Palm Citys Horse Talk News: Our Real Estate Market

It is cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 39 of the nations 50 largest cities, according to a quarterly report by real estate search and marketing site Trulia. Trulias rent vs. buy index compared the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and townhomes listed on Trulia.com as of April 1, 2011, in the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. While 72 percent of the cities favored buying in the previous quarters report, 78 percent favored buying in this latest report. "With home prices nearing a double dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying," said Ken Shuman, Trulias spokesperson, in a statement. "As we head into the summer buying season, those looking to buy a home should be encouraged by improvements in the market and feel optimistic about their chances of finding an affordable home much more so than in previous years." Source: Inman News
March saw another increase in pending home sales, with contract activity rising unevenly in six of the past nine months, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.1 percent to 94.1 in March from a downwardly revised 89.5 in February. The index is 11.4 percent below 106.2 in March 2010; however, activity was at elevated levels in March and April of 2010 to meet the contract deadline for the home buyer tax credit. The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales activity has shown an uneven but notable improvement. Since reaching a cyclical bottom last June, pending home sales have posted an overall gain of 24 percent and demonstrate the market is recovering on its own, he said. The index means modest near-term gains in existing-home sales are likely, which would be even stronger if tight real estate lending criteria returned to normal, safe standards. Source: NAR
One key step to the housing recovery is already occurring, economists and real estate agents say. That is a drop in the high inventories of homes for sale that are lingering on the market in areas hardest hit by foreclosures. Clearing away the inventory of foreclosures is crucial to turning around the market, since foreclosures and distressed homes can weigh heavily on home prices, industry insiders say. Economists say home prices will stabilize as the supply of these bargain-priced homes decrease. In turn, more buyers and sellers will get more confident and return to the market, and home prices will begin to rise. Investors are helping to clear away the glut of foreclosures by taking advantage of ultra low prices in Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, and Tampa. In those five cities, such sales have helped to shrink the combined supply of unsold homes by 13 percent over the past year, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. "If we were to see several consecutive months of supply getting smaller, it would point to an improving housing market," says Celia Chen, senior director at Moodys Analytics. "Even if it is investors buying them, they are renting them out in hopes that prices in the next several years will rise." However, the housing market isnt out of the clear quite yet, economists caution. A second wave of foreclosures looms foreclosures that had been delayed by banks and backlogged courts. Source: The Associated Press
Military veterans are more likely to be homeless than any other American group, reveals a government study on homelessness among former service members. Yet, vets only make up 10 percent of the adult population. About 16 percent or more than 75,000 veterans in the country do not have a home and live on the streets or in a temporary shelter, according to the study. Nearly half of the homeless vets are in California, Texas, New York, or Florida. The study found a higher prevalence of minority vets being homeless (34 percent were African American, and 11 percent were Hispanic), according to the survey. About 11,300 younger veterans, who were between 18 to 30 years old and who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, were in shelters at some point during 2009, when the study was originally conducted. As more troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, experts say its time to do something about the high incidence of homelessness among U.S. vets. President Obama has set a goal to end homelessness among veterans and others by 2015. To start reaching that goal, HUD is providing $10 million in short-term rental assistance to vets, and the VA is providing $5 million for medical services and case management. Meanwhile, the Labor Department will provide job training and counseling for vets. Source: USAToday.com