Home Price Index Category
Home Values Within 12.5 Percent Of April 2007 Peak, Nationwide
August 16th, 2010 categories: Home Price Index
According the Federal Home Finance Agency’s Home Price Index, home values are now off just 12.5 percent from their April 2007 peak nationwide. This, after a half-percent monthly increase in prices in May, on average.
Given the state of the market since April 2007, the Home Price Index results are a positive for both the housing market and the economy, but we have to remember that May’s half-point increase is an average, and not specific to a particular area.
In contrast to “national markets”, the real estate markets in which you and I live are decidedly local. It’s a major difference and the distinction renders the Home Price Index somewhat less important.
After all, the HPI doesn’t account for housing activity in individual neighborhoods like Montgomery Cove , nor does it track value across cities like Knoxville. Instead, it summarizes data in giant chunks of geography.
A quick look at the HPI regional data proves the point. Of the HPI’s 9 tracked regions, only one was within one-tenth of one percent of the national, half-point average. The others varied by as much 1.3 percent.
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The Flawed Home Price Index Shows Home Values Up 0.8 Percent
July 12th, 2010 categories: Home Price Index
Last week, the Case-Shiller Index reported home values up 0.8 percent across 20 tracked markets. The public-sector Federal Housing Finance Agency has reached a similar conclusion.
Reporting on a two-month lag, the government’s Home Price Index shows home values up 0.8 percent in April, buoyed by the expiring federal home buyer tax credit and low mortgage rates. It’s a positive signal for a recovering housing market — in Maryville and everywhere else.
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May 2010 Existing Home Sales Is Better Than The Headline Data Suggests
June 24th, 2010 categories: Existing Home Sales, Home Price Index, Home Values, Household Finances, Housing Starts, New Home Sales, Pending Home Sales, Sellers
Existing Home Sales dropped in May for the first time in 3 months but still managed to post its second-highest since November 2009, buoyed by the expiring federal tax credit program.
An “existing home” is a home that cannot be considered new construction; a resale of an existing home. Existing Home Sales fell 2.2 percent in May.
The press is calling the drop in sales “unexpected” and disappointing, but a deeper look at the data shows the news isn’t as bad as it first appears.
First, on a regional basis, sales were mostly solid. Only the Northeast region posted a loss. The West even managed a gain.
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Home Price Index Rises 0.3% in March 2010
May 26th, 2010 categories: Home Price Index, Market Trends, Mortgage Guidelines, Mortgage Rates, Sellers, West Knoxville Neighborhoods
Are Prices Moving Up In Knoxville?
Home values rose in March, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s most recent Home Price Index. Values were reported higher by 0.3 percent, on average, from February.
We use the phrase “on average” because the Home Price Index is broad-reaching, national housing statistic. It ignores the dynamics of neighborhood real estate markets like Montgomery Cove as well as citywide markets like Farragut , too.
Instead, the Home Price Index focuses on state and regional statistics.
For example, in March 2010 as compared to February:
- Values in the East South Central region rose 2.5%
- Values in the Mountain states rose 1.1%
- Values in the Middle Atlantic states fell 1.0%
Of course, none of this data is especially helpful for today’s home buyers and sellers.
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Knoxville Sales Are Up…
April 30th, 2010 categories: Case-Shiller Index, Home Price Index, Home Values, Market Trends, Pending Home Sales, Sellers
PRICES ARE STILL FLAT…WHY??
The Sales in the Knoxville Real Estate market have been up over the last few months. Mostly because of low interest rates and the tax credits that end today. But the prices remain flat and it is really just excess inventory that is coming off the market.It is going to take a major drop in the Knoxville real estate inventory before we see and increase in prices. Earlier this week, Standard & Poors released its February Case-Shiller Index, a home price tracker for select metropolitan areas.
Overwhelmingly, home values fell in the 20 markets tracked by the Case-Shiller. Only San Diego showed a modest increase. The other 19 markets averaged a 1.23 percent decline between January and February.
However, that’s not the story you read in the most papers. Instead, headlines read that home values were up in the United States, citing annualized data.
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Will The Knoxville Housing Market Slow Down After The Tax Credit Expires??
April 22nd, 2010 categories: General, Home Price Index, Home Values, Homebuyer Tax Credit, Housing Starts, Market Trends
After a strong March showing and a surprise upward-revision for February, Housing Starts are, once again, trending better.
It’s yet another signal that the housing market in Farragut and nationwide is stabilized.
A Housing Start is a new home on which construction has started and, over the last 6 months, home builders are averaging one half-million starts per month.
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The Home Price Index Shows Home Values Lower Broadly, But Not Specifically
March 26th, 2010 categories: Home Price Index
Home values fell again in January, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s Home Price Index. Values were reported down 0.6 percent, on average.
We say “on average” because the Home Price Index is a national report. It doesn’t capture the essence of a local market like Fox Run , or even a city market like Farragut.
The most granular that the monthly Home Price Index gets is regional and January’s report shows that:
- Values in the Mountain states rose 2.0%
- Values in the Pacific states were flat
- Values in the East North Central states fell 1.8%
It’s hardly helpful for home buyers entering the market, or home sellers trying to properly price a home. Furthermore, because the Home Price Index reports on a 2-month delay, its data fails to reflect the current market conditions.
Versus January — the period from which HPI data is collected — mortgage rates are lower, buyer activity is up, and the federal home buyer tax credit is closer to expiring. These each can have an impact on housing.
Ultimately, national real estate data like the Home Price Index is best suited for lenders and policy-makers. National data helps to identify trends that shape formal policy, but it doesn’t help you, specifically.
Since peaking in April 2007, the Home Price Index is off 13.2 percent.
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As The Supply Of New Knoxville Homes Grows, So Does The Opportunity For A “Good Deal”
February 25th, 2010 categories: Existing Home Sales, Home Price Index, Housing Starts, Market Trends, Mortgage Rates, New Home Sales, Sellers, Statistics
Knoxville New Home Buyers Don’t Miss Your Best Buying Opportunity Ever
The housing recovery showed particular weakness in the Knoxville New Homes Sales category last month — good news for Knoxville TN homebuyers in in the Knoxville Real Estate Market and around the country.
A “new home” is a home for which there’s no previous owner.
New Home Sales fell 11 percent from the month prior and posted the fewest units sold in a month since 1963 — the year the government first started tracking New Home Sales data.
Right now, there are roughly 234,000 new homes for sale nationwide and, at the current sales pace, it would take 9.1 months to sell them all. This is nearly 2 months longer than at October 2009’s pace.
The reasons for the spike in supply are varied:
- The original home buyer tax credit expired in November
- Weather conditions were awful in most of the country in January
- Weak employment and consumer confidence continue to hinder big ticket sales
Now, these might be less-than-optimal developments for the economy as a whole, but for buyers of new homes, it’s a welcome turn of events. Home prices are based on supply and demand, after all.
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