89% of U.S. Homes Ended 2014 With Equity

Eighty-nine percent of all U.S. properties with a mortgage — or about 44.5 million — had equity by the end of the fourth quarter of 2014, according to CoreLogic.

If home prices rise by 5 percent, an additional 1 million HOME OWNERS currently in negative equity could come back into the black.

The majority of properties with equity are concentrated at the high end of the housing MARKET, according to the report. Ninety-four percent of homes valued at more than $200,000 have equity compared with 84 percent of homes valued less than $200,000.

While more HOME OWNERS are regaining equity overall, the number with negative equity is still high.

"Negative equity continued to be a serious issue for the housing MARKET and the U.S. economy at the end of 2014, with 5.4 million home owners still underwater," says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "We expect the situation to improve over the course of 2015."

The states with the highest number of properties in negative equity in the fourth quarter were:

Nevada: 24.2%
Florida: 23.2%
Arizona: 18.7%
ILLINOIS: 16.2%
Rhode ISLAND: 15.8%
On the other hand, the following STATES had the most homes with (positive) equity:

Texas: 97.4%
Alaska: 97.2%
Montana: 97%
HAWAII: 96.3%

NORTH Dakota: 96.2%


Source: “CoreLogic Q4 2014 Equity Report,” CoreLogic (MARCH 17, 2015)

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Hilton Head Island Real Estate Market Overview, February 2015

There has been talk of abundant cold and snow this winter (unless you happen to
live in California!). When weather patterns turn bad, like wicked bad, real estate
industry pundits tend to go gloom, assuming that Americans hungry for
homeownership are bothered by a little frozen precipitation. The nation will unfreeze,
inventory is expected to rise and home sales are widely expected to increase. These
are good times, indeed, and many of us now have an enchanting shared experience
that we can walk uphill to school both ways.
New Listings were down 1.5 percent to 474. Pending Sales increased 9.5 percent to
323. Inventory shrank 5.6 percent to 2,300 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 6.6 percent to $264,250. Days
on Market increased 8.2 percent to 119 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down
5.1 percent to 7.5 months, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.

In national financial news, rumors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could one day
be a thing of the past have people wondering about the future of the 30-year fixedrate
mortgage. But let's not sound the alarm just yet. A drastic change to lending's
gold standard is certainly not on the immediate horizon. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve
Chair Janet Yellen seems to have no immediate interest in raising interest rates for
the first time since 2006. The economy remains stable, which should keep housing
rolling through the short-named months.

Angelina Singleton Keller Williams Realty

Hilton Head Island & Bluffton

843-290-6513

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Pending Home Sales Surge to 18-Month High

A rise in buyer demand pushed pending home sales upward in January to the highest level since August 2013, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings. All regions across the country posted gains in January, except for the Midwest.

The Pending Home Sales Index rose 1.7 percent in January to a 104.2 reading – 8.4 percent above levels from a year ago.

"Contract activity is convincingly up compared to a year ago despite comparable inventory levels," says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. "The difference this year is the positive factors supporting stronger sales, such as slightly IMPROVING CREDITconditions, more jobs, and slow price growth."

Yun also notes improving conditions for traditional buyers looking to enter the market. All-cash sales and sales to investors are falling, which has created less competition for the traditional buyer who has already been faced with a tight supply of homes for-sale.

"All indications point to modest sales gains as we head into the spring buying season," says Yun. "However, the pace will greatly depend on how much upward pressure the impact of low inventory will have on home prices. Appreciation anywhere near double-digits isn’t healthy or sustainable in the current economic environment."

A Regional Look

Here’s a closer look at the performance of pending home sales across the country in January, according to NAR’s index:

Northeast: the Pending Home Sales Index moved up slightly by 0.1 percent in January to an 84.9 reading. It is 6.9 percent above year ago levels.
Midwest: the index fell 0.7 percent to 99.3 in January; it is 4.2 percent above January 2014.
South: the index rose by the largest amount in the South, up 3.2 percent in January to a reading of 121.9 – the highest since April 2010; the index is 9.7 percent above where it was a year ago.
West: the index climbed 2.2 percent in January to 96.4 and is 11.4 percent above a year ago.

Source: National Association of REALTORS®