Costa Mesa Real Estate Headlines April 25th

According to Housing Wire, home sellers in March sold their homes for an average 17% gain, or $30,500 more than the purchase price, making it the highest average monthly price gain for home sellers since December of 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s March and Q1 U.S. Home Sales report. Those numbers also line up with what we are seeing here in Costa Mesa, according to our recent March report.

 

Of the nation’s 125 metropolitan areas with at least 300 sales in March, the largest gains occurred in San Francisco with a 72% gain. This was followed by San Jose, California with gains of 60%, Boulder, Colorado with 53%, Prescott, Arizona with 51%, and Los Angeles with 48%.

 

Although home sellers may be rejoicing at these increases, in some markets, the increasing home prices are stalling the market. In California, increased home prices have caused a slower start to the Spring homebuying season, with a decrease of 4.7% in home sales from March 2015.

 

“Home sellers in many markets are now seeing average price gains close to or above what home sellers experienced during the last housing boom,” RealtyTrac senior vice president Daren Blomquist said. “That should encourage more homeowners to take advantage of the prime seller’s market and list their homes for sale this year.”

 

From HousingWire, A recent survey by Experian, a global information services company, showed that 34% of future homebuyers think their credit score could hurt their chance of owning a home.

 

What’s more, 45% even delayed purchasing a home to better work on improving their credit score.

 

“Your credit profile is one of the factors that can have a substantial impact on securing a home loan because it is used by lenders as an indicator of your financial health,” said Rod Griffin, Experian director of public education. “Consumers planning to purchase a home should check their credit scores and reports to see where they stand. From there they can develop a financial plan so they are in the best place to try to secure the loan they desire.”

 

Although they may be delaying the purchase of their home, many of these future homebuyers are taking an active role in improving their credit score.

 

Nearly 70% of the respondents stated they are paying their bills on time and 60% are paying off debt. Another 28% of future homebuyers are also keeping balances low on credit cards and 15% are protecting their credit information from identity theft and fraud.

 

“It is important to take steps early in the home-buying process to allow time to make changes and have those changes be reflected on your credit score,” Griffin said.

 

Of those looking to delay the purchase of their home, about 20% reported they were likely to either opt out of the loan process or delay purchasing a home for another five to 10 years. Also, about 45% of respondents said they were delaying to secure better interest rates.

 

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders was little changed in April, indicating the housing market lacked momentum as the spring selling season got underway.

 

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment gauge held at 58 this month, where it has been since February, figures from the Washington-based group showed Monday. Readings greater than 50 mean more respondents report good market conditions.

 

Better buyer traffic and growing optimism about the outlook for the next six months made up for a drop in current sales of single-family homes, the report showed, underscoring that demand is lackluster even as hiring strengthens and borrowing costs remain low. Faster growth in wages and a higher supply of homes within the reach of more Americans would go far in ushering in a stronger rebound in residential real estate.

 

“The single-family housing sector continues to recover at a slow but consistent pace,” NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a homebuilder from Bloomington, Illinois, said in a statement. “As we enter the spring home-buying season, we should see the market move forward.”

 

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 43 economists called for 59. Estimates ranged from 57 to 60. The prior month’s reading was unrevised. The index reached a 10-year high of 65 in October.

 

The LA Times reported today that new-home sales slipped 1.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511,000, according to the Commerce Department said Monday. That rate has steadily dropped from 519,000 in February and 521,000 in January. Sales plummeted 23.6% in the West, which has been prone to volatile swings as one of the nation’s priciest housing markets.

 

The market for new housing developments has gotten off to a rocky start. Sales are still running slightly ahead of the year-to-date pace in 2015, yet supplies of new construction are mounting in a possible sign that demand is lower than many builders had hoped.