Tuesday, January 24, 2012

4Q11 California Foreclosure Press Release

California Foreclosure Activity Drops

January 24, 2012

La Jolla, CA.--The number of California homes going into foreclosure dropped in the fourth quarter of 2011 to the second-lowest level in more than four years, the result of evolving lender and mortgage servicer policies as well as shifting market conditions, a real estate information service reported.
 
A total of 61,517 Notices of Default (NODs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the fourth quarter. That was down 13.7 percent from 71,275 for the prior three months, and down 11.9 percent from 69,799 in fourth-quarter 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.
 
Last quarter's 61,517 NODs marked the lowest level since 56,633 NODs were filed in second-quarter 2011, and the second-lowest since 53,943 NODs were recorded in second-quarter 2007. New foreclosure filings (NODs) peaked in first-quarter 2009 at 135,431.
 
"We are certainly seeing a lower level of foreclosure activity than a year or two ago. The question is, how much of that decline is due to market conditions, and how much is due to policy changes that try to address economic distress and lower home values," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
 
"Five years ago almost all mortgage payment delinquencies would have triggered a default notice after a certain amount of time. Strategies now include short sales, refinances, interest rate changes, principal reduction as well as just plain waiting longer. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as the economy improves and the housing market finds its footing," Walsh said.
 
The most active "beneficiaries" in the formal foreclosure process last quarter were Bank of America (14,453), Bank of New York (9,612), and Wells Fargo (7,187).
 
The trustees who pursued the highest number of defaults last quarter were ReconTrust Co (mostly for Bank of America and Bank of New York), Quality Loan Service Corp (Bank of America), Cal-Western Reconveyance Corp (Wells Fargo), NDEx West (Wells Fargo) and California Reconveyance Co (JP Morgan Chase).
 
Most of the loans going into default are still from the 2005-2007 period: The median origination quarter for defaulted loans is still third-quarter 2006. That has been the case for three years, indicating that weak underwriting standards peaked then.
 
As the foreclosure problem surged four years ago, newer neighborhoods in affordable areas were hit the hardest. The problem spread gradually into other areas, but that spreading appears to have leveled off. In third-quarter 2008, well over half of all recorded NODs were in neighborhoods that represented one-fourth of California's housing stock. By third-quarter 2010 those neighborhoods' share of all NODs had fallen to 41.1 percent as other neighborhoods got hit, too. But more than a year later, in fourth quarter 2011, the relatively affordable neighborhoods' NOD share wasn't much different - 37.9 percent.
 
While the number of mortgage defaults dropped across all home-price ranges last quarter, NODs remained far more concentrated in the more affordable areas. Zip codes with median sale prices last year below $200,000 collectively saw 9.4 NODs for every 1,000 homes, while the ratio was 7.0 NODs per 1,000 homes for all zips statewide, and 2.3 NODs per 1,000 homes in zip codes with 2011 median sale prices above $800,000.
 
On primary mortgages, California homeowners were a median nine months behind on their payments when the lender filed the Notice of Default. The borrowers owed a median $19,949 on a median $333,036 mortgage.
 
On home equity loans and lines of credit in default, borrowers owed a median $4,664 on a median $69,943 credit line. The amount of the credit line that was actually in use cannot be determined from public records.
 
San Diego-based DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Notices of Default are recorded at county recorders offices and mark the first step of the formal foreclosure process.
 
Although 61,517 default notices were filed last quarter, they involved 60,289 homes because some borrowers were in default on multiple loans (e.g. a primary mortgage and a line of credit).
 
Of the state's larger counties, mortgages were least likely to go into default in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. The probability was highest in Sacramento, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
 
Trustees Deeds recorded (TDs), or the actual loss of a home to the formal foreclosure process, totaled 31,260 during the fourth quarter. That was down 19.6 percent from 38,895 for the prior quarter, and down 11.8 percent from 35,431 for fourth-quarter 2010. The all-time peak was 79,511 in third-quarter 2008. The state's all-time low was 637 in the second quarter of 2005, DataQuick reported.
 
Just as with mortgage defaults, foreclosures remained far more concentrated in the state's most affordable neighborhoods. Last quarter zip codes with 2011 median sale prices below $200,000 collectively saw 6.0 foreclosures for every 1,000 homes, compared with 3.7 foreclosures per 1,000 homes for all zip codes statewide and less than one - 0.7 - foreclosure per 1,000 homes in zip codes with $800,000-plus medians.
There are 8.7 million houses and condos in the state.
 
Foreclosure resales accounted for 33.7 percent of all California resale activity last quarter. It was 34.2 percent the prior quarter, and a year ago it was 37.5 percent. It peaked at 57.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Foreclosure resales varied significantly by county last quarter, from 9.8 percent in San Francisco County to 56.6 percent in Yuba County.
 
Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 19.8 percent of statewide resale activity last quarter. That was up slightly from an estimated 17.8 percent the prior quarter and 17.9 percent a year earlier. Two years earlier, in fourth-quarter 2009, short sales made up an estimated 16.4 percent of the resale market.
 
On average, homes foreclosed on last quarter took 9.7 months to wind their way through the formal foreclosure process, beginning with an NOD. That's roughly even with 9.9 months the prior quarter and up from 8.8 months a year earlier.

At formal foreclosure auctions held statewide last quarter, an estimated 30.0 percent of the foreclosed properties were bought by investors or others who don't appear to be lender or government entities. That was up insignificantly from an estimated 29.7 percent the previous quarter and up from 22.1 percent from a year earlier, DataQuick reported.

NODs and Foreclosures by County Chart is available at DQNews.com

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

December California Press Release

California December Home Sales

January 18, 2012

An estimated 37,734 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 15.5 percent from 32,669 in November, and up 4.2 percent from 36,215 for December 2010. California sales for the month of December have varied from a low of 25,585 in 2007 to a high of 66,503 in 2003, while the average is 44,063. DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988.
 
The median price paid for a home last month was $246,000, up 0.8 percent from $244,000 in November, and down 3.1 percent from $254,000 for December 2010. The median has decreased on a year-over-year basis for the last fifteen months. The bottom of the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009. The peak was $484,000 in early 2007.
 
Distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – once again made up more than half of California’s resale market.
 
Of the existing homes sold last month, 34.2 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was up from 32.9 percent in November but down from 38.1 percent a year earlier. The all-time high for foreclosure resales was 58.5 percent in February 2009.
 
Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 20.0 percent of resales last month. That was the same as in November but up from 17.8 percent in December 2010. Two years ago short sales made up an estimated 17.0 percent of the resale market.
 
The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $935. That was up from $931 in November. October's $924 was the lowest since at least 1988. It was $1,055 for December 2010. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s figure was 58.2 percent below the spring 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 66.1 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006.
 
DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.
 
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is high, but not increasing. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and cash and non-owner occupied buying is flat but at a high level, DataQuick reported.
 
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or alepage@dqnews.com

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

December Bay Area Press Release

Bay Area Sales Up, Prices Down

January 18, 2012

La Jolla, CA.----The Bay Area’s housing market rounded out 2011 much the way it started it: with constricted and atypical sales activity, lots of bottom feeding, and a largely dormant mid- to move-up market. Sales were up slightly last month, while prices dropped, a real estate information service reported.
 
A total of 7,494 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in December. That was up 18.6 percent from 6,317 in November, and up 4.4 percent from 7,178 in December 2010. The year-over-year increase was the sixth in a row, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.
 
The November-to-December increase was normal for the season, although the rise was higher than the 9.9 percent historic norm. While last month’s sales were 13.3 percent below the December average of 8,643, that below-the-norm rate was the lowest of 2011. Since 1988 December sales have varied from 5,065 in 2007 to 12,349 in 2003.
 
“We’ll remember 2011 as much for what didn’t happen as for what did. People put discretionary buying and selling on hold, except at the very top of the market. The spectacular gains in affordability, based on the combination of lower prices and ultra-low interest rates, was largely theoretical for many people because it was so hard to get a mortgage. That, combined with negative equity and economic uncertainty, kept people away,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
 
“Many of the deals that did make their way through the system were in the distressed arena – foreclosures and short sales. Much of it was deeply discounted cash purchases, disproportionately at the lower end of the price scale,” he said.
 
The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month was $351,500. That was down 3.5 percent from $363,500 in November, and down 6.3 percent from $375,000 in December 2010. The median has declined on a year over year basis for the last fifteen months.
 
The median’s low point of the current real estate cycle was $290,000 in March 2009. The peak was $665,000 in June/July 2007. Around half of the median’s peak-to-trough drop was the result of a decline in home values, while the other half reflected a shift in the sales mix.
 
Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – rose to 49.6 percent of the resale market. That was up from 45.9 percent in November and up from 48.2 percent from December 2010.
 
Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 28.6 percent of resales in December. That was up from a revised 25.2 percent in November, and down from 30.1 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009. The monthly average for foreclosure resales over the past 15 years is about 9 percent.
 
Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 21.0 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was up from 20.6 percent in November and up from 18.1 percent a year earlier.
 
Last month 31.4 percent of Bay Area sales were for $500,000 or more, down from a revised 32.0 percent in November, and down from 35.0 percent in December 2010. The low for the current cycle was January 2009, when just 22.7 percent of sales crossed the $500,000 threshold. Over the past 10 years, a monthly average of 47.6 percent of homes sold for $500,000-plus.
 
The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more last month fell 5.7 percent from December 2010, while sales under $500,000 rose 11.2 percent year-over-year and sales below $300,000 increased 15.2 percent.
 
Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 23.4 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in December, up from 21.0 percent in November and up from 23.2 percent a year earlier.
 
One indicator of mortgage availability that had seen improvement this year dropped again in December, when 11.7 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages, down from a revised 12.3 percent in November, and up from 9.6 percent in December last year. Over the last decade, ARMs have accounted for 50.8 percent of all purchase loans. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009.
 
Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 26.2 percent of last month’s purchase lending, down from a revised 29.0 percent in November, and down from 31.6 percent a year earlier. Jumbo usage dropped to 17.1 percent in January 2009. Before the credit crunch struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for nearly 60 percent of the Bay Area purchase loan market.
 
Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased a record 23.8 percent of all Bay Area homes sold, up from 21.7 percent in November and 20.2 percent a year earlier. Absentee buyers paid a median $225,000 in December, down from $250,000 in November and $262,750 a year earlier.
 
Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 27.4 percent of sales in December, up from 27.1 percent in November, and up from 24.5 percent a year earlier. The record was 30.5 percent last February, while the monthly average going back to 1988 is 12.1 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $215,000 in December, down from $250,000 in November and $245,000 a year earlier.
 
San Diego-based DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, san Francisco and San Mateo counties.
 
The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,336, down from $1,387 in November, and down from $1,558 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 51.6 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 64.2 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but below peak levels reached over the last three years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

See full county chart at DQNews.com

Source: DataQuick, http://www.dqnews.com/
 
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

December Southland Home Sale Press Release

Southland December Home Sales, Prices Fall Short of a Year Earlier

January 17, 2012
La Jolla, CA---Southern California home sales surged last month from November – as they normally do – amid relatively strong activity under $300,000 and a record share of sales to “absentee” buyers, mainly investors. But with the purchase plans of many ordinary buyers and sellers still on hold, the year-end rush couldn’t lift sales above December 2010. Moreover, investors’ focus on lower-cost homes helped push the median sale price back down to its 2011 low point, a real estate information service reported.
 
A total of 19,247 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December. That was up 14.0 percent from 16,884 in November but down 1.4 percent from 19,528 in December 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.
 
It’s normal for sales to jump between November and December, in part because some investors want to close their deals before year’s end for tax reasons. On average, sales have risen 13.2 percent between November and December since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin.
 
December home sales have varied from a low of 13,240 in 2007 to a high of 36,865 in 2003. Last month’s sales were 22.0 percent lower than the December average of 24,656 since 1988.
 
While December sales of existing (not new) houses and condos combined fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier, sales of newly built homes fell 12.0 percent year-over-year, to the lowest level on record for a December.
 
“Last year ended much the way it began, with pitifully low new-home sales, record investor activity, drum-tight credit, and lots of potential buyers and sellers just sitting tight,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
“Some of the economic vital signs have improved lately and it’s sparked a renewed sense of optimism in housing circles,” he said. “Coupled with incredibly low mortgage rates, it certainly suggests 2012 might offer the ‘rock bottom’ for pricing that many buyers and sellers have been waiting for. But the housing drama isn’t over. Credit conditions remain horrible, leaving many unable to take advantage of today’s improved affordability. And lenders still must decide the fate of scores of borrowers who aren’t making their mortgage payments.”
 
December’s sales trends varied significantly by price segment. The number of homes that sold for less than $200,000 last month rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier, while the number of transactions between $300,000 and $800,000 dropped 10.7 percent and sales above $800,000 fell 21.2 percent.
 
Last month the median price paid for all new and resale Southland houses and condos sold was $270,000, down 1.8 percent from $275,000 in November and down 6.9 percent from $290,000 in December 2010. Last month’s $270,000 median matched January and October for the lowest level of 2011. The regional median has declined year-over-year for the past 10 months – since last March.
 
The Southland’s December median was 9.3 percent higher than the median’s low point in the current real estate cycle – $247,000 in April 2009 – but it was 46.5 percent lower than the peak $505,000 median in mid 2007. The peak-to-trough drop was due to a decline in home values and a shift in sales toward lower-cost homes, especially inland foreclosures.
 
Distressed property sales accounted for 52.5 percent of the Southland resale market last month, up from 51.2 percent in November but down from 53.8 percent a year earlier. Nearly one out of three homes resold last month was a foreclosure, while about one in five was a “short sale.”
 
Foreclosure resales – properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up 32.5 percent of the Southland resale market in December, up from 31.6 percent in November but down from 35.1 percent a year earlier.
 
Short sales, where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property, made up an estimated 20.0 percent of Southland resales last month. That was up from 19.6 percent in November and 18.7 percent a year earlier. Two years ago the estimate was 17.6 percent. Last month’s figure was the highest since June 2010, when it was 20.5 percent.
 
Credit conditions remained difficult last month, though there were small increases in the percentage of home purchase loans that were either adjustable-rate mortgages (“ARMs”), or larger “jumbo” loans.
 
Last month ARMs accounted for 6.5 percent of home purchase loans, up from 6.1 percent in November and the same as a year earlier. Over the past 10 years, a monthly average of 36.9 percent of purchase loans were ARMs.
 
Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 15.3 percent of last month’s purchase lending. That was up from 14.6 percent in November but down from 17.4 percent a year earlier. In the current housing cycle, jumbos fell in early 2009 to a low of 9.3 percent of the purchase loan market. Before the credit crunch hit in August 2007, jumbos accounted for about 40 percent of purchase loans.
 
In addition to the broader, years-old credit crunch, lower conforming loan limits that took effect on Oct. 1, 2011, impacted the housing market. Lawmakers have since restored the higher limits, which vary by county, for FHA loans but not for mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
 
Last month saw higher levels of lending in the affected loan ranges. For example, in Los Angeles and Orange counties, where the conforming loan limit was lowered from $729,750 to $625,500, the number of homes sold with purchase loans in that range totaled 104 in December, up 76.3 percent from November but still 73.2 percent lower than a year earlier. Prior to the change in conforming loan limits on Oct. 1, the combined two-county area saw an average of about 340 loans a month last year between $625,501 and $729,750.
 
It remains unclear whether, in the short run, the private mortgage market will begin to fill the void created by the lower conforming loan limits.
 
Last month 17.8 percent of all home sales were for $500,000 or more – the lowest portion since May 2009, when it was 17.4 percent. December’s share of $500,000-plus sales was down from 18.3 percent in November and down from 20.9 percent a year earlier. The low point for $500,000-plus sales in this cycle was in January 2009, when only 13.8 percent of sales crossed that price threshold. Over the past 10 years, a monthly average of 27.9 percent of homes sold for $500,000 or more.
 
In the lower price ranges, many first-time buyers and others continued to rely on government-insured FHA loans, which allow a relatively low down payment. FHA loans accounted for 30.6 percent of purchase mortgages in December, down from 32.0 percent in November and 33.5 percent a year earlier.
 
Absentee buyers, mainly investors and vacation-home buyers, purchased a record 26.4 percent of the Southland homes sold in December, paying a median $200,000. Last month’s absentee level matched the peak first reached in February 2011. The December absentee figure was up from 25.1 percent in November and up from 23.4 percent a year earlier. Since 2000, when this data series begins, absentee buyers have purchased a monthly average of 16.9 percent of all homes sold.
 
Paying a median $202,500, cash buyers purchased 29.0 percent of all Southland homes sold in December, down from 29.5 percent in November but up from 28.4 percent a year earlier. Cash purchases hit a high of 32.3 percent of sales last February, while the 10-year monthly average is 14.9 percent.
 
DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.
 
The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,026, which on an inflation-adjusted basis is a record low for any month back to January 1988. Last month’s figure was down from $1,049 in November and down from $1,205 in December 2010. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 55.8 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 63.8 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.
 
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but is lower than peak levels reached over the last few years. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

Full county chart is available at DQNews.com

Source: DQNews.com Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Miami Region November Home Sale Press Release

Miami Region November Home Sales

January 11, 2012

Miami-area homes sold at the fastest pace for a November in five years as lower prices and mortgage rates continued to drive robust demand from investors and vacation-home buyers - both foreign and domestic. The region's median sale price rose from October but fell short of the year-ago level for the 50th consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.
 
In November, 7,855 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the metro area encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. That was up 5.0 percent from the prior month and up 17.5 percent from a year earlier - to the highest level for a November since 2006, when 10,369 homes sold, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.
 
Normally, sales drop between October and November. The decline between the two months has averaged 12.6 percent since 1997, when DataQuick's complete Miami-area statistics begin.
 
November's total sales fell 15.9 percent below the average November sales tally of 9,341 since 1997. However, if newly built homes are excluded from the sales mix, then the number of houses and condos that closed escrow in November was just 1.4 percent below the historical average for that month. Although the Miami region's new-home sales rose 23.3 percent in November compared with a year earlier, they were still second-lowest on record for that month.
 
Through November, Miami's housing market was on pace to post the highest annual sales total for any year since the housing boom ended. January-through-November 2011 sales totaled 96,986, the highest since 144,912 homes sold during that 11-month period in 2006.
 
The market's top and bottom price segments saw the biggest year-over-year sales jumps in November. The number of new and resale houses and condos that sold for less than $100,000 rose 21.2 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 7.2 percent annual gain for sales between $200,000 and $600,000 and a 26.9 percent annual increase for transactions above $800,000. Sales over $950,000 rose 33.1 percent compared with November 2010. However, only 3.6 percent of all sales in November were for $800,000 or more.
 
In the Miami region's multi-million-dollar luxury market, the 60 homes that sold for $2 million or more in November represented a 33.3 percent gain from October and a 36.4 percent increase from a year earlier. During the first 11 months of this year, 742 Miami-area homes sold for $2 million or more, up 15.2 percent from the same period last year and the highest for that 11-month period since 869 homes sold for $2 million or more between January and November 2008. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.
 
In the overall market, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Miami region in November was $134,950, up 5.4 percent from October but down 3.6 percent from a year earlier. November's median price was the highest for any month since July 2011, when it was $136,000. Although the median sale price has declined year-over-year for the past 50 months, the dips over the last five months have been relatively low - less than 6 percent.
 
The November median stood 53.5 percent below the peak $290,000 median in June 2007.
Another key price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses, rose to $95 in November, up from $93 in October but down 6.9 percent from $102 a year earlier. The November figure stood 55.0 percent below the peak of $211 reached in May 2006.
For resale condos, Miami region buyers paid a median $82 a square foot in November, up a tad from $81 in October but down 3.2 percent from a year earlier. The November figure was 58.7 percent lower than the all-time peak of $199 paid per square foot for resale condos in June 2007.
 
At the county level in November, the median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses rose to $97 in Broward County, up 3.2 percent from October but down 5.3 percent from a year earlier. The figure dipped slightly to $93 in Miami-Dade County, down 1.1 percent from October and down 6.3 percent from a year earlier. Palm Beach County's median paid per square foot rose to $96 in November, up 5.5 percent from October but down 9.2 percent from a year earlier.
 
In November, absentee buyers purchased a near-record 38.5 percent of all homes sold in the Miami area, down slightly from 38.9 percent in October but up from 35.7 percent a year earlier. The all-time high was 39.4 percent in March 2011. Absentee buyers are investors, second-home buyers and others who indicate at the time of sale that their property tax bill will be sent to a different address. (Absentee statistics go back to January 2000).
 
The absentee buyer share jumps to 52 percent in November when focusing solely on existing (not new) condos. Within that group of November absentee condo buyers, about 40 percent had mailing addresses in the public record that were outside of Florida, whether domestic or foreign.
 
Absentee buyers paid a median $90,000 for all new and resale houses and condos that they purchased in November, the same as in every month since August, and the same as a year earlier.
 
Among all absentee buyers in November, about 53 percent had a mailing address in the Miami area or elsewhere in Florida, while 35 percent had a mailing address in another state and 12 percent had a foreign mailing address listed in the public record. (Buyers with foreign mailing addresses in the public record represented 4.8 percent of total Miami-area sales in November, and 8.4 percent of existing condo sales.) However, it's unclear exactly how many foreign buyers bought Miami-area homes because typically some of them use a domestic mailing address in the public record.
 
November buyers who did have a foreign mailing addresses in the public record represented 7.0 percent of total November home sales and 13.8 percent of all resale condo transactions in Broward County; 3.0 percent of total sales and 4.2 percent of resale condo deals in Miami-Dade County; and 4.7 percent of total sales and 8.2 percent of condo resales in Palm Beach County. In the combined three-county region, November buyers with foreign mailing addresses paid a median $104,000. They paid a median $85,000 for resale condos, which accounted 81.3 percent of their total home purchases; $175,000 for resale houses, representing 13.4 percent of their purchases; and $364,950 for newly built homes, which were 5.3 percent of their deals.
 
The highest price paid by a buyer with a foreign mailing address in the public record during November was $3,158,000, for a newly built home. The highest paid for an existing condo was $1,775,000, while the highest paid for an existing single-family detached house was $1,000,000.
 
Nearly two-thirds of the Miami-area's November buyers with a foreign mailing address were from Canada, while the rest were split among more than 20 other nations, including Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Israel.
 
The state of New York claimed the largest share - 30 percent - of November's Miami-area absentee buyers who were based somewhere in the United States outside of Florida.
 
Resale condos were the main target for November's out-of-state buyers (foreign and domestic combined), accounting for 70.7 percent of their Miami-area purchases. Resale detached houses made up 24.3 percent of their purchases, while newly built homes represented 5.0 percent of their deals.
 
Many absentee buyers are also cash buyers, who purchased 63.7 percent of the Miami-area homes sold in November. That was up slightly from 63.4 percent the prior month and up from 62.4 percent a year earlier. The peak for cash purchases was 68.6 percent in March 2011.
 
Specifically, these cash deals were transactions where there was no indication of a purchase loan recorded at the time of sale. Some of these "cash" buyers could have used alternative financing arrangements outside of a typical, recorded purchase mortgage, and in some cases they might take out mortgages after their purchases.
 
November's cash buyers paid a median $95,000, up from $90,400 in October but down from $98,675 a year earlier.
 
Meanwhile, use of a form of low-down-payment financing that's popular with first-time homebuyers - government-insured FHA loans - dipped slightly in November, to 38.3 percent of all home purchase loans. That was down from an FHA share of 39.9 percent of purchase loans in October, 42.5 percent a year earlier, and 47.1 percent two years earlier.


Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach MSA - chart available on DQNews.com

Friday, January 6, 2012

Phoenix November Press Release

Phoenix Region November Home Sales

The number of homes that resold in the Phoenix area rose above a year earlier for the twelfth month in a row in November as activity increased across the price spectrum. A variety of median sale price measures trended higher month-to-month, and the region’s overall median sale price fell year-over-year by less than 1 percent – the smallest dip since the median began to erode consistently in summer 2010, a real estate information service reported.
 
A total of 7,766 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during November in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area. That was down 3.5 percent from the month before but up 9.0 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick, which tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.
 
Phoenix-area sales usually drop between October and November, with that decline averaging 7.1 percent since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin.
 
Total November home sales fell 10.2 percent short of the average number sold in November since 1994, but that was only because new-home sales remained very low. Resale volume fared much better: The number of houses and condos resold in November – 6,912 – was 7.7 percent higher than the November average and was the highest for that month since November 2009, when 7,114 homes resold.
 
November sales rose year-over-year across most price segments. The number of new and resale homes that sold for less than $100,000 rose 4.6 percent year-over-year, while sales between $100,000 and $200,000 increased 11.4 percent. Deals in the $200,000 to $600,000 range rose 0.7 percent from a year earlier, while above $800,000 sales increased 4.9 percent.
 
The median price paid in November for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Phoenix region was $127,000. That was up 5.8 percent from October but down 0.4 percent from a year earlier. November’s median was the highest since November 2010, when it was $127,500. Also, the year-over-year decline in the median was the lowest since the median began to drop consistently in July 2010.
November’s median stood 51.9 percent below the all-time peak of $264,100 in June 2006.
 
The median price paid for resale single-family detached houses in November rose 5.0 percent month-to-month, to $124,900, and dipped 0.5 percent from a year earlier – the lowest year-over-year decline since that median began its downward slide in September 2010. The median price paid for resale condos in November rose to $81,500, up 5.8 percent month-to-month and up 8.7 percent year-over-year. That annual increase in the resale condo median was the highest since July 2006, when it rose 15.3 percent.
 
Another key price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for existing single-family detached houses, increased in November to $69, up from $66 the month before and the same as a year earlier. It was the first time since August 2010 that the median paid per square foot did not drop year-over-year. The November figure was 59.6 percent below the $171 peak median price paid per square foot in May and June of 2006.
 
At the county level in November, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses in Maricopa County was $72, up from $70 in October but down 1.8 percent from a year earlier. It was the lowest annual decline for any month since the measure began dropping consistently back in September 2010. The Pinal County median paid per square foot was $50 in November, up from $49 in October and up 7.4 percent from a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month to post a year-over-year gain. Prior to this October, the last year-over-year increase was in June 2010.
 
Absentee buyers, who include investors and vacation-home buyers, bought 43.4 percent of all Phoenix-area homes sold in November, down from 44.0 percent in October but up from 42.7 percent a year earlier. Absentee purchases peaked for the current real estate cycle at 47.1 percent in March 2011. In November, absentee buyers paid a median $103,000, up from $100,000 in October and up slightly from $102,000 a year earlier.
 
Cash buyers represented 40.8 percent of all sales in November, up from 39.7 percent in October and up a hair from 40.3 percent in November 2010. The record for cash buying was 48.0 percent in February 2011. November's cash buyers paid a median $96,000, up from $88,500 in October and up from $95,000 a year earlier. Specifically, these were transactions where there was no indication of a purchase loan recorded at the time of sale.
 
Many cash and investor buyers target distressed properties. In November, distressed sales dropped to 54.4 percent of all resale activity – the lowest level for any month since the figure was 53.1 percent in July 2008. Distressed sales are made up of lender sales of foreclosed properties, as well as “short sales,” where the sale price falls short of what was owed on the property.
 
Foreclosure resales, defined as homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, accounted for 38.5 percent of November resales – the lowest level since May 2008. November’s figure was down from 43.0 percent in October and 54.3 percent a year earlier. The peak level for foreclosure resales was 66.2 percent in March 2009.
 
Short sales represented an estimated 15.9 percent of November’s resale activity, down from 16.2 percent in October, but up from an estimated 13.8 percent a year ago and 13.9 percent two years ago.

Lenders foreclosed on 3,307 Phoenix-area homes in November, up 16.2 percent from October and up 9.5 percent from a year earlier. During the first 11 months of 2011, lenders foreclosed on 48,935 Phoenix-area homes, down 11.8 percent from the same period in 2010. The figures are based on the number of Trustees Deeds filed with county recorder offices. The document signals that a home was lost to foreclose.

Chart is available at DQNews.com

Monday, January 2, 2012

Las Vegas November Press Release

Las Vegas Region November Home Sales

The number of homes sold in the Las Vegas area rose year-over-year for the fifth consecutive month in November as a surge in sub-$200,000 transactions made up for a decline in activity above that threshold. Prices appeared flat, with the region’s overall median sale price stuck at $115,000 for the third consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.
In November, 4,460 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was down 3.1 percent from October but up 11.2 percent from November 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.
A dip in sales between October and November is normal. On average, sales have fallen 3.9 percent between those two months since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Las Vegas region statistics begin.
Last month the number of homes that resold rose 11.3 percent on a year-over-year basis, marking the 11th consecutive month in which resales have posted an annual gain. It was the highest number of resales for a November since 2009, and the second-highest since 2005. November sales of newly-built homes also rose from a year earlier, by 9.8 percent, but were still the second-lowest on record for a November. New-home sales have risen year-over-year for the past five consecutive months.
Total sales last month were 2.0 percent higher than the average number of homes sold in November since 1994, while resale activity (excludes new homes) was 45.5 percent above average for a November.
Once again, sales were strongest in the lower price ranges. The number of November transactions below $100,000 climbed 32.8 percent from a year earlier and made up 41.6 percent of all deals, compared with 34.9 percent of all sales in November 2010. The number of sales below $200,000 last month rose 16.5 percent year-over-year, while the number above $200,000 fell 8.8 percent from a year earlier.
Robust Las Vegas home sales below $200,000, and especially below $100,000, have put 2011 on track to have the highest total home sales in five years and the highest resale activity in six years. The number of new and resale houses and condos that sold between January and November this year totaled 50,586, up 6.9 percent from the same period last year and the highest since 2006, when 74,608 homes sold during that 11-month period.
This year 45,637 homes resold between January and November, up 8.6 percent from last year and the highest for that period since 2005, when 56,512 homes resold.
The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Las Vegas metro area last month was $115,000, up insignificantly from $114,950 in October and down 9.5 percent from $127,050 in November 2010. It was the 14th consecutive month in which the median fell year-over-year.
Last month’s median was 63.1 percent short of the peak $312,000 median in November 2006.
The median’s recent decline to levels not seen since the mid 1990s can be attributed to several factors: home price depreciation; robust sales of low-cost foreclosures; robust sales to investors, who mainly target low-cost properties; extraordinarily low new-home sales (new homes tend to sell for more than resale homes); and higher-than-usual condo resales (condos tend to be the least expensive homes).
November’s new-home sales represented 11.0 percent of all transactions, compared with a monthly average of 28.5 percent of all sales over the last decade. November’s condo sales represented 17.7 percent of total Las Vegas sales, compared with a 10-year monthly average of 13.8 percent.
An alternative home-price gauge – the median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses – held steady last month at $66, the same as in October but down 10.8 percent from $74 a year earlier. The October and November figure was the lowest since at least 1994 and was 65.3 percent below the peak $190 paid per square foot in May and June of 2006.
In November, a form of low-down-payment financing that’s popular with first-time home buyers – government-insured FHA loans – accounted for 39.4 percent of all home purchase loans. That was up from 38.4 percent in October but down from 45.0 percent a year earlier. The current cycle’s peak was 55.1 percent in September 2008.
Cash buyers purchased 48.9 percent of the Las Vegas-area homes sold last month. That was down from 49.3 percent in October and 49.4 percent a year earlier. The record was 56.7 percent this February. Cash purchases are where there is no corresponding purchase mortgage in the public record.
Cash buyers in November paid a median $82,000 for a home in the Las Vegas area, down from $84,000 in October and down from $95,500 a year earlier.
Absentee buyers – mainly investors and vacation-home buyers – purchased 46.2 percent of all homes sold in November. That compares with 46.6 percent in October, 43.9 percent a year ago and a record 49.9 percent in March this year. Absentee buyers paid a median $90,000 last month, the same as in October and September but down from $105,000 a year earlier. Absentee buyers are those who indicated at the time of sale that the property tax bill will go to a different address.
Distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up more than two-thirds of the Las Vegas resale market last month.
Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 52.4 percent of the Las Vegas resale market in November. That was down from 52.8 percent in October and 53.1 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales peaked at 73.7 percent of the resale market in April 2009. Last month’s figure was the lowest since September 2010, when it was 50.8 percent.
Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 14.8 percent of Las Vegas-area November resales. That compares with an estimated 12.7 percent in October, 13.2 percent a year ago, and 11.7 percent two years ago.
In the wake of a new Nevada law that creates additional requirements for lenders trying to foreclose on properties, the number of notices of default (“NODs”) filed in Clark County has plummeted in recent months. However, default filings began to pick back up last month, when lenders filed 1,281 NODs, up 51.5 percent from the 846 NODs filed in October, but down 74.9 percent from 5,093 NODs filed in November 2010. The notice of default is the first step in the formal foreclosure process.
The number of homes foreclosed on in the Las Vegas region in November rose from both October and a year earlier. Lenders foreclosed on 1,931 single-family house and condo units last month, up 0.1 percent from October and up 10.5 percent from a year earlier.
During the first 11 months of this year, lenders foreclosed on 30,986 house and condo units in Clark County, up 15.8 percent from the same period last year. The peak year for that 11-month period was 2009, when 31,719 homes were lost to foreclosure between January and November. The figures are based on the number of Trustees Deeds filed at the county recorder’s office.
Las Vegas Home Sale Chart is available at DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

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