Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of February 6 , 2012     MARKET RECAP Some weeks we feel like Sisyphus: We push the boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down again. This is one of those weeks. Home prices, which were pushed higher through the first nine months of 2011, began rolling back in the fourth quarter of 2011. Unfortunately, it appears they are not finished rolling. The latest price data from CoreLogic certainly isn't encouraging on that front. CoreLogic's home price index shows that home prices fell 4.7 percent in 2011, thus marking the fifth-consecutive yearly drop. The positive takeaway is that when distressed properties are excluded, home prices only dropped 0.9 percent. The unfortunate takeaway is that CoreLogic sees distressed properties exerti... 02/05/2012

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of January 30 , 2012     MARKET RECAP The data on housing were mixed this past week, but we would say that, for the most part, they listed more positively than negatively. Last Friday, the NAR reported sales of existing homes rose 5 percent to an annual rate of 4.61 units in December. This marked the third-consecutive month of sales growth. This latest increase helped reduce inventory to 2.38 million units, the equivalent of a 6.2-month supply at December's sales pace. Pricing was the one bugaboo in the NAR's data. The median price for an existing home was $166,100 for 2011, a 2.5 percent drop from 2010 and the lowest median price since 2002. This is a disappointment, but hardly a disaster. We’ve said many times that national numbers u... 01/29/2012

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of January 23 , 2012     MARKET RECAP   If you meet a homebuilder, don't be surprised if his gait is imbued with a little more pep and his voice tinctured with a little more enthusiasm, for his mood has likely been lifted by optimism these days. The latest homebuilder sentiment index shows that builders are expecting more construction, more sales, and better pricing for 2012. The index moved up an impressive four points to 25 in January. This is the best reading since mid-2007 and marks four-consecutive months of sentiment improvement. A cynic might counter that homebuilders are getting ahead of themselves. After all, housing starts did fall 4.1 percent, to an annualized rate of 657,000 units, in December. That said, a few details are ... 01/21/2012

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of January 16 , 2012     MARKET RECAP It's really all about the economy at this point. Fortunately, the economy is moving forward, albeit at what too-often seems a plodding pace. But moving forward we are. The Federal Reserve noted as much in its latest rendering of its Beige Book, a report of anecdotal evidence of economic progress in the dozen Fed districts. The Beige Book states, "Compared with prior summaries, the reports on balance suggest ongoing improvement in economic conditions in recent months, with most districts highlighting more favorable conditions than identified in reports from the late spring through early fall.” Now, that attempt to say something without saying too much doesn't really enlighten, but it does affirm wha... 01/19/2012

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of January 9 , 2012     MARKET RECAP We've said that strong job growth will be key to a successful 2012. Early signs are encouraging. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reports that private payroll numbers surged 325,000 in December – more than double expectations for a 160,000 increase. The news on jobs is definitely good, but it's important to keep expectations tempered. This time last year, ADP reported that private employment jobs increased by 297,000. That bullish number got more than a few economists and pundits thumping for a full-bore recovery. Unfortunately, job growth abated and practically stagnated through the summer months of 2011. That said, we remain encouraged. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that unemployment... 01/07/2012

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the month of January, 2012     MARKET RECAP The news is understandably slow the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. The most notable release was last Friday's news on new home sales, which rose to an annualized rate of 315,000 units in November, a 1.6-percent gain over October. To be sure, we have a long way to go until we reach the normalized construction rate of 1.5-million units per year. Nevertheless, we expect the new-home market to gain pace in 2012. After all, there are only 158,000 units in inventory. Even at the current slow sales pace, this equates to a record low six-month supply Over the past three years, new-home construction has fallen far below historical norms and also below the level needed to keep pace with population g... 01/07/2012

    Keeping you updated on the market!   December 28 , 2011     MARKET RECAP Much has been written and said on the depressing influence of shadow inventory on the housing recovery. Most of us are familiar with the ubiquitous refrain: excessive shadow inventory impedes recovery because it lowers home prices, which, in turn, retards home sales and building activity while encouraging strategic defaults. Shadow inventory hasn't gotten much better in recent months, but it hasn't gotten worse either. CoreLogic reports 1.6 million housing units are slotted into the shadow-inventory category – a five-month supply at the current sales pace. These numbers have held steady since July, but it's worth noting that they are a significant improvement over the numbers posted this time last year. Positiv... 12/28/2011

PBS' This Old House Picks RI Home.  Front page news for Rhode Island as the PBS series 'This Old House' heads to Barrington RI to renovate their first RI home for the series which premieres on January 28, 2012 at 4 p.m.on local channels.  We do not lack the historic and waterfront homes that always 'fit the bill' but RI just never made the list of must renovate homes. The waterfront Barrington RI home that was picked was recently bought by a couple renting in the RI area.  The 1500 or so square foot home is said to be very outdated, needs more bathrooms and needs to be enlarged to accommodate the new family.  A home addition is planned as well as a second floor to take advantage of the magnificent waterfront RI real estate in Barrington RI.  This 1925 waterfront bungalow on Narragansett... 12/23/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of October 17, 2011 MARKET RECAP We've reported frequently on the encouraging data on home prices. The most recent encouraging data comes courtesy of Zillow, which shows that home prices inched 0.1 percent higher in August, with the average home price moving to $172,600. Zillow's data also show that the national foreclosure rate dropped to 9.2 homes out of every 10,000 homes, down from 10.9 homes out of every 10,000 in 2010. Unfortunately, the good vibes on pricing and foreclosures were tempered by a warning that foreclosures will accelerate once the controversial robo-signing imbroglio passes. In fact, Zillow believes foreclosure inventory will pressure home prices and that prices won't bottom until 2012 “at the earliest.” It's possib... 10/16/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of October 10, 2011     MARKET RECAP For some time now we've been saying that the disconcerting drops in home prices have ended and that prices have, for the most part, stabilized across most metropolitan areas. The good news is that the latest data show that prices continue to move higher nationally. Clear Capital reports national home prices rose 3.5 percent sequentially in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the second quarter. Data on home prices over the past few months have been mostly encouraging. But Clear Capital, unlike us, doesn't see the positive trend holding. Clear Capital forecasts prices to ease in the fourth quarter, and then continue to ease through the first quarter of 2012 for an overall 3.2-percent drop. Of cours... 10/09/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of October 3 , 2011     MARKET RECAP   New home sales continue to skim bottom, but at least they are not burrowing lower. New home sales posted at an annual rate of 295,000 units in August, which actually beat the consensus estimate for 288,000 units. Pricing is the new and more troubling issue. Year-over-year, new home prices have been holding firm or improving in many markets. It appears that trend has reversed, at least at the national level. In August, the national median price fell 7.7 percent to $209,100, while the national average price dropped 8.5 percent to $246,000. The supply of new homes remains low at a mere 162,000 units. However, supply relative to sales has risen to 6.6 months at the current sales pace compared to 6.5 m... 10/01/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of September 26, 2011     MARKET RECAP Homebuilders remain in a state of suspended negative animation, and most of them believe their situation is unlikely to improve any time soon. The homebuilders’ sentiment index posted at 14 for September. It has ranged between 13 and 17 for the past year. Fifty is the split between optimism and pessimism, so there is a long way to go before sentiment changes. At least the decline in housing starts appears to be moderating. Starts posted at an annual rate of 571,000 units in August, a 5-percent drop from July's numbers. Many media outlets blamed weather – Hurricane Irene in the Northwest and South – for the decline. The good news is that permits for future construction were up 3.2 percent, suggesti... 09/25/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of September 19, 2011     MARKET RECAP The major mortgage servicers are getting their house in order, as foreclosures have accelerated in the past month. RealtyTrac reports that mortgage servicers started foreclosure on more than 78,800 properties in August, a 33-percent increase from July levels. Most of us were aware that the foreclosure lull was only a temporary reprieve. That said, the growing rate of foreclosures has revived concerns over excessive inventory. The Cato Institute, an economic think thank, estimates an oversupply of three million houses, about a million more than actually demanded. With so much inventory on the market and more to come, pricing becomes an issue: More supply means lower prices, which, in turn, means mo... 09/17/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of September 12, 2011 MARKET RECAP Many pundits are talking about pricing these days, with most of the talk centered on an impending drop in national home prices. The odd thing is, most data releases show home-price improvement. Clear Capital's data being the most recent, showing that home prices nationally gained 4 percent in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter. What's more, all four of Clear Capital's regions posted gains. Any enthusiasm that readers could infer from Clear Capital's data was tempered, as is often the case these days. Clear Capital's lead analyst noted that “with summer coming to a close and the price gains clearly starting to level off, the market is at a critical juncture as to whether it can av... 09/11/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of September 5, 2011     MARKET RECAP One of the more curious opening sentences in housing news this past week was, “Home prices pulled, at least temporarily, out of their downward spiral....” We say curious because most of the data over the past two months has shown steady month-over-month improvement in national median and average home prices. The writer of that dour opening sentence was referring to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which posted a 3.6-percent increase in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter. Year-over-year, the Case-Shiller index was mostly flat to slightly negative for the 20 metropolitan areas it covers. Then again, most market measures of home prices have been slightly down year-over-year... 09/04/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of August 29, 2011 MARKET RECAP The woes of homebuilders and anyone dependent on home building continue. The July report on new home sales shows that the annual sales rate has fallen to 298,000 units, hitting a five-month low. The good news is that supply isn't expanding. In fact, only 165,000 homes are in inventory. This is a record low and a 6.6-month supply at the going sales pace. Homebuilders face a cluster of problems: bargain-priced foreclosures; higher lending standards; and skittish buyers, many of whom have been further put off by the recent stock market sell-off. Mounting concerns of a double-dip recession and rising cancellation rates have only exacerbated homebuilder worries. The chief concern now is that builders could be... 08/30/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of August 22, 2011 MARKET RECAP Perseverance is a virtue, and the nation's homebuilders are displaying plenty of perseverance, even if they are not necessarily displaying it happily. The homebuilders' housing index remained unchanged in August, at a depressed level of 15. Components for present sales and buyer traffic inched higher, but homebuilders still aren't expecting any noticeable improvement in sales over the next six months. The market for new-home sales might not be improving, but it doesn't appear to be worsening either. Housing starts dipped slightly in July, but continue to hover around 600,000 units per year, which is actually a higher level than what was seen six months ago. Unfortunately, the new-home market will likely ... 08/21/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of August 8, 2011     MARKET RECAP Over the past couple weeks we've featured good news on home prices. This week, the good news continues... sort of. Clear Capital reports that home prices improved by 4.1 percent nationally in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same year-ago quarter. On the flip-side, Clear Capital also says it expects home prices to decline 2.4 percent in the second half of 2011. We're not quite ready to put any money on Clear Capital's price prediction, because its own data show that all four U.S. regions posted quarterly gains, led by a 6.3 percent gain in the Midwest – the first widespread, non-tax-credit-induced gain in five years. Reduced inventory levels have helped support prices in recent months. We've... 08/09/2011

    Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of August 1, 2011     MARKET RECAP We were encouraged by the housing news and data this past week. First, there was more good news on pricing. S&P/Case-Shiller's 10- and 20-city composites were up 1.1 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively, in May compared to April. Case-Shiller also reports that more recent data collected show single-family home prices will likely post a gain in its June report. We were hardly surprised that Case-Shiller reported another month of better national pricing. Last week's data on existing-home prices was unexpectedly strong, as was this week's data on new-home prices. The median price of new homes rose 5.8 percent to $235,200 in June, while the average price rose 1.8 percent to $269,000. Year-over-year, the ... 08/01/2011

  Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of July 25, 2011 MARKET RECAP Homebuilders are a little happier in July than they were in June. The homebuilders’ sentiment index increased two points to register at 15 this month, while the index on expectations for future sales jumped seven points to 22. We need to keep in mind, though, that any reading below 50 is considered pessimistic. Then again, perhaps this is the beginning of a positive trend in homebuilder sentiment. Housing starts jumped 14.6 percent to an annualized pace of 629,000 units in June. The gain was lead by a 30.4 percent surge in multifamily housing starts. The really good news is that the much larger and more important single-family component registered a 9.4 percent gain. Looking ahead, permits increased 2.5 per... 07/28/2011