Current Housing Market Looking Positive
July 22, 2016 | by Beth Glavosek | Blue Vault
This week, the National Association of Realtors issued its monthly statistics on home buying, and it reported that existing home sales were up for the fourth consecutive month. According to the report, the share of first-time buyers was 33% in June, the highest it’s been in four years. Observers believe that these increases may be attributed to low mortgage rates and more affordable, lower-priced homes making their way onto the market.
Foreclosure rates appear to be declining month-over-month and year-over-year. RealtyTrac, a national provider of foreclosure data and information, reports that the number of preforeclosures was down 4.3% in June from the previous month and 15% down from June 2015. Homes at auction were down 24% in June from the same period last year, and bank-owned homes were down nearly 17% from 2015.
National Mortgage Professional says that housing market is positive on a couple of other fronts:
- Home prices – The median existing-home price last month was $247,700, 4.8% higher than June 2015 ($236,300). June’s price increase marked a new peak, and it was also the 52nd consecutive month of year-over-year gains and surpasses.
- Mortgage rates – Freddie Mac reported that rates are favorable to buyers with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 3.45%, down from a year ago at this time when it averaged 4.04%. The 15-year FRM averaged 2.75% this week, down from 3.21% one year ago.
- Inventory – Total housing inventory at the end of June fell by 0.9% to 2.12 million existing homes available for sale, and is now 5.8% lower than a year ago (2.25 million).
As we’ve noted previously, millennials and Baby Boomers are fast-growing markets for future home sales.
