The real estate news from the front seems to be improving. According to Case-Shiller, the indexes of home prices increased again (when compared either to the previous month or the previous year). This is the fifth straight month for steady increases in the indexes.
The general feeling from the National Association of Home Builders is that the regions that feel the most—in the real estate collapse—will have the strongest recovery, and conversely, where there was little change during the collapse (like in Charlotte North Carolina) there will not be much of an up tick as the rest of the country’s real estate markets grow.
Charlotte had one of the smallest total falls at 26 percent from August 2007 to February 2012 while the most recent year-over-year change was 0.8 percent, the smallest of the positive annual increases.
While millions of people continue to battle unemployment, the households with stable jobs and housing have begun to increase and nationally we are moving in the right direction. But, the cities which continue to have the most financially distressed Americans were Orlando; Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Las Vegas; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale.
Outside of Florida, Americans are feeling the best they have about their financial situation in nearly four years. Improvements in the national housing market have lessened the stress on Americans’ wallets, according to the report, which analyzed the financial condition of U.S. households in the second quarter. It takes into account factors like employment, housing, credit, family budgets and net worth.
Americans’ improving finances are mostly being driven by homeowners who have been able to cut their housing costs by refinancing into ultra-low mortgage rates, and a big decrease in the number of homeowners who are late on their mortgage payments.
Consumers have worked to repair their finances during the past four years by paying down debt and better managing their credit, and are more in control of their household budgets, increasing their savings even as gasoline prices have risen and the drought has started to affect food prices.
Americans’ improving finances are mostly being driven by homeowners who have been able to cut their housing costs by refinancing into ultra-low mortgage rates, and a big decrease in the number of homeowners who are late on their mortgage payments.
Consumers have worked to repair their finances during the past four years by paying down debt and better managing their credit, and are more in control of their household budgets, increasing their savings even as gasoline prices have risen and the drought has started to affect food prices.
As economic curing continues across a broader segment of the country and the inventory of both existing and new homes dwindles, NAHB expects modest home prices increases to continue with some stronger improvement in the places that had the largest declines.
The buyers who continue to be interested in Florida real estate today remain the Canadians and Europeans along with the retirees from colder northern areas, and those investors who have discovered the bargains available in nearly every town.
Dane Hahn is a real estate professional practicing in Florida and New Hampshire. He can be contacted at dane.hahn@gmail.com or by phone at 941-681-0312. See him on the web at www.danesellsflorida.com
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