December 2012
Summit County Residential Transactions
160
Transactions Year-to-Date Transactions year-to-date are up 46% when compared to 2009. 1300
140
1200
120
1100
November Sales Comparison Sales in November reached their highest level in the past four years, and continue to trend upward.
100
1000
80
900
60 40
800
20
700
0
600 2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2009
2012
Housing a ‘Tailwind’ for GDP Forbes.com Housing has turned the corner, according to Goldman Sachs’ economic research team, and has gone from being a drag on GDP to a tailwind. Rising prices, rebounding household formation, and the normalization of housing starts over the next four years should keep upward pressure on the housing market. This comeback is already visible in homebuilders’ stock prices. KB Home is up more than 100% year-to-date, while Lennar has gained just under 90%; Toll Brothers and DR Horton have surged about 50%. Regardless, it seems like the housing recovery is here to stay. Residential real estate has been one of the most prominent laggards of the post-crisis economy. If, as Goldman’s team puts it, housing will begin to add, rather than subtract, from GDP, then the U.S. economic recovery may be preparing to accelerate. November 2012
US Home Prices Rose 1.1% in the Third Quarter of 2012 FHFA.gov U.S. house prices rose 1.1% from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2012 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI). The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages. Seasonally adjusted house prices rose 4.0 percent from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for September was up 0.2 percent from August. “With significant growth in home prices during the quarter and a modest inventory of homes available for sale, house price movements in the third quarter were similar to what we observed in the spring,” said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis. Additionally, of the nine census divisions, the Mountain division experienced the strongest increase in the latest quarter, posting a 3.0 percent price increase. House prices were weakest in the East South Central division, where prices fell 0.2 percent over the quarter. November 2012
FHA Revises Condominium Rules Realtor Magazine In September the Federal Housing Administration issued guidelines that ease its rules for condominium financing. The new guidelines include: 1.) The FHA can approve loan application for condominiums in projects that have as much as half of their space devoted to commercial use, up from 25% before the change. 2.) The FHA is now allowing single investors to buy up to half the units in a project, up from 10% previously. 3.) The FHA will now OK loans on projects in which 15% of the home owners are 60 days late on the HOA dues. 4.) Previously, HOA officers had to confirm that they had “no knowledge of circumstance or conditions” that could adversely affect the building, But many representatives are volunteers who have been reluctant to take on the legal responsibility. The new language has been softened and now recognizes boards’ good-faith efforts to verify information.
November/December 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.