November 2012
Summit County Active Inventory The Number of Active Residential and Land Properties in Summit County as of November 1st of each Year. 2200 2000
2040
2110
1841
1751
1800
1591
1600 1400 1200
1000 2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
US Second Home Market Surges PropertyWire.com There has been a huge surge in the sale of second homes in the United States driven by bargain prices, it is suggested. Sales activity in this sector of the residential real estate market has jumped to its highest level said 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors. ‘During the past year investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices. Rising rental income easily beat cash sitting in banks as an added inducement,’ said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. He added that some 41% of investment buyers purchased more than one property and the shift in investment buyer patterns in 2011 shows the market, for the large part, is able to absorb foreclosures hitting the market. Overall eight out of 10 second home buyers said it was a good time to buy. Nearly half of investment buyers said they were likely to purchase another property within two years, as did one third of vacation home buyers. October 2012
Home Building Reaches Four Year High Money.CNN.com The housing recovery blossomed in September, as the pace of home building surged to a four-year high, according to a government report issued in October. Builders started work at an annual pace of 872,000 homes last month, up 15% from the pace in August. They also filed for permits to build homes at an annual rate of 894,000, up 11.6% from the previous month. Both readings were the best since the summer of 2008, before the meltdown in financial markets that caused home lending and building to freeze up. But mortgage rates are now near record lows, and the Federal Reserve's decision to buy $40 billion in mortgages every month is likely to keep rates low for the foreseeable future. The low mortgage rates, coupled withaffordable housing prices and adrop in unemployment have helped to restart home sales. October 2012
New Home Sales Raise to Highest Level in 2.5 Years DenverPost.com U.S. sales of new homes jumped last month to the highest level in more than two years, further evidence of a sustained housing recovery that could help lift the lackluster economy. The Commerce Department said that new home sales rose 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000. That's up from a rate of 368,000 in August and the highest rate since April 2010, when a federal homebuyer tax credit inflated sales. Sales have risen 27.1 percent in the past year. That's the strongest yearly gain since February, although sales are still well below healthy levels. The figures suggest the housing recovery is strengthening. The increase follows other reports that show home prices are rising more consistently, builders are starting to build more homes and sales of previously occupied homes are up in the past year. Faster construction could help boost economic growth and hiring. And it could also encourage more people to put their homes on the market. For now, rising sales are keeping inventories low. There were 145,000 new homes for sale at the end of September, near the record low of 143,000. That level of inventory would be exhausted in 4.5 months at the current sales pace, the lowest level since October 2005. That could push up home prices in the coming months, economists said.
October 2012
Source of data in this report includes the Summit County MLS, Land Title & other news outlets. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Consult your Slifer Smith & Frampton Broker for more information.