SHUDDUP ! ! ! I'm buying my first friggin' house this week ! Stop freakin' me out !
OffWorld --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, akasha_108 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > * US median home prices fell 5.7 percent > * Florida (Brevard County) housing prices dropped 9 % in Sept > * 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit highest levels at 6.15%, > * In Mass in Sept, the median price of a house dropped (4%) > * Northern Nevada median price fell from $353,250 in Sept, down from > $360,000 in Aug. > * San Diego Default Noticesup 39% (annual) > * In Calif. from July-Sept default notices 3.5% increase > * Southern Maine's red-hot real estate market is cooling off > * Hong Kong housing market had a "real decrease" of 57% from 1997 to > 2002. > * UCLA's Dr. Thornberg: California Housing 35% overvalued > > ====================== > > > Florida (Brevard County) housing prices dropped more than 9 > percent in September, > > Median home prices in Brevard County dropped more than 9 percent in > September, leading to speculation in the industry that the once-hot > real estate market is officially cooling. > > The median selling price for existing homes -- the point at which half > the homes sell for more, half for less -- fell to $225,300 in > September, down from $248,700 a month earlier. > > It was the first monthly drop in median price since January. > > "The real estate market has dropped," said Betty McCluskey, owner of > McCluskey Realty Inc./GMAC Real Estate in Melbourne and Suntree. "It > has switched from a seller's market to a buyer's market. And it's been > very fast -- only in the last couple of months." > http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20051026/BUSINESS/510260360/1003 > > > > US median home sales price fell 5.7 percent to $215,700. > > While sales rose, the supply of homes available for sale shot up to a > record 493,000 at the end of September, surpassing August's high of > 478,000. At September's sales pace, that represented a 4.9 months' supply. > > The median home sales price fell 5.7 percent to $215,700. > > Low mortgage rates have sustained a years-long rally in the U.S. > housing sector, but recent data have begun to suggest some cooling in > the market. Earlier this week, a trade group said home resales came in > flat in September but would have been lower if not for aggressive > buying around hurricane-impacted areas. > http://nalert.blogspot.com/2005/10/median-home-sales-price-fell- 57.html > > > > 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit highest levels at 6.15%, > > Average fixed mortgage rates continue to hover at their highest levels > in more than year, with the 30-year this week hitting 6.15%, Freddie > Mac's latest survey showed Thursday. > > The 30-year rate has increased for seven weeks without pause, in step > with gains in U.S. Treasury yields as the bond market sees higher > inflation risks only partly offset by the Federal Reserve's > inclination to keep tightening interest rates to head off deep- seeded > inflation.... > http://www.marketwatch.com/news/archivedStory.asp? archive=true&dist=ArchiveSplash&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BD257F06D%2D768D% 2D48E2%2D87C9%2D221343842092%7D&returnURL=%2Fnews%2Fstory%2Easp% 3Fguid%3D%7BD257F06D%2D768D%2D48E2%2D87C9%2D221343842092%7D%26siteid% 3Dmktw%26dist%3Dmorenews%26archive%3Dtrue%26param%3Darchive%26garden% 3D%26minisite%3D > > > In Massachusetts in September, the median price of a > single-family house dropped (4%) > > The median price of a single-family house dropped for the first time > in seven months as the pace of home sales weakened across > Massachusetts in September, according to the monthly market report > yesterday from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. > > The median selling price for a single-family house was $360,000 in > September, down 4 percent from $375,000 in August. That was the first > monthly price drop since February, though prices were still higher > than they were a year ago. The number of single-family home sales that > closed in September was 4,464, roughly equal to year-ago sales. > http://www.boston.com/realestate/articles/2005/10/26/mass_home_prices _fall_in_september?mode=PF > > > Northern Nevada median price fell from $353,250 in September, down > from $360,000 in August. > > September might have given the first clue that the red-hot Northern > Nevada residential real estate market is finally beginning to slow. > The Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service monthly report > shows that the median price in Washoe County was $353,250 in > September, down from $360,000 in August. It is the first time the MLS > showed a drop from month to month since August 2004. > http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20051021/BIZ12/510210398/1083 > > > In Calif. from July-September default notices 3.5% increased from > a year earlier. > > Mortgage defaults in California rose for the first time in more than > three years during the third quarter, as slower price gains and > riskier loans gave struggling homeowners less margin for error, data > released Thursday showed. > > A separate report released Thursday showed other signs of a cooling > housing market, as inventories of unsold new homes nationwide rose to > a record. > > During the July-September quarter, lenders sent default notices to > 12,568 California homeowners, a 3.5% increase from a year earlier, > according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based research > service. > > The last time default notices increased on a year-over-year basis was > during the first quarter of 2002. > > Default notices can be precursors to foreclosure, when homeowners lose > title to their homes because of missed or late payments. > > A rise in defaults and foreclosures could drive down home prices, as > properties sold because of foreclosures tend to be priced below > prevailing market rates. > http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi- default28oct28,1,7986216.story?coll=la-headlines- business&ctrack=1&cset=true > > > > San Diego Default Noticesup 39% (annual) > > 906 filed in quarter, 39% more than in '04 > By Mike Freeman > UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER > > October 29, 2005 > > The number of homeowners in San Diego County who fell behind on their > mortgage payments increased in the third quarter, reversing a > years-long trend of declining mortgage defaults. > > Lenders filed 906 notices of default against borrowers in the county > during the third quarter, up from 649 notices for the same period last > year, according to a survey by DataQuick Information Systems, a > housing research firm in La Jolla. > > > While default notices remain far below levels seen during the county's > housing bust in the early-1990s, the third quarter's 39.5 percent > increase is only the second time the number of defaults has increased > year-over-year since the end of 2002. > http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20051029-9999- 1b29mortgage.html > > > > > Southern Maine's red-hot real estate market is cooling off > > October 30, 2005 > > PORTLAND, Maine --After years of double-digit price increases, > southern Maine's red-hot housing market is showing signs of cooling off. > > Some of the region's key real estate brokers say listings are up and > there are fewer buyers. Homes are staying on the market longer, > prompting some sellers to drop their prices. > > "It may not be a bubble bursting, but from where I sit, the air went > out pretty fast," said Bill Trask of Coldwell Banker Friends & > Neighbors in Standish. > > Each week, Trask reviews the number of homes sold and under contract > with his 27 agents. The numbers he found in late September were > disturbing. > > "I said to myself, 'We don't have enough business in October,'" > recalled Trask, president of the Portland Board of Realtors. "For the > first time in several years, we're not on track." > > While other real estate professionals echo Trask's observation that > the market has slowed, the latest home sales figures from the Maine > Association of Realtors reflect no such trend. > > The median statewide sales price in September was $194,600, up nearly > 10 percent from a year ago and double the $97,000 median six years ago. > http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2005/10/30/southern_m aines_red_hot_real_estate_market_is_cooling_off/ > > > > "The Anatomy of a Housing Bubble" Grace Wong, a professor of real > estate at Wharton, offers ways to spot future real estate bubbles in > time to introduce corrective measures before the damage takes its > toll. Wong's research explores the Hong Kong housing market, which saw > a "real increase" in prices of 50% from 1995 to 1997, followed by a > "real decrease" of 57% from 1997 to 2002. (Real increases and > decreases refer to changes adjusted for inflation.) Transaction > volumes, too, rose dramatically from 68,000 in 1995 to more than > 172,000 in 1997, but fell to 85,000 the following year. > http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1194.cfm > > > > > > UCLA's Dr. Thornberg: California Housing 35% overvalued > > The Economic Alliance for Business (EDAB) just released their October > 2005 East Bay Quarterly Forecast, authored by Christopher Thornberg, > Senior Economist for UCLA Anderson Forecast (thanks to Robert Sakai). > The report is fairly positive on the economy over the next few > quarters, but is cautionary on real estate. Dr. Thornberg writes: > > The good news is likely to continue for the next few quarters. > Katrina and Rita may have monopolized the newspapers, but they will > have little impact positive or negative on the California economy. Gas > prices are already on their way back down. Demand is softening as the > year moves into the winter season and refining capacity is coming back > online. With pockets flush again, expect a solid holiday season for > retailers in the area. > > But there are storm clouds on the horizon that are being generated > by yet another low-pressure system building up -- our housing markets. > Prices have continued their truly meteoric rise, as has the pace of > building. But there are signs the market is starting to lose its > oomph. Market activity in the Bay Area has started to slow sharply, > and inventories are on the rise. > > From the section on Real Estate: Is the party coming to an end? > > As has been discussed in this and past reports, the primary driver > of the California economy, including the Bay Area and the East Bay, > has been the residential real estate boom. ... All this new > construction has been creating many of the new jobs in the state > including those in finance companies working to extend credit. And > while we lack direct evidence, it appears that consumer spending is > being fueled largely by the wealth being generated within the economy > by the massive rate of appreciation. > > After a discussion of housing fundamentals, Thornberg states: > > ... housing prices should have basically gone flat as of Q4 2002, > and instead they have grown at an unprecedented pace. While there is > some room for debate on this issue, I put the starting date of the > downturn in `per worker income' at Q4 2002. On this basis, we can > guesstimate that property in California is now overvalued by something > close to 35 or 40%.(emphasis added) > > Thornberg concludes: > > The market is still red hot of course. Price appreciation and > market activity continue at a record pace. Nevertheless, right now the > bubble is clearly starting to lose steam. > ... > The best indicator that the party is starting to end will be a > decline in overall market activityslowing of total unit sales and > build up of inventories. When inventories rise and sales start to fall > this will spill over into price appreciation and construction within > three to six quarters, and this is when the overall economy will begin > to feel the pinch. Right now the market appears to be at a crossroads. > According to the latest numbers available, market inventories in the > state have almost doubled over the past six months and overall market > activity has been flat albeit at a very high pace. > ... > ... things are clearly at a tipping point. And remember, while it > is unlikely that nominal home prices will fall rapidly, that does not > mean a cooling market will do little damage to the economy. A cooling > market is characterized by a large drop in new building units, market > activity, and refinancing activity, not to mention heightened > foreclosure activity. A lot of the new jobs in those areas will > suddenly start to disappear. And don't forget those wealth effects. > When consumers realize they can no longer expect that appreciation > bonus to subsidize their consumption habits, they will very likely > pull back on spending. Keep an eye out. > http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2005/10/uclas-dr-thornberg- california-housing.html > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
