Calif. median home price: February 2012: $266,660 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county February 2012: Marin, $732,140 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county February 2012: Tehama, $85,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: February 2012: 127.8, an increase from the revised 102.4 recorded in January.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Fourth quarter 2011: 55 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 3/29/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.99% fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.23 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.78% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
Fannie Mae’s latest quarterly National Housing Survey focuses on the state of homeownership aspirations among Americans across all demographic groups. The survey finds that despite the recent housing crisis, most Americans continue to believe that owning their home is preferable to renting it. The data also indicate that while financial constraints and employment concerns may be keeping potential home buyers on the sidelines in the near term, future improvements in employment and personal finances, a pickup in interest rates in response to stronger economic growth, and stabilizing home prices may move Americans to act on their aspirations in coming years.
- Across all education levels, Americans say owning makes more sense than renting. This belief is held consistently across all demographic groups.
- Nearly two-thirds of current renters say that they will buy a house at some point in the future.
- Non-financial factors such as safety and quality of local schools continue to be the top reasons for buying a home across all income groups.
- African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to cite various benefits, such as buying a home as a way to build wealth, homeownership as a symbol of success, and civic benefits.
Attitudes about homeownership as an investment, financial constraints, and mortgage accessibility may mean that more Americans choose not to act on their aspiration for homeownership, thus potentially leading to lower homeownership rates.
- The margin of Americans believing homeownership has the highest investment potential has declined over the past several years.
- At the same time, the perceived safety of owning a home as an investment has trended downward, reaching a low of 63 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.
- In turn, groups with higher levels of education and higher incomes are more likely to think buying a home is a safe investment.
More info
The Wall Street Journal
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch tweaked its forecast from November, when it expected home prices to fall 3.5 percent in 2012. Now, it expects a modest gain of 0.5 percent, a good sign for the sector that continues limping through its worst downturn in generations.
Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/03/22/elusive-bottom-for-home-prices-near-forecast-says/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real%20Estate_BLOGSDEVELOPMENTSFEED
Americans’ concerns about key economic and housing issues are beginning to subside, according to results from Fannie Mae’s February 2012 National Housing Survey. Consumers’ attitudes have stabilized across most indicators – including personal finances, housing, and employment – demonstrating their sense that downside risks have abated somewhat compared with late summer and fall of 2011.
Highlights of the survey include:
The rise in confidence in the economy’s direction continued in February, with 35 percent responding that they think the economy is on the right track, a 5 percentage point increase from January. The percentage of respondents who say the economy is on the wrong track dropped to 57 percent, a decline of 6 percentage points.
On average, Americans expect home prices to increase by 0.8 percent over the next 12 months (down slightly since last month).
Twenty-eight percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months (consistent with last month), while 15 percent say they expect home prices to decline (down 1 percentage point since last month). Fifty-three percent say prices will stay the same.
The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell rose by 3 percentage points to 13 percent, the highest level in more than a year, while the percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy dropped 1 percentage point to 70 percent this month.
Sixty-five percent of respondents say they would buy their next home if they were going to move, up 1 percentage point since last month, while 29 percent say they would rent, down 1 percentage point versus last month.
http://fanniemae.com/portal/about-us/media/corporate-news/2012/5665.html
Calif. median home price: January 2012: $268,280 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county January 2012: Marin, $694,440 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county January 2012: Tehama, $110,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: January 2012: 102.4, an increase from the revised 93.1 recorded in January 2011
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Fourth quarter 2011: 55 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 2/23/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.95% fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.19 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.73% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
