Home sales jump to highest since May 2010

Home resales rose at the fastest pace in two years last month and housing prices climbed in hopeful signs that the housing market recovery is gaining traction.

The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday that existing home sales increased 7.8 percent last month to an annual rate of 4.82 million units last month. That was the fastest annual rate since May 2010 and well above analysts' expectations of a 4.55 million-unit rate.

Nationwide, the median price for a home resale rose to $187,400 in August, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier as fewer people sold their homes under distressed conditions. The nation's inventory of homes - those for sale on the market - rose 2.9 percent during the month to 2.47 million.

"The housing market recovery is becoming much more convincing," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

The price increase is measured against August 2011, and since then distressed sales have fallen to 22 percent of total sales from 31 percent. Distressed sales also fell in August of this year compared to the prior month.

While the broader U.S. economy appears to be losing steam, housing has gained traction and has become a relative bright spot.

Still, the recovery is from a depressed level. Sales of previously occupied homes remain below the more than 5.5 million that economists consider consistent with a healthy market. And the number of first-time homebuyers, who are critical to a housing rebound, slipped to 31 percent from 34 percent.

Yun said favorable buying conditions get the credit.

Housing starts rise less than expected “The housing market is steadily recovering with consistent increases in both home sales and median prices.  More buyers are taking advantage of excellent housing affordability conditions,” he said.  “Inventories in many parts of the country are broadly balanced, favoring neither sellers nor buyers.  However, the West and Florida markets are experiencing inventory shortages, which are placing pressure on prices.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.60 percent in August from a record low 3.55 percent in July; the rate was 4.27 percent in August 2011.

“The strengthening housing market is occurring even with difficult mortgage qualifying conditions, which is testament to the sizable stored-up housing demand that accumulated in the past five years,” Yun added.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 8.6 percent to an annual pace of 630,000 in August and are also 8.6 percent above August 2011.  The median price in the Northeast was $245,200, up 0.6 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 7.7 percent in August to a level of 1.12 million and are 17.9 percent higher than a year ago.  The median price in the Midwest was $152,400, up 7.8 percent from August 2011.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 7.3 percent to an annual pace of 1.90 million in August and are 11.1 percent above August 2011.  The median price in the region was $160,100, up 6.5 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West increased 8.3 percent to an annual level of 1.17 million in August but are unchanged from a year ago.  With ongoing inventory shortages, the median price in the West was $242,000, which is 16.3 percent higher than August 2011.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Governor signs AB 1718, degree brokers bill

I have been a strong supporter of formal real estate education at the college level for many years.  I am happy to see that this clarification has been made.  On a daily basis I receive so many incomplete offer and purchase packages from real estate agents.  This change will help strengthen the quality of agents taking the next steps from Sales to Broker.  As always find a good mentor and learn like a sponge.

Gov. Brown signs bill that clarifies real estate broker applicants’ experience requirements

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 28) – A bill sponsored by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) that closes an important loophole in an applicant’s experience requirements for a real estate broker’s license has been signed into law.

Typically, in addition to meeting stringent educational requirements and passing a brokers’ exam, an applicant for a real estate broker’s license must first become a salesperson and acquire at least two years of full time experience in real estate, working under the supervision of a broker, before one can become a broker.

Existing law allows an exception to the experience requirement for a college degree, “which included a specialization in real estate.”  Over the years, the “degree broker” exception has been interpreted to apply to any degree.

Assembly Bill 1718 (Hill, D-So. San Francisco) clarifies that the degree claimed as an exception must actually include a major or minor in real estate.

Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with 155,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

U.S. home prices make biggest jump in 6 years

Nationwide home prices shot up 3.8% in July, making their largest year-over-year leap since 2006, according to real estate data provider Core-Logic.

The gain marks the fifth straight rise in the gauge, part of a positive swing following a year and a half of slumps. The last time prices rose so much was in August 2006, when they jumped 4.1%.
Prices in California bounded up 4.4%. Without distressed sales – including foreclosures and short sales – national prices were up 4.3% compared with last July.

The report, coming as a glut of house-hunters clamor after a shrinking inventory, suggests that the real estate market is “clearly seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel,” said CoreLogic Chief Executive Anand Nallathambi in a statement.

Compared with June, prices got a 1.3% boost in July, according to Santa Ana-based CoreLogic. The company forecasts at least an additional 0.6% monthly improvement in August, or what would be a 4.6% increase compared with 2011.

Arizona led the country in price appreciation with a 16.6% surge, followed by Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado. Delaware’s 4.8% plunge was the deepest drop-off in prices, with Alabama, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Illinois also suffering major slips.

Housing, though seemingly in a recovery, is still shaky, according to other data. Consumer confidence is up, helping to push pending home sales to a two-year high, but the job market and the overall economy continue to lag.