The majority of metros covered in Zillow’s Real Estate Market Reports saw home values inch up from March to April, the company reported. Zillow’s Home Value Index climbed to $158,300 for April, an increase of 0.5% month-over-month and 5.2% year-over-year. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5% on a yearly basis. According to Zillow, the last time national home values were at this level was in June 2004. Fifty-percent of the 365 metros tracked reported rising home values in April. Of the 30 largest areas, Sacramento experienced the largest monthly increase at 3.4%. Other large metros with notable monthly gains include Las Vegas (3%) and San Francisco (2.8%). On a yearly basis, 29 of the 30 biggest markets posted increases, with more than half going up by double-digit percentages. The largest improvements were seen in Phoenix (25.5 percent), Sacramento (25.4%), San Jose (25.2%), San Francisco (24.8%), and Las Vegas (23%). [Read this article]

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The number of Americans in the foreclosure process plummeted by nearly 25% in the past year, according to Lender Processing Services First Look mortgage report for April. The total delinquency rate for loans 30 days or more past due, but not yet in foreclosure, also fell below 6.5% for the first time since July of 2008. The total number of homeowners who are either delinquent or in foreclosure maintained its downward trajectory, reaching 4.7 million in April – the first time this figure has fallen below five million in 5 years, according to LPS Applied Analytics. The delinquency rate is down 5.81% from the prior month and 9.61% from year ago levels. The total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate hit 3.17% in April, down 24.55% from year ago levels. [Read this article]

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It’s common sense that low mortgage rates are important to the housing market. They make purchasing a home more affordable and make refinancing more attractive for current homeowners. But low mortgage rates have other important benefits, too. Provided low borrowing costs don’t go to the extremes we saw in the boom, cheap credit can be part of a virtuous cycle. Here’s a look at how homeowners, the housing market, and the economy benefit from record low mortgage rates. Low mortgage rates help create demand for housing because would-be buyers want to jump on cheap financing before rates go up. This March, new home sales were more than 18 percent above levels reported a year earlier according to the Commerce Department. Since March 2012, the median existing-home value was up almost 12 percent, while prices for new homes rose about 3 percent. Measures from Case-Shiller and others home-price trackers put yearly gains at around 10 percent as well. Rising home prices are a key component to fixing the housing market. [Read this article]

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The year’s solid economic start faded late in the first quarter, but the recent setback is a temporary one, analysts claim. The slow in activity is partly due to ongoing fiscal drags, including the budget sequester. However, a modest reacceleration is expected in the second half of this year, as the housing market continues to gain traction, according to Fannie Mae’s economic outlook. Housing is expected to act as a tailwind for the economy throughout the year and into 2014, even though there may be a few hiccups in overall economic activity.  “Our May forecast predicts that the second half of 2013 will be a little stronger than the first half, despite the slowdown during the past couple of months,” Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae. Residential investment contributed to economic growth for the eighth consecutive quarter, adding 0.3 percentage points during the first quarter of 2013. New single-family home sales rose in March, jumping 51%, which is the biggest gain since the second quarter of 2003. [Read this article]

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The housing market came out of April in a particularly strong position, according to Redfin’s latest Real-Time Price Tracker, with prices, sales, and inventory posting gains across the country. Redfin’s monthly report – based on home prices, sales, and inventory across 19 U.S. markets – shows prices rose 4.9 percent in April on a monthly basis and 16.1 percent on a yearly basis. Out of the 19 metros measured in Redfin’s report, 18 reported month-over-month increases in April, the same number as in March. All metros experienced price increases on a year-over-year basis. San Francisco, Sacramento, and Las Vegas saw the biggest year-over-year price gains, improving 34.5 percent, 33.5 percent, and 31.6 percent, respectively. “The housing market across the nation was hot again in April. Yes, home prices are up. But the big story in this month’s report is that inventory posted its largest month-over-month increase in over three years,” wrote Redfin blogger Tim Ellis. “With more homes finally available to buy, home sales posted their strongest March to April gain since 2009.” [Read this article]

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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered up its predictions on housing as the market deals with the effects of low inventory. At the Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun projected further increases in existing-home sales. According to a release, Yun expects existing-home sales to increase to nearly 5 million this year, then grow to an annual rate of 5.3 million sales in 2014, and rise up to 5.7 million in 2015. Dramatic price increases are also expected to continue this year. “Double digit price gains are within reach in 2013 because inventory is bouncing near 13-year lows, but some relief to inventory will occur later in the year,” Yun said. NAR projects the median existing-home price will increase to about 8 percent this year from 6.4 percent in 2012, and then slow to 5 percent in 2014. Yun also estimates 51 percent of renters are financially qualified to purchase a home. This is a drastic increase from 24 percent in 2005. [Read this article]

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Mortgage rates have never been lower – but they most certainly have been higher!
 This latest infographic takes mortgage loan rates back in time from the last decade, to the 90s and even back to the 80s! It turns out, you could have spent a lot more on your mortgage loan payments in the past than you could or would today. In September of 2002, 30-year home loan interest rates averaged 6.09 percent. This means that after 30 years, you would have paid a total of $653,776.93 on a $300,000 mortgage loan. On August 6, 1991, interest rates stood at 9.25 percent. Your monthly payment would have $2,468.03 on a $300,000 mortgage loan. On June 11, 1982, interest rates were a whopping 16.70 percent. Your monthly payment would have been $3,503.36. Let’s come back to the future though, where mortgage rate trends continue to hover near historic low levels. [Read this article]

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Buying a home is more affordable than renting in nearly two-thirds of metros after three years of paying for a mortgage, according to Zillow. For its calculation, Zillow considered costs associated with buying and renting, such as upfront payments, closing costs, insurance, utilities, and maintenance. Then, the online marketplace looked at historic and anticipated home value appreciation rates, rental prices, and rental appreciation rates to determine how many years would need to pass before buying becomes less expensive than renting. According to Zillow, in 64 percent of U.S. metros, buying is more affordable than renting if homebuyers plan to stay in their home for at least three years. “Locally high home value appreciation in many areas, combined with historically low mortgage rates and low home prices relative to recent peaks, has made buying a home a more advantageous financial decision than renting for many would-be buyers,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. [Read this article]

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Consumer sentiment rebounded in early May to the highest level in nearly six years, an encouraging sign after recent data that has suggested economic growth is cooling. A gauge of future economic activity released on Friday also suggested the expected slowdown would be temporary, with the index rising to a near five-year high in April. Economists expect growth will likely slow in the second quarter from the 2.5 percent pace at the beginning of the year as tighter fiscal policy starts to bite. But recent stronger than expected improvement in several areas, including the labor market and retail sales, has suggested the recovery remains resilient. “We’re still definitely on the recovery path. We expect that this is going to be a very long and gradual recovery,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Most economists are looking for stronger growth in the second half of the year and into next year.” [Read this article]

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The index of U.S. leading indicators climbed in April, a rebound from March that suggests the world’s largest economy will accelerate later this year. The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.6 percent in April after falling a revised 0.2 percent in March that was steeper than previously reported. Advancing stock prices and a recovering housing market may be propping up household spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. “We’re still definitely on the recovery path, but we anticipated all along that this is going to be a very gradual recovery,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. He said multiple factors could drive economic improvement going forward. “It’s typically a lot of little things getting better at the same time. You get a little more job growth, a little more consumer spending, bank credit eases up a little more,” according to Brown. [Read this article]

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