Market Activity

December 2008 Activity

 
Supply # Sold % Change Median. Sale PRICE (1000's) % Change
Mths Previous Mth Previous Year Previous Mth Previous Year
Suffolk, NY 18.40 730 7.99% -3.57% $350 4.48% -9.63%
Nassau, NY 15.50 697 16.95% 6.74% $410 0.00% -11.16%
Queens, NY 19.80 537 9.82% 1.70% $390 0.00% -6.65%
Central, FL 17.26 1305 17.57% 21.28% $170 2.35% -24.49%

 

 

REAL ESTATE:

10 Cities Boasting Mini Sales Booms
Some cities that were hardest hit by the real downturn are experiencing mini sales booms.

Las Vegas real estate properties are down 28 percent in price, but sales of homes are up 15 percent.

Motivated buyers accounted for 64 percent of Las Vegas sales in October, says Radar Logic, a derivatives firm. That’s the highest rate in the country.

"There's a pretty active housing market, it's simply at a lower-priced inventory," says Michael Feder, chief executive of Radar Logic. "And there are now bidding wars taking place over homes in foreclosure."

Phoenix and San Diego are reporting similar experiences.

"We're clearing out the bad news," says Kiva Patten, a director at Merrill Lynch specializing in housing derivatives.

"By the end of 2010 – that's where we're calling the bottom in the forward market. You're going to get a small price appreciation in 2011," says Patten. "It's not like the turn is 10 percent per year, it'll be something like 3 percent or 4 percent."

Here are the cities where experts say it makes the most sense to buy now.

  1. Las Vegas
  2. Sacramento, Calif.
  3. San Diego, Calif.
  4. Los Angeles
  5. Detroit
  6. Phoenix
  7. San Francisco
  8. Washington, D.C.
  9. San Jose
  10. Atlanta


Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (01/12/09)

 

 

MORTGAGES

30-Year Rates Fall Below 5 Percent
Mortgage rates dropped to their 11th straight weekly decline, reaching new record lows, according to Freddie Mac.

Interest rates on 30-year, fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.96 percent this week, down from a previous week's 5.01 percent.

The low rates have caused a spike in home refinancing loans and a welcome relief to cash-strapped home owners facing a slowing economy and rising unemployment rates.

"The fact that interest rates have dropped to a record low is an important development since more affordable home financing could help bring buyers back to the market and prevent some of these foreclosures," says Lawrence White, professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business.

Other rates were mixed for the week:

  • 15 year fixed rates: averaged 4.65 percent, up from 4.62 percent.
  • 1-year adjustable rate mortgages: fell slightly averaging 4.89 percent from 4.95 percent last week.
  • 5/1 ARMs: averaged 5.25 percent compared with 5.49 percent last week.

Mortgage rates have continued to drop ever since the Federal Reserve announced a plan in December to buy up $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae—the government-sponsored enterprises.

Freddie Mac started recording mortgages in 1971.

Source: Reuters, Julie Haviv (1/15/09)

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