Max Leaman Austin Mortgage

Austin Mortgage Market Update - For the week of December 31, 2012 - If you need some encouragement to follow the advice of the inventor of the automobile starter motor, look to last week's November New Home Sales, UP 4.4% to a 377,000 annual rate, and now UP 15.3% versus a year ago. The new home median price of $246,000 is UP 14.9% over a year ago. And the months' supply of new homes is now down to 4.7, equal to the lowest level since 2005. Economists say new home sales are usually the last part of the housing market to recover, so this is truly encouraging news.

TEXAS MORTGAGE MARKET UPDATE - For the week of December 17, 2012 - There are just two weeks to go for politicians to broker a deal to stop the country from going over a fiscal cliff of draconian tax hikes and spending cuts. Unfortunately, Washington isn't proceeding with much urgency. Investors reacted poorly to the uncertainty as all three major stock indexes slipped for the week. Not helping things, the economic data was mixed, as inflation cooled and Industrial Production beat expectations, but Retail Sales missed consensus targets.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of December 10, 2012 - What are rising now are asking prices for homes. A major Web real estate portal reports prices for homes listed there were up 3.8% in November versus a year ago. This is the largest year-over-year gain since the housing downturn began. In addition, the listing prices for the three months ending in November were up 0.8% from the prior three months. And the good news was widespread: annual gains were reported in 76 of the 100 largest metros. Finally, asking price gains are now beating rent price gains in the 25 largest rental markets.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of December 3, 2012 - We who toil in the housing market must surely be very strong by now, having overcome some powerful forces, not the least of which has been the downward pressure on home prices. The latest evidence that pressure is letting up came with the Case-Shiller home price index, UP 0.4% for September and UP 3% versus a year ago. Nineteen of 20 metros reported higher prices not just for the month, but for the past three months! The FHFA index of prices for homes financed by conforming mortgages was UP 0.2% for September and UP 4.4% over a year ago.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of November 26, 2012 - We may not be standing in the middle of a fully recovered housing market, but we're clearly moving in that direction. Existing Home Sales were UP 2.1% in October, staying right near their highest level in over two years. Sales are up 10.9% from a year ago. The median price is now $178,600, up 11.1% over a year ago. And the supply of existing homes dropped from 5.6 to 5.4 months. The inventory of existing homes is down to 2.14 million, the lowest level since December 2002.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of November 5, 2012 - We hope that in the face of the tragedy of superstorm Sandy, those affected will find joy: in neighbors coming together showing strength in community; in the armies of emergency workers, both professionals and volunteers, toiling around the clock; in the heartfelt support of people across the country, expressed on social networks, via emails, on radio and TV. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those now struggling to recover. If you'd like to contribute to the relief effort, a good place to start is the American Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of October 29, 2012 - The rest of the economy may be barely moving forward, but there's clearly some action in the housing market. New single-family home sales were up 5.7% for September and up 27.1% over a year ago. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000 units is the strongest sales pace since April 2010. The median sales price was $242,400, up almost 12% versus a year ago. 145,000 new homes were on the market, a 4.5 months' supply at the current sales rate, down from a record 12.1 months in January 2009.