Posts (RSS)Summary of Foreclosed Home Search Results
A summary of foreclosed home search results across the country indicates that foreclosures persist in many areas because of high unemployment rates. However, some housing markets are recovering, with upticks in average sale prices and volumes of home sales.
In some markets, local real estate analysts point to signs of home prices bottoming out and increases in number of first-time home buyers.
In many markets, foreclosed home search results indicate that foreclosures have pushed housing affordability to levels affordable to a larger percentage of the local population.
In Southern California, home sales increased for the 11th straight month in May, with a significant rise in sales of homes priced above $500,000. Nearly 21,000 new homes, existing homes and pre-owned condos were sold in Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura and San Bernardino.
Across California, sales of new homes and existing homes soared by nearly 50 percent in April, compared to sales in April 2008. Although prices of single-family houses dropped by more than 36 percent from April last year, prices increased by 1.4 percent compared to March.
In Florida, despite continued defaults and growth of foreclosed home search lists, sales of pre-owned homes grew by 18 percent in April, with sales of pre-owned condos rising by 21 percent.
In North Carolina, despite the drop in pre-owned home price and foreclosed home search prices, sales of existing homes declined by almost 32 percent from April 2008 because of significant job losses in the manufacturing sector.
In Michigan, rising affordability levels have helped the state survived significant increases in foreclosure home search units. Despite large job losses in the state’s battered automobile industry, home sales increased by nearly 9 percent, with a staggering 23-percent increase in Detroit.
Housing affordability in Michigan pushed the increase in home sales as home prices fell by more than 30 percent from prices in April 2008.
In Massachusetts, home sales increased despite increases in home prices compared to March. Sales prices for single-family houses increased by nearly 10 percent in April compared to March, with median sales prices rising by almost 8 percent.
According to national real estate sales data, housing affordability reached its second highest level in April, with a family earning $60,900 being able to afford a house priced at $296,800 in April.
With this affordability level, many more renting families can do their foreclosed home search and then finally buy their own homes.