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HomeRun Homes is a centralized marketplace which helps people Find or Sell a Rent to Own Home, both Nationwide and Globally to the thriving Rent to Own Market. http://www.lease2buy.com
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts

January 20, 2012

Good Ones Up, Bad Ones Down, Thumbs Up

Hi Folks,
   Hope you've stayed warm this mid-January week.

   Some important numbers were released this week, which we like to condense for you, since we know it's hard for you to read through all of the Economic Indicator Press Releases and funky jargon that some of them contain.

   For starters, some good indicators were up. The release of New Residential Construction figures for December showed us that both Single-family housing starts in December were 4.4% above November, and also that Privately-owned housing completions in December were up 9.2% above November. Additionally, the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, released their figures on Existing Home Sales for December, which were up for a third consecutive month, at 5.0% above November (Nationwide). Regionally, the biggest gainer in Existing Homes Sales was the Northeast, where the figures jumped 10.7% from November. These very positive increases led to a statement from NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, who said that we might be seeing signs of a sustained recovery.

   Excess Housing inventory is not good...it's Bad. Why? Simple Supply and Demand Economics...more homes means lower prices. That being said, the NAR release also pointed to a 9.2% drop (less inventory), putting the available inventory at the lowest level since March 2005.

   These figures do not represent the entire puzzle, as there are still many areas still struggling, and additionally, other important figures will be released next week (Pending Home Sales Index, FHFA Monthly House Price Index, and New Residential Sales). Stay tuned for details.

   Thoughts and Opinions are always welcome...


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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #NewResidentialConstruction #Singlefamily #housingstarts #housingcompletions #Realtors #NAR #ExistingHomeSales #recovery #Housinginventory #ResidentialSales

July 21, 2011

Contract Cancellations A Factor in Home Sales Drop

Hi Folks,

   I'm honored to have you here with me today and always.

   This past week, the National Association of Realtors®, or NAR, released their June figures for Existing-Home Sales, which showed a decrease.

Let's take a quick look at the breakdown and then we'll discuss the factors involved:
  * From June 2010 - June 2011:
       The Northeast dropped 17% and the Midwest dropped 14%
  * Single-family home sales were stable, but the condo sector weakened.

Some other important details, per the NAR:
  * First-time buyers purchased 31 percent of homes in June (At 36% in May, and 43% in June 2010).
  * Investors accounted for 19 percent of purchase activity in June (Unchanged from May, and 13% in June 2010).

   Prices were up slightly, but Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, called it an "uneven recovery". NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., went further, and added that home sales should be higher, saying, "With record high housing affordability conditions thus far in 2011, we’d normally expect to see stronger home sales”.

   What was a major factor?

   The NAR Press Release said that "Contract cancellations spiked unexpectedly", and according to Victor Benoun, President of The Mortgage Source, Inc., cancellations were up 16%., which is a "telling number".

Benoun explained that there are several factors for the spike in cancellations:
  * First, says Benoun, to some extent, "buyers remorse may set in"
     He says this could be related to costly repairs discovered during an inspection.
  * Another factor is financing.
     Benoun says that lenders have made borrowing more difficult
  * Benoun also points to Appraisals.
     He says "If the value comes in lower than sales price", it is another cause.
  * Finally, he points to employment (losing a job while applying for a home loan)

   However, as with all Economic numbers, they vary by location.

   "The national numbers show how local real estate truly is.", says Ken Anderson, President and Broker of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty. Anderson says that they are, "not seeing the higher cancellation rates reported in other parts of the country", and that buyers "are cancelling far fewer contracts than a year ago, when the stimulus created too much urgency".

   In spite of the market, there is hope. Anderson says, "Our home sales increased 11% from May to June. Buyers are recognizing the opportunities and are getting back into the market.". Benoun says that there is a "silver lining for those who have the desire and ability to purchase a home.", and adds that prices "have not been this low in a decade and mortgage rates are hovering at 30 year lows.

   Where do you think the market is headed? Since the jump in cancellations was unexpected, what other factors might also happen unexpectedly?


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Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #ContractCancellations #HomeSales #ExistingHomeSales #NAR #recovery #housing

March 18, 2011

Home Remodeling Forges Ahead Despite The Slow Economy

Good Morning,
   Thanks for being an integral part of another week here...we truly appreciate it.

   Today, we are glad to present an incredibly informative guest-post from BuildFax, the nation’s leading provider of building permit data, provided to us by Joe Emison from Buildfax. The remainder of this Blog Post comes from Buildfax:

   "One might think that this winter’s wild weather may have put the brakes on the remodeling industry, but as Americans look more and more to remodeling their house, rather than buy a new one, remodeling has continued to show some impressive gains.

   According to the BuildFax Remodeling Index (BFRI), the most detailed remodeling index available, January 2011 was the 15th straight month of year-over-year gains for remodeling activity, a very positive sign for the industry, especially as the economy is still in a very slow recovery.

   Looking at consumer behavior, it is apparent that Americans are investing in their homes again, even if they are not seeing gains in equity. The BFRI for January rose 22% year-over-year to 99.0, the highest January number in the history of the index, which starts in 2004. Residential remodels in January were down month-over-month 4.8 points (5%) from the December value of 103.8, and up year-over-year 17.6 points from the January 2010 value of 81.4.

   All regions posted year-over-year gains, although the Northeast continues to lag behind the other regions. For the first time in four years, the Northeast posted a year-over-year gain in January. The other regions all did significantly better than the Northeast, posting double-digit percentage gains over their respective January 2010 values. As is usual in January, index values were down month-over-month in every region: the Northeast was down 6.9 points (9%), the South was down 4.3 points (5%), the Midwest was down 9.6 points (10%), and the West was down 3.8 points (4%).

   As the spring arrives, we hope to see this positive year-over-year trend continue, as remodeling activity continues on the upswing and the industry trends upwards. To follow the trends, be sure to look at BuildFax.com each month for the latest BFRI numbers and analysis and you can also follow BuildFax on Facebook."

Joe Emison
BuildFax
**********

   Thanks to Joe and Buildfax for this valuable information !!!

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

March 16, 2011

Bad News For Builders?

Hi Folks,
   Hope your week has been amazing, if not productive, thus far.

   The time has come again for the all-important New Residential Construction numbers for February 2011, and we'd like to examine those with you today. As always, we open the floor for your comments, as well.

   Now, as you may already know, when we discuss, "New Residential Construction", this is actually composed of 3 parts: Building Permits, Housing Starts, and Housing Completions, which is quite intuitive as a flow chart from start to finish.

   From a top-level analysis, everything took a beating, both over the short term (January 2011 through February 2011) and also over the longer term (February 2010 through February 2011). The only exception to this was Housing Completions in the Short term for both Single-family housing completions and Privately-owned housing completions.

   The biggest loser in the short term was Privately-owned housing starts (22.5% below January 2011), with the biggest loser in the longer term checking in as Privately-owned housing starts (20.8% below February 2010).

   Jim Olenbush, a Broker/Realtor in Texas, says that, "Today's numbers may be bad news for home builders, but it is good news for the resale market.", since, as he says, "We have too much inventory in most areas, so a decline in building is a necessary step to recovery."

   What are your thoughts on these housing numbers?

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

November 8, 2010

Depressed Home Sales and Housing Slump Acting Like a Prison

Good Morning,

   Hope you had a nice weekend. To those of you who ran the marathon in NYC this past weekend, that is incredible. That is the ultimate definition of pushing your body to the upper limits of it's potential.

   On that note, we all wish that the housing market would push itself to the upper limits of it's potential as well, however, with the Pending Home Sales Index numbers that came out last Friday, don't hold your breath. The National Association of Realtors said, "Pending home sales retreated after two monthly gains, signaling an uneven recovery entering 2011 with some near-term disruptions from the foreclosure moratorium". Troubles abound.

   "The depressed real estate market is having another effect", writes David Schepp from AOL Finance, in an article titled, "Housing's Slump Is Keeping Job Seekers Stuck in Place". Schepp notes that it's become, "more difficult, if not impossible, for workers to relocate to take new jobs. The percentage of unemployed managers and executives relocating for new positions fell to a record low in the third quarter, according to analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based employment-services firm." This is an interesting angle that is not in the forefront of our minds, but it is just another casualty of the housing/economic slump. It's like a virtual "prison".

   For the remainder of the economy, there are no major housing-related numbers coming out this week, and depending on how you look at it, that might be good !

   Have You read the "Secrets of Rent to Own" (The manual on how to buy or sell via Rent to Own), or, "Will It Work In My Town?" (The Real Estate Investing Guidebook)? If not, it's worth noting that if you purchase either of those books, you will receive the other one for free. To learn more about "Secrets of Rent to Own", Read More Here, and to learn more about "Will It Work In My Town?", Read More Here.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

October 29, 2010

Not-So-Spooky Housing Numbers

Good Morning,
   Once again, Friday is upon us, and I'm ready to trick-or-treat...well, not me, my son (and I normally collect 10% of candy off the Gross Candy Margin - the "GCM"). Sorry, I needed to start the day with a little bit of sweet humor. OK, enough puns.

   Now, speaking of margins and indices, I just wanted to recap a few news items that were released from mid-week up to now, since we already touched on the Existing Home Sales numbers this past Monday.

   The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices were released, and it showed us that home prices slowed down in August, with a drop in the growth rates in 17 of the 20 large metropolitan areas that were covered, and 10 of the 20 city composites. Interestingly enough, the FHFA Monthly House Price Index reflected price increase of 0.4 percent from July to August.

   New Residential Sales numbers were also released, and they show a 6.6 percent increase over the revised August rate, however, substantially below September 2009 (to the tune of a 21.5 percent decrease). Comparing the August-September span for the New Residential Sales to the same period of time as the Existing Home Sales numbers from Monday (where the National Association of Realtors stated that, "Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun".), things are looking up. Just don't pay attention to the last 12 months up to that period of time, since that will taint your happiness over this "housing recovery".

   Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Any specific topics you want to see covered in our Blog?

   Doing anything cool this Halloween weekend? If so, E-mail me with your exciting and scary plans for Halloween, and I'll send you a copy of "Secrets of Rent to Own". Over to you...

Have a Great Weekend, a Safe and Happy Halloween, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Regards,
Robert Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes
Web: http://www.lease2buy.com
Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
Public Speaking Appearances: http://www.lease2buy.com/speak.php
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/homerunhomes
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/homerunhomes

October 25, 2010

A Sales Recovery Has Begun

Hi Folks,

   Hope you had a great weekend.

   So, the word on the street, per the National Association of Realtors, is that, "Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun". This was in response to the release of Existing Home Sales data for the month of September, which showed another strong gain.

   Additionally, as the jump was a double-digit one, with a 10% increase, it would certainly seem that there is a housing recovery.

   Please keep in mind that there are also some other important numbers coming out this week:
      Tues 10/26 9AM - S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
      Tues 10/26 10AM - FHFA Monthly House Price Index
      Weds 10/26 10AM - New Residential Sales

Please stay tuned for more (good) news !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

July 30, 2010

Will the Housing Market Recover?

Welcome to Friday!


   Can it possibly be August? It certainly is, and folks, we are still in the midst of a housing crisis. Yes, I used the word, "crisis". There are definitely markets showing signs of recovery, as we have discussed in a previous post (http://www.blogging.lease2buy.com/2010/06/foreclosure-preventionimproved-housing.html), however, the rest of the market is struggling.

   An article recently cited the "6 Reasons the Housing Market Hasn't Recovered" (with credit to Luke Mullins of U.S. News and World Report), and the reasons were:

1) Labor market
2) Household formation
3) Foreclosures
4) Tight credit
5) Falling home prices
6) Selling your other home

   Two of these I found very interesting, and the first being "Household Formation". This is an angle that I personally have never thought about before, and might I add that it is a very good observation. What the author is saying is that basically, people cannot afford to branch out and purchase a home. People have fallen on hard times, and some have moved in with friends and family. Some couples who are looking to get married and purchase a home are perhaps holding off and staying in their rented apartment until things recover. Overall, a very good observation.

   The other point was that of, "Selling your other home". This has always been a problem, but is amplified during a market with falling housing prices, coupled with falling credit scores and income (or lack thereof). When you need to sell your home before you are able to purchase a new home, this takes it's toll. People are always looking to up size, downsize, or need to sell since they are moving. As we are seeing creative real estate options becoming more mainstream, such as Rent to Own (See our recent Blog post on this: http://www.blogging.lease2buy.com/2010/06/rent-to-own-transactions-move-into.html ), this will hopefully mitigate this factor from inhibiting our recovery.

   In keeping with our discussion, next week, there will be some important numbers released, which are the Construction Spending figures on Monday, and the Pending Home Sales Index numbers on Tuesday. Let's keep any eye on these together.

   Do you have any gripes about this market? What are your thoughts?

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 28, 2010

33% Drop in Sales? Where do we Stand?

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back. We hope that you stayed cool this past weekend, because at least for us here on the East Coast, the humidity has been searingly painful. However, there are people who adore this weather, which shows that we are all unique in our likes and dislikes.

We had a whirlwind week here last week, with some fantastic publicity regarding Rent to Own Homes, along with a lot of work we have been doing on the website infrastructure (including making the website resolve even quicker on your screen).

Looking back to last week, in retrospect, we saw some numbers come out that were a little bit of a shock. By now, most of you already heard that new home sales (new single family homes) plunged about 33 percent from April to May. The tax credit incentive for purchasing homes ended April 30th, so that is a major contributing factor, but are we really shaping up yet? Are the fundamentals of the economy that strong yet to tout a recovery? Yes, there are definitely some promising areas in the country in terms of economic and housing recovery, but there are a lot more regions that are in trouble. Is it that a lot of the incentives are not as far-reaching as anticipated? Or just that it will take more time? On that note, we can only assume that "time will tell", as the old cliche says.

Now, there are some more numbers coming out tomorrow (S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices), but these have a 2-month lag, so I really am interested in seeing their next release (the next one after this release). Let's all keep an eye on them together, as it effects each and every one of us.

Advice for the moment: Keep your focus on the Rent to Own Home that you are either looking to buy or looking to sell. Stay tuned to us for new information, announcements, and contests. We will try to be your liaison and will try to provide you with updates whenever we have them.


Have a great week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

April 19, 2010

US Cities, Secrets of Rent to Own, and Joy

Happy Monday to All,

We hope you had a productive weekend.

First, we would like to thank all of the winners of the Free Copy of "Secrets of Rent to Own", and we hope you enjoy reading it and putting what you learn into action! For those of you who missed out, you can check out this handy guide, "Secrets of Rent to Own", at this link: http://www.lease2buy.com/rent2ownbook.php

If you would like to be included for a personal Pre-Blog notification of further contests and give-aways, please send an E-mail to homebuyer@lease2buy.com with the Subject Line, "This Blog-Reader wants in !"

On the flip side, we saw an interesting article worth mentioning, that discussed U.S. Cities In Free Fall, and I, personally, was amazed to see only Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville in the top 5. Orlando/Central FL was not in the top 5, and I found this actually encouraging. I don't know - I am open to your comments on this one. No matter what they say, there are deals to be had, and in some of these areas, there are pockets of recovery - again, I am open to comments on that as well.

On that note, I hope everyone has a great week. Be sure to choose "FOLLOW" us (Right Hand Column of this page) to be notified of new Blog updates, new contests, new information (and all around joy...OK, well, LOL on the "joy" part).

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning