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July 27, 2006

Glut of unsold new homes across US hits record high

The glut of brand new unsold homes for sale across the United States hit a record high in June, a government report showed, as some economists warned of a worsening market in coming months.

The latest data appeared to confirm a cooling trend in the housing market, following a boom and sky-rocketing prices of recent years that have priced many hopeful new home owners out of the market. In recent months, a steady rise in interest rates hikes has prompted a downturn in home buying.

The full article can be found here

Posted by RE Bust at 02:36 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 16, 2006

Forbes Most Overpriced U.S. Cities 2006

View them Here

For all of you from Tucson, looks like you've made the list this year! 

Posted by RE Bust at 07:56 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 09, 2006

Are Manhattan Prices Going Up or Down? Mixed Messages Released This Week

Manhattan (REB's home city, by the way) has been throwing many buyers, sellers and brokers for a loop.  Are prices going up or down? Is the market really softening?  Can I bid under the asking price or is that still taboo?

This week, several reports were released with conflicting data about the state of the New York City market.  I'll break down some of the highlights:

  • A report by broker Prudential Douglas Elliman's showed a mean price gain from the first quarter to the second quarter of 6.6 percent, to $1.37 million. The median price gained 6.7 percent, to $880,000.
  • A second report, by The Corcoran Group, showed that the mean sales price declined 3 percent in the quarter, to $1.247 million. The median fell 3 percent to $775,000. The Corcoran Group also showed 3 percent declines for the year.
  • There were an average of 7,640 apartments listed for sale in the second quarter, from 6,904 the prior quarter and 4,965 a year ago, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman. Time on the market also lengthened, to 144 days - that's six days more than the prior quarter. Corcoran found a similar trend.
  • The Mean negotiated discount was 3.5%. 

Rising interest rates are causing would-be homebuyers to take a second look at many are opting for rentals.  This is causing rents to rise:

  • The mean rent reached a whopping $3,970 for leases signed last quarter, up 15 percent in a year. Median rent was $2,900, up 9 percent.
Link to the Full Article

Posted by RE Bust at 10:38 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 07, 2006

Bet on Future Housing Prices - Update

Remember last month when Real Estate Bust mentioned the Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures market for housing prices?  Although trading activity is relatively light at the moment, The Matrix, another real estate related blog, discusses early observations.  Here is a chart of contract activity over the next year:

 

Some important things to note here are that 1) traders are betting that Miami has the largest decline over the next year (7.67%) and that 2) The Top 10 City average is roughly a 5% drop.  If you're looking for evidence of a complete bust, perhaps this "soft landing" evidence isn't welcome news. 

Posted by RE Bust at 11:39 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 04, 2006

Building Activity Drops Sharply

Construction spending fell in May by the largest amount in nearly two years.

The Commerce Department reported that building activity dropped by 0.4 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.206 trillion following a 0.2 percent fall in April. It marked the first time in more than three years that construction spending had fallen for two consecutive months. May represented the biggest one-month decline since a 0.7 percent fall in September 2004.

Analysts are forecasting that construction will drop off this year in large part due to rising mortgage rates. 

Posted by RE Bust at 10:43 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)