Max Leaman Austin Mortgage

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of June 17, 2013 - Here are two thoughts that should relieve some stress for those of us working in the housing market. Fannie Mae's May 2013 National Housing Survey reported that the share of American's who think now is a good time to sell and the share of those who think now is a good time to buy spiked sharply from April to May. 40% of respondents think it's a good time to sell, up from 30% the month before, the largest gain in the survey's 3-year history. And 76% of respondents think it's a good time to buy!

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of June 3, 2013 - Last week, Pending Home Sales took their place at the top, hitting their highest level since April 2010, when folks were rushing to close before the homebuyer tax credit expired. April Pending Home Sales, based on signed contracts for existing homes, were up 0.3% over March and up 10.3% over last year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Their chief economist predicts, "Total existing home sales are expected to rise just over 7%, to about 5 million this year."

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of May 20, 2013 - It definitely takes guts to remain optimistic in the face of some of the housing data coming at us these days. Last week, for example, we were greeted with a 16.5% drop in Housing Starts for April. It helps to dig into these reports. The dip was mostly due to multi-family starts, which are very volatile month to month, and were down 38.9%. Turns out, single-family starts were off just 2.1%. Taking a long-term view helps even more. Starts overall are up 13.1% versus a year ago, with single-family starts up a healthy 20.8%. So there.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of May 13, 2013 - Home prices also keep on going, and in a decidedly upward direction. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that for Q1 of this year, the median existing home price jumped 11.3% over last year, the largest annual gain since Q4 of 2005. But Q1 inventory was down 16.8%. The NAR's chief economist expounded: "Inventory conditions are expected to remain fairly constrained this year, so overall price increases should be well above the historic gain of one-to-two percentage points above the rate of inflation."

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of May 6, 2013 - Both taking opportunities and making them have driven the housing market recovery to new accomplishments. For Q1 this year, existing home sales were at their highest level since Q4 of 2009 and new homes sales were the highest since Q3 of 2008. Last week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Pending Homes Sales were up 1.5% in March and up 7.0% compared to March a year ago. In fact, this measure of contracts signed on existing homes has now been above year-ago readings for 23 months in a row!

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of April 29, 2013 - Even though the housing recovery is well underway, there still is evidence that more hard work needs to be done. Last week began with March Existing Home Sales off 0.6%, dropping to an annual rate of 4.92 million units. In addition, the months' supply of existing homes edged up to 4.7 from 4.6 in February. But even though existing home sales seem to have leveled off in the last few months, they're actually UP 10.3% versus a year ago. It's also encouraging to note that the median existing home price, at $184,300, is up 11.8% over last year.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of April 22, 2013 - Last week Housing Starts were reported UP 7.0% for March to a 1.036 million unit annual rate, 46.7% higher than a year ago and the highest they've been since 2008. But wait. The boost was all due to multi-family units, up 31.1% for the month. Single-family starts were down 4.8%, although they actually are UP a very healthy 28.7% from a year ago. Analysts tell us the multi-family sector is super volatile from month to month, but they expect large gains for home building overall for at least two years.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of April 15, 2013 - Last week gave us more evidence that this housing recovery, though growing slowly, will in fact endure. According to a major online real estate portal, listing inventory rose 3.5% from January to March. This beat the gains going into the 2012 Spring selling season, although inventories are still 15% off last year's levels, with only nine of 146 metros showing annual increases. Not surprisingly, the median age of inventory in March dipped to 78 days, down 12.3% from last year, and median asking prices were up 0.5% from February, gaining in 29 of the top 30 metro areas.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of April 8, 2013 - Patience may not quite be genius in the housing market, but it certainly is paying off. A report by a major real estate search and marketing site said home asking prices in March rose 7.2% annually, while rents on single-family homes were up just 0.1% for the year. Their chief economist explained: "Rising prices and flattening rents change the math. Investors will decide to sell units they've been renting, which would create new, desperately needed for-sale inventory. On the other hand, some renters watching prices rise will rush to buy before they rise further."

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of April 1, 2013 - Today being April 1, it's timely to note that fewer and fewer people are being fooled into thinking housing remains in the doldrums. Yes, the housing recovery has a distance to go, but there's mounting evidence it's well on its way. New Home Sales were up 12.3% in February compared to a year ago. After a super big hike in January, new home sales fell slightly in February, but they're still at a 411,000 annual rate. Plus, the median price of new homes sold was up 2.9% versus a year ago, with the average price up an impressive 14.5%!