on a 30 year fixed rate). Spell out to the consumer taking the loan the details. "You have a 5 year adjustable rate mortgage. It's 3.5% NOW and based on the amount of your loan your payment is $XYZ. In 5 years, the rates begin to adjust at a maximum of A% each year. If the rate is still low or lower, your payment will remain low or lower. If the rate goes up to say, 4.5% here is what your new payment will be."
Something very 'in your face' would maybe make people think twice about what choice they make. Personally, I have always (only twice, but both times) have made the choice to do a 30 year fixed rate. To me, the extra $100 or $150 in my pocket each month is not worth the risk of interest rates going up 1, 2, 3 4....percent and then being faced with a mortgage I would potentially struggle with aside from tapping into savings or investments.
My personal belief is to consider the worst case scenario and plan for that. If you must be employed (or both you and your significant other) to make your payment and you don't have savings or investments to fall back on you are asking for trouble. It's a sad state of affairs, but the bottom line is that the days of guaranteed employment and home ownership as the 'American dream' are tarnished and we have to adapt as a society to living within our means and planning for the future while living for today.
Just my opinion.
When I was younger I just figured everyone older than this young college graduate made six figure salaries and could afford 400k plus houses as I was looking to buy my first house in 2006-2007 but now I realize that it's solely because of the death of the single income household and horrific banking practices that have put us where we are today. I feel horrible for those just starting their careers.
More B.S. from our socialistic media and government!!!! Buy guns and buy gold, if you can.
Amen - excellent advice and the same advice that Buffett's mentor provided over 2 years ago
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! HOME PRICES GOING UP! MILK PRICES GOING UP! GASOLINE GOING UP!...
ALL OF YOUR DAILY COSTS GOING UP!
This is "good" news? Good news would be: "Home prices to stay low so the millions who lost their homes or jobs can spend a few years rebuilding their lives in order to buy a home again".
Stupid clowns :(
Nice I post - it would be nice if we would put the people first for a change
Home prices ARE NOT RISING. They are declining around 1%/month. Stop trying to put a positive spin on a real estate market that's a disaster. I am a RE Broker and I say again: PRICES ARE NOT RISING. There are hundreds of overpices homes where is live that have been on the market 1-3 years. Buyers are few and far between and they know its a crap market. They will not buy is a home is overpriced. Don't trust a real estate agent that tells you the market is good...Do your homework and you will find out that the market is in the doldrums..
What they love to do is mislead people. The prices are not going up. Maybe the average SALES price of homes sold has gone up, but the actual prices of homes is only declining. I live here in the DC area and the prices are not going up. Just because somebody bought a $500k condo for $300k does not mean prices are going up. It means the average sales price just increase because of a higher priced property sold.
Politicians and the main stream media, lies upon lies. Oh yeah, throw in most real estate agents as well. :)
DaveMMM: Your comment doesn't make sense??? "The prices are not going up. Maybe the average SALES price of homes sold has gone up, but the actual prices of homes is only declining."
The average is exactly that. It does not mean that a house that was 'worth' $200K last year and sold last month at $180K went up. The other point you miss is that, 'on average' the same number of high priced homes will sell as medium and lower priced homes over time, so even if a 300K house sells, it is likely that in a declining market that price is lower than say it was a year ago.
Example:
2010: three houses $500K, $300K, $200K - average= $333K
2011: three houses $450K, $250K, $150K - average= $283K
2011: three houses $500K, $250K, $150K - average= $300K
So even if the 'high' priced house didn't lose any value (or more high priceded homes sold) the average would still drop if other houses are dropping. Again, you have to make MANY assumptions in these calculations (assume a similar mix of home prices as the year before, etc.)
If the sample is 500 home sales, year over year, with 100 being $500K+, 150 being $300-499K and 250 being less than $300K, then you have a more accurate comparison. Bottomline, is you don't get that, hence the average is the best we can deal with and if the average is going up, that means that more (on average) went up in value than down and yes, one expensive house increasing in price could affect the average more than others. That is one reason why the sample size needs to be statistically relevant.
Your statement makes the assumption that 'all' other houses sold for less now than a year ago and the high priced houses sold for the same as they would have a year ago or more, therefore inflating the average price. That is a flawed logical argument.
I would almost be willing to bet that the higher priced home market is still declining FASTER than the lower priced market, just based on the sheer logic of income spread and what people can afford. I'd suspect that housing values behave like an exponential curve if you compare to annual income. I.e. there are a lot more people with lower incomes (therefore more houses at lower prices) than people with $100K+ incomes and therefore proportionatly fewer homes in the $500K (or pick a higher number) price range.
The other thing to consider is a house is not 'worth' anything until it is sold. In general, I'd agree that overall prices are still very SOFT, yet stabilizing in some locations. And yes, most realtors rate right next to lawyers, in my opinion.
What a joke, buy in Vegas, home prices are down 65%. Of course, they are no jobs, food prices have sky rocketed, Nv. Energy has just asked for ANOTHER price increase of 11% after receiving a $138 million dollar stimulus from Uncle Sam. THE MOST DEPRESSED AREA OF THE COUNTRY!!!!!!!!
I think the belief that your home will always increase in value has been broken. Just because this survey increase a increase does not mean it has reached its highs. I think a homes return on its investment is more about timing then time. When you think 5 years ago you could make money and today you lose money. That's a serious drop. Worse then any stock market crash.
I'm going to ignore headlines about "Housing prices UP" "Housing prices DOWN". My belief is right now it is finally relatively stable. Some pockets of real estate around the country are doing better than others and overall there won't be any more unforeseen seismic shifts in the real estate market. The good real estate investors will recognize opportunity in good locations and earn a living. The bad ones will buy crap and sink.
Too bad jobs and wages aren't up, so folks can actually afford the uptick in houses.
I'm going to buy a rental or two. I like the timing if...if....IF obamacarter doesn't try to let the government step in and mess things up by trying to do to much.
I'll take stability any day over all this market greed and speculation. Why must inflation be always a self fulfilled prophecy of the slide to self destruction ? Has the fear really made us better off, or just left us bitter ? How can the American dream exist when only the rich get richer ?
Face it, we all got boned and the banks got bailed out. They're all ready to make a ton of cash on this market when it turns and the people who bought just before the crash were the last ones in on the REAL (Not S.S.) Ponzi scheme.
Last year I bought a 4year old 4 br home on a triple lot with a pool for 149K. The house originally sold for 360K. The appraisal came in at 193K. Yes you can still find deals. Take your time. There are plenty of good deals. The bigger problem for most people is the tighter credit requirements.
This is a bad sign, because house prices still have yet to drop back to where they should be. People need to stop accepting the overpricing that has been ingrained into us by the real estate and banking industries.
This increase was not seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted, house prices have dropped again. MSNBC knows this but has a stake in making everyone feel good and BUY, BUY, BUY. For a much better analysis, try this:
What does that mean? Please cite to a source, since I am a novice with respect to real estate. Also, it's an AP article from an independent study, not MSNBC
Here clotho:
Home Prices Fall More Than Forecast in August
"The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 3.8 percent from August 2010, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 3.5 percent decline.
“There is still a big imbalance between demand and supply,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, who projected a 3.9 percent decline. “Prices will keep declining into 2012.”
Prices were little changed in August from the prior month after adjusting for seasonal variations, following a 0.1 percent decrease in July from June. The July reading was previously reported as a gain. Unadjusted prices rose 0.2 percent from the prior month after a 0.9 percent July advance.
Nonetheless, prices were down in 18 cities in the 12 months ended in August, led by an 8.5 percent decrease in Minneapolis."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/home-prices-in-u-s-cities-fall-more-than-forecast-3-8-case-shiller-says.html
It was only "unadjusted" prices that showed a slight gain... and remember the "prices" are raised by including closing costs, appliances, boats, cars, etc...
Prices are still too high and the economy is still a total mess. Prices have not yet bottomed because they have not yet fixed any of the issues with the economy and jobs.
They talk about drug testing people who receive welfare, what about the people who write this bull@#$!. To seriously try to put any positive spin on housing is either nuts or drug related writing. The banks are not going to release the foreclosure's to keep prices up and they aren't to to give loans to sell them off( the fox watching the hen house)! Why would they? Don't you people find it odd that at a time when banks would try to do anything to move this dead weight, that they won't even give loans to qualified buyers? The rich are building mega-apartment complexes all around the same areas that have hundreds of empty houses>HMMMM? The the banks use that information, along with these stoned writers to tell us that it's good that prices are rising. How many products do you know of that the price goes up even though NO ONE IS BUYING THAT PRODUCT OR SERVICE!!!!!!
More BS like we see every day . Speculation is all what it is .
Prices will go down for sure so don't rush into something you may regret later
I have a house that I rent it out in Michigan, and about to buy $215.000 new house in Wisconsin. There is no reason to walk away from the house (even if you lost your job). I had tones of people that wanted to rent my house all I had to do is to choose them by looking at their credit report.
LOVE TO BE A HOME OWNER.
You're obviously addicted to something.
No, just thinking about my two girls. I want them to live in good environment, meet good people, to teach them to live rich, good life.
House is something that worth to fight for in America.
1. Prices are still dropping like a rock everywhere. Just announced in Chicago the median sale price dropped by 8K last month.
2. Looking at a credit report knowing that it is basically a scam? I agree with pjam and the addiction assessment.
Not true. My home in VA is gaining value. Not a rocket-like trajectory, but it is back to 80% of what I paid for it. I'm looking to buy in Florida, because prices are dirt cheap, and rentals are still sailing. If I can manage a down-payment, I will have a little income property in FL in a matter of months.
The time to buy is NOW.
The seemingly conflicting headlines, "major cities see value rise vs. overall values fall", are not in conflict at all. Major cities are seeing rises in home prices because of the inflationary pressure from wealthy investors buying up distressed homes. Major cities are considered safer areas to pursue such speculation. In some major cities, speculator activity now is greater than during the housing boom which led to the current financial crisis, in fact.
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The sad part of the story is that these investors are buying up the least expensive homes, either to flip or become slum lords. This activity ultimately will hurt lower to middle income families the most since it drives prices up for those that can least afford it. So even today, wealthy investors are continuing to scrape money off of the poorest.
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And it's by a very classic method: by owning land or something no one can do without and still function productively, an owner can extort profit, or even a living, without working themselves. It's a step up from owning slaves. A small step.
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Housing bubble part II, perhaps? Or revolution?
I'm voting on a coming revolution but who knows?
I think you have the best bet on this.
Absolutely, a revolution is inevitable . To many crooks around taking advantage on
everyone and everything . I think it’s coming soon !
Not necessarily true at all. The folks I know (myself included) are looking to obtain property (yeah, cheaply, who wouldn't?) so we can fix it up, and rent it out. Buying is still difficult for a lot of folks, so rentals are in high demand. I don't want my properties to be slums, I want to fix them up so that when prices recover, I will have more equity in the property.
Not everyone is a scumbag.
Oh, no! Home prices going up on half of major US cities, that is terrible news! Thank goodness Rick Perry is bringing back the birth certificate issue, that should help some. We really need to continue to accuse Obama of being Muslim and growing up in Kenya. We should also continue to refer to him by his middle name while at the same time reminding people that he is a socialist, worse than Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Yeah, that is it. That worked so well for us during the last presidential election that we should try it again. I am sure there are still many people who have not heard about that.
We also need to get our story straight and figure out if we should claim that the reported numbers are bogus and cooked, or if we should recognize them as being valid, but argue that we, not Obama, deserves the credit. Whatever story we choose to pick, we really need to stick with it, but not claim both. We tend to look like a bunch of idiots when we do that. We also need to get Sarah Palin more involved in bashing Obama, the bashing of Michelle Obama for suggesting that kids should eat healthy foods was great, but we need more of that. She should also endorse a candidate as vigorously as she endorsed Joe Miller in Alaska. That really was a huge help in that election. Thank goodness we have her to prove how smart we really are. If it wasn't for her intellect, maturity, wisdom, knowledge, and goodhearted (non vindictive) nature we would really be in trouble.
Home prices are still a bubble compared to historic norm. According to case shiller index, we are still 20% above long term averages. Typical bottom comes at 20% below average. But this is not your typical recession. This is a deflationary crash. This is Great Depression material. These averages themselves are based on a money supply that was inflated by borrowing for many decades. When the money supply deflates, existing prices and salaries cannot be sustained:
www.kondratieffwavecycle.com/housing-bubble-bust/
Bernanke can print money but that does not mean credit dependent sectors such as housing will go up in nominal terms. Quite the contrary, while food, gas, gold sky rockets, home prices can collapse. That is because if creditors think Bernanke will print lots of money, they will not lend money for the long term at low rates.
Beware! It has happened to past generations. Do not think we are immune. Japan had fiat currency too. They had deflation for 2 decades. Today the debt problem is much much bigger than the days of Great Depression.
Even though Bernanke has tripled the base money supply, people did not see an increase in their pay check. As long as salaries stagnate, or fall, housing will be in bad shape.
Whatever you do, do not get into debt. If you want to buy, buy cash down. Even if prices do not fall, in many cases, rent is cheaper if you consider mortgage interest, property taxes, condo fees, maintenance, lost interest/investment income...