SLIFER SMITH & FRAMPTON REAL ESTATE
June 2014
Market Insider SUMMIT COUNTY EDITION
LIST PRICE VS SOLD PRICE
Comparing the 3 previous months’ average - March, April, May - showing the highest percentage in over 5 years. 96%
95%
94%
93%
92% 90%
90%
90%
88%
87%
86%
86%
84% 82% 80% 2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 source: MLS DATA
HERE’S WHY THERE AREN’T ANY HOUSES TO BUY. FREDDIE: MARKET SHAPES LOW INVENTORY. HousingWire.com. 5/19/14 The supply of existing homes on the market remains low, at 5.2 months in March, according to a report from Freddie Mac. The total number of homes offered for sale relative to the number of households in the U.S. has been running at the lowest level in more than 30 years. But these low inventory challenges are the direct offspring of several features of today’s market. 1. Underwater homeowners Since the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expired on Dec. 31, 2013, many underwater homeowners are reluctant to short-sell. 2. Low rates Many borrowers were able to refinance into record low rates in the past several years. As a result, homeowners are reluctant to sell their current home and forego the low rate mortgage loan they currently have. 3. REO sales slow Despite real-estate owned sales remaining strong in some markets, in aggregate REO sales have slowed considerably over the past couple of years. And even though existing home sales are down 6.3% during the first quarter of 2014 compared with a year ago, house prices are up 8%.
CASE-SHILLER: DENVER HOME PRICES UP 9.1%. InsideRealEstateNews.com. 5/27/14 Denver-area home prices surged to an all-time high in March, according to the closely watched Case-Shiller report released today. “Only Denver and Dallas have set new post-crisis highs and they experienced relatively lower peak levels than other cities,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report. For the second consecutive month, Denver showed a 9.1 percent year-over-year gain, ranking it 15th of the 20 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by Case-Shiller. Overall, the 20 MSAs showed a 12.4 percent year-over-year gain. March marked the 27th consecutive month that Denver home prices were above where they stood a year earlier. On a month-to-month basis, Denver prices were up 1.4 percent in March, tied for fourth place with Miami.
CASH IS STILL KING IN HOME BUYING. Redfin.com. 5/21/14 In 17 of the largest U.S. cities, 32 percent of homes purchased so far in 2014 were paid for with all cash. All-cash purchases have been at this level – or even higher – since 2011. The rise in all-cash purchases began in 2007 as the housing bubble popped, and cash purchases accounted for nearly a third of all purchases by 2011. Tighter mortgage lending standards, investor purchases and fewer homes on the market have all contributed to keeping that rate high. The largest percentages of homes purchased without a mortgage are at the low and high ends of the market. As home prices get into the upper echelon, all-cash purchases become more likely. Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago and Phoenix have the highest percentage of all-cash purchases, while Washington, D.C., Denver, Baltimore and Portland have the lowest percentage.