News

From RealTrends.com: A number of the industry’s closely watched home-price gauges indicate that stabilization has been slowly creeping into the picture since mid-2009. Analysts at Barclays Capital agree that the tail risk of a sharp decline in housing continues to recede with every passing month. But they caution that there’s still a bit more of a drop in the cards and little chance of sustained gains any time soon thanks to an inflated supply of foreclosures.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Art of Being Santa Fe

I CAN’T remember how or why it came to be dawn when I first saw Santa Fe from a bus window. It was my first time in New Mexico, the fulfillment of a long-held dream: to visit the land that had inflamed my imagination when as a teenager I’d read D. H. Lawrence’s paeans to the state.
Read the rest of this entry »

The latest Newsletters are here, and filled with valuable statistics!

Click here for the latest general Newsletter

Click here for the latest Las Campanas Newsletter

From Inman.com: Sales of previously owned homes rose 11.5 percent year-over-year in January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units, up from 4.53 million units in January 2008. January sales fell from a rate of 5.44 million in December 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Read the rest of this entry »

From RealTrends.com: Investors breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke told Congress that interest rates are likely to remain low for an extended period. The economy, he said, “still requires support for recovery.” Investors see these low rates as a boon to a recovery of employment and business. Bernanke’s announcement also took the edge off the news Wednesday that housing sales hit a new low in January. “Even though nothing he said was particularly new, it was just enough to calm the ruffled feathers that were out there,” said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust in Chicago.

Source: The Associated Press, Tim Paradis (02/24/2010)

From RealTrends.com: Refinancing borrowers overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly Product Transition Report. While 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are still the most preferred product chosen for the new loan, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages gained favor among refinancers who previously held 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, balloon mortgages and ARMs. Overall, fixed-rate loans accounted for more than 95 percent of refinance loans during the quarter.

From RealTrends.com: A new study from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. suggests home prices have found their bottom. The company’s analysis shows that by almost all measures, residential property values began stabilizing considerably during the second and third quarters of last year – and monthly data through November confirms that this stabilization continued into the fourth quarter. PMI says the likelihood that home prices will drop lower over the next 24 months is diminishing for most large metro markets.
Read the rest of this entry »

From RealTrends.com: As the economy recovers, markets will stabilize but the old “normal” will not return, according to a new study by John McIlwain for The Urban Land Institute.
Here are ULI’s predictions:
Read the rest of this entry »

From RealTrends.com: The housing recovery should gain momentum in 2010, but the improvement will still be slow, according to a panel of economists speaking at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. “It won’t be a strong recovery, but it will be a recovery,” said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. Crowe forecast that sales of new homes will rise by about 33 percent while resales will go up 7 percent. He expects prices to remain stable in most areas, but some cities may see some slight declines. “I believe we’ve seen the worst of the house price declines … The stage is set for the consumer to return,” Crowe said.

Source: Associated Press, Alex Veiga (01/19/2010)

From RealTrends.com: Contract activity for pending home sales fell after a surge of activity in preceding months to beat the original deadline for the first-time home buyer tax credit but remains comfortably above a year ago, according to the latest survey. The Pending Home Sales Index, fell 16.0 percent to 96.0 from an upwardly revised 114.3 in October, but is 15.5 percent higher than November 2008 when it was 83.1. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a drop was expected. “It will be at least early spring before we see notable gains in sales activity as home buyers respond to the recently extended and expanded tax credit,” he said. “The fact that pending home sales are comfortably above year-ago levels shows the market has gained sufficient momentum on its own. We expect another surge in the spring as more homebuyers take advantage of affordable housing conditions before the tax credit expires.