New-Home Sales Jump to Four-Year High - Housing Data, Sales - Builder Magazine

New-Home Sales Jump to Four-Year High - Housing Data, Sales - Builder Magazine

For builders wary of reports that the housing market is back on the rebound, January’s new-home sales numbers offered an excuse to get optimistic.

Sales of new homes jumped 15.6% last month compared with December, rising to an annual rate of 437,000, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Year over year, sales were up 28.9%. December’s numbers too were revised up by 9,000 sales, though November’s estimate was moved down by 5,000. Improvements swept across all four regions, and the months’ supply fell to 4.1, the lowest level seen since March 2005. 

Even after disclaiming that the new-home sales figures are not very well estimated, Patrick Newport and Stephanie Karol, economists at IHS Global Insight, admitted that “it’s OK to hi-five January’s numbers,” in a release discussing the numbers today. 

“Prior to this release … the new sales numbers were not rising fast enough to justify the pickup in builder sentiment and single-family housing starts over recent months. January’s new-home sales figures tell us that builders were justified in ramping up on starts and that they are likely to pick up the pace this year, since inventories remain lean.”

Charlotte-area home prices up 5.3 percent year-over-year in December - Charlotte Business Journal

Charlotte-area home prices up 5.3 percent year-over-year in December - Charlotte Business Journal

Metro Charlotte’s home prices closed out the year with a 5.3 percent increase in December, compared with the same time the previous year, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

Local home prices compared on a monthly basis were nearly flat, declining 0.4 percent in December from November, which is attributed to seasonal weakness, the latest S&P/Case-Shiller report says.

The index, released Tuesday, is the latest of several months of rising increases in year-over-year figures. November saw a 5.1 percent jump in year-over-year returns.Area home prices rose 4.1 percent in October from the same time the previous year, 3.5 percent in September, 2.8 percent in August and 2.2 percent in July. That's a considerable improvement from June, when the annual increase was 0.9 percent.

S&P’s monthly index tracks 20 metro areas as well as composites of the top 10 and top 20 markets.

The report's composite of the top 20 cities leapt 6.8 percent for the year ending in December. The top 10 cities posted 5.9 percent growth.

And the national composite for 2012 showed an overall 7.3 percent increase, the index states. For the fourth quarter of 2012, average home prices across the country have returned to fall 2003 levels.

"From its low in the first quarter, it surged in the second and third quarter and slipped slightly in the 2012 fourth period," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, states in the report. "The 10- and 20-City Composites, which bottomed out in March 2012, continued to show both year-over-year and monthly gains in December."

Home prices in 19 of the 20 markets tracked improved in December compared with the same time period a year ago. New York, as was the case last month, is the one city that posted a decline (-0.5 percent) in annual home prices.

However, Blitzer adds a caveat: "These movements, combined with other housing data, suggest that while housing is on the upswing, some of the strongest numbers may have already been seen."

Other items of note in the index:

•The Phoenix market once again shows double-digit annual gains, with a 23 percent gain in home prices for December compared with a year earlier. That’s up from 22.8 percent in November. Home prices in that market have grown for 15 months in a row, including eight straight months of double-digit increases.

•The Atlanta and Detroit markets reported their biggest year-over-year increases of 9.9 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively, since the index began tracking prices in January 1991.

• The Dallas, Denver, and Minneapolis markets posted their largest annual increases since 2001.

Charlotte home prices continue climb | CharlotteObserver.com

Charlotte home prices continue climb | CharlotteObserver.com

Charlotte-area home prices rose 5.3 percent in December for the year, further evidence the market’s rebound is sticking, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home-price indices released Tuesday.

On a monthly basis, home prices dropped 0.4 percent in December from November.

Locally, last year’s prices continually climbed compared to 2011 levels. Real estate agents say the market is changing to favor buyers.

Nationally, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 7.3 percent during 2012, surging in the second and third quarters, officials said. Of the 20 cities, only one -- New York -- posted a decline.

“Home prices ended 2012 with solid gains,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Housing and residential construction led the economy in the 2012 fourth quarter.”

Lower home prices, historically low interest rates and increasing consumer confidence have helped fuel Charlotte’s real estate market. The number of distressed homes, including foreclosures, have been falling, boosting buyer confidence and helping raise prices. The amount of available homes for sale has also fallen, boosting competition.

Homes priced well and in desired locations are especially popular, Charlotte real estate agents say.

Julie Sharpe, area manager with Redfin, said she listed a home in south Charlotte in early February. She said she had a request to see the home within an hour and received three offers within two days. The house is currently under contract.

One promising trend she has noticed: More homeowners are starting to see home values rise above their outstanding mortgages. When the real estate market crashed, many people wanted to sell their homes but found themselves owing more than they were worth.

“It’s a real game changer for some of the folks who just couldn’t sell their homes,” Sharpe said.

Average U.S. home prices are back to autumn 2003 levels but remain down roughly 30 percent from their summer 2006 peaks. Home prices in Atlanta and Detroit, however, lag the recovery and remain below January 2000 levels, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index.

Despite the relatively rosy report, Standard & Poor’s officials sounded a note of caution: The 20-city composite bottomed out in March 2012. The composite has continued to show both year-over-year and monthly gains, but officials say the data suggests “that while housing is on the upswing some of the strongest numbers may have already been seen.”

The S&P/Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/26/3879206/charlotte-home-prices-continue.html#storylink=cpy

Housing: It's Becoming a Seller's Market - Developments - WSJ

Housing: It's Becoming a Seller's Market - Developments - WSJ

National Association of Realtors

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday what home buyers in many parts of the United States have known for months: it’s becoming a seller’s market.

The number of homes listed for sale in January fell by 4.9%, leaving 1.74 million properties on the market. That’s the lowest since December of 1999, when there were 1.71 million homes on the market. By contrast, there were 2.91 million homes on the market two years ago at this time.

After adjusting for seasonal factors, home sales rose by just 0.4% in January, to an annual rate of 4.92 million units. Still, that’s up from 9.1% one year ago.

The upshot is that there’s a growing pool of buyers chasing a shrinking supply of homes. If the trend holds, prices will keep going up. At the current pace of sales, it would take just 4.2 months to sell the current supply of homes available for sale, down from a 6.2 months’ supply one year ago.

While inventories typically increase in the spring, the Realtors’ group has expressed growing concerns that sales volumes are being held back by the lack of choice. This is good news for homeowners who have watched home prices drop over the last six years, but it’s bad news for buyers—and for anyone that makes their living selling real estate.

Inventory declines have been the most dramatic in California, Arizona, and other markets that witnessed some of the largest home price declines. Those cities have large numbers of underwater borrowers—people who owe more than their homes are worth—while many others may have equity but aren’t willing to sell because prices have fallen so far.

Investors have also been aggressive in buying up properties that are selling for less than their replacement cost.

National Association of Realtors

Home sales could rise to 5.2 million units this year, an increase of nearly 12% from last year, according to economists at Goldman Sachs.  They base their forecast on household formation and demographics, which both suggest rising demand for housing in the coming years, and affordability measures such as mortgage rates and home prices.

But the economists note that there’s a considerable amount of uncertainty that could make those targets hard to hit, particularly if there’s nothing for would-be buyers to purchase.

Don’t Worry About the January New Construction Data - Business - Builder Magazine

Don’t Worry About the January New Construction Data - Business - Builder Magazine

Metrostudy boots-on-the-ground evidence shows widely distributed recovery

By 

Jonathan Smoke

The Commerce Department released the initial reading on housing starts in January and the 890,000 number represented a decline of 8.5% over December’s revised number of 973,000. As we typically see, the December number was revised up (from 954,000). The January change was within the margin of error, so statistically the initial January ready was meaningless as it often is. The decline in the SAAR rate was entirely caused by a statistically significant decline in multifamily starts. Meanwhile, single family starts registered the highest SAAR rate since August 2008 (after December’s initial reading was revised down).

So what can we gather from the monthly survey based data? We know that starts are up significantly year over year. Also, it looks as though single family is strengthening while multifamily is slowing down.

Contrast that with the numbers that Metrostudy collects each quarter by driving 30,000 new home subdivisions and counting lots, starts, inventory, and closings. This data is not subject to wild revisions or broad confidence intervals, and it paints a clear picture of broad recovery clearly taking root around the country.

From our data, we know that starts are up nearly 30% year over year. And across 33 regions, only one—the Rio Grande Valley of Texas—registered a decline. And many regions registered some eye-popping increases of 60% or more including Boise, St. George (Utah), Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Northern California. Even long suffering Atlanta registered an increase year over year of more than 50%.

The nation’s most important housing markets have turned a corner. Housing is on the mend, and new construction is an economic contributor we can count on for 2013. Stay tuned for accurate readings of what’s going on using real, complete, and consistent local market data.

5 Reasons to be Optimistic about Housing - Business - Builder Magazine

5 Reasons to be Optimistic about Housing - Business - Builder Magazine

 

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At 1.1 million units, Mark Zandi's 2013 housing starts forecast is more optimistic than most (the consensus forecast is about 950,000 units). But he says 5 sets of fairly simple numbers justify his bright outlook.

Set #1: At about 3.5%, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is at its lowest point in 2 generations.

Set #2: The dollar volume of mortgage lending, while still depressed compared to historical averages, is increasing steadily.

Set #3: Housing values, after spiking at unrealistic levels between 2004 and 2008, are back to normal. (See chart #1).

Set #4: Housing supply and housing demand, which were out of whack from 2007 to 2011, are back to the long-term trendline. (See chart #2)

Set #5: 2013 will be the fourth year in a row that the U.S. economy adds at least 2 million jobs, and job growth drives housing demand and housing starts.

You do the math. Seems to add up to a better housing market to me.

January Existing-Home Sales Hold with Steady Price Gains, Seller’s Market Developing | realtor.org

January Existing-Home Sales Hold with Steady Price Gains, Seller’s Market Developing | realtor.org

WASHINGTON (February 21, 2013) - Existing-home sales edged up in January, while a seller's market is developing and home prices continue to rise steadily above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors^®. Sales rose in every region but the West, which is the region most constrained by limited inventory.

Total existing-home sales¹, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million in January from a downwardly revised 4.90 million in December, and are 9.1 percent above the 4.51 million-unit pace in January 2012.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said tight inventory is a major factor in the market. "Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady," he said. "In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We've transitioned into a seller's market in much of the country."

Total housing inventory at the end of January fell 4.9 percent to 1.74 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.2-month supply² at the current sales pace, down from 4.5 months in December, and is the lowest housing supply since April 2005 when it was also 4.2 months.

Listed inventory is 25.3 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is at the lowest level since December 1999 when there were 1.71 million homes on the market.

"We expect a seasonal rise of inventory this spring, but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequent incidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth," Yun explained.

The national median existing-home price³ for all housing types was $173,600 in January, up 12.3 percent from January 2012, which is the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases; that last occurred from July 2005 to May 2006. The January gain is the strongest since November 2005 when it was 12.9 percent above a year earlier.

Distressed homes⁴ - foreclosures and short sales - accounted for 23 percent of January sales, down from 24 percent in December and 35 percent in January 2012. Fourteen percent of January sales were foreclosures and 9 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 20 percent below market value in January, while short sales were discounted 12 percent.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.41 percent in January from a record low 3.35 percent in December; it was 3.92 percent in January 2012.

NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif., said homes are selling faster. "The typical home is selling nearly four weeks faster than it did a year ago," he said. "In this environment, Realtors^® can help buyers strike a balance between moving quickly and protecting their interests, such as making offers contingent upon a satisfactory home inspection and obtaining a loan; of course, a loan pre-qualification may help too."

The median time on market for all homes was 71 days in January, down from 73 days in December and is 28.3 percent below 99 days in January 2012. Short sales were on the market for a median of 94 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 47 days and non-distressed homes took 75 days; 31 percent of all homes sold in January were on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers accounted for 30 percent of purchases in January, unchanged from December; they were 33 percent in January 2012.

All-cash sales were at 28 percent of transactions in January, down from 29 percent in December and 31 percent in January 2012. Investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 19 percent of homes in January, down from 21 percent in December and 23 percent in January 2012.

Single-family home sales increased 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.34 million in January from 4.33 million in December, and are 8.5 percent above the 4.00 million-unit level in January 2012. The median existing single-family home price was $174,100 in January, up 12.6 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 1.8 percent to an annualized pace of 580,000 in January from 570,000 in December, and are 13.7 percent higher than the 510,000-unit level a year ago. The median existing condo price was $169,600 in January, up 9.4 percent from January 2012.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast increased 4.8 percent to an annual rate of 650,000 in January and are 12.1 percent above January 2012. The median price in the Northeast was $230,500, up 2.4 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 3.6 percent in January to a pace of 1.16 million and are 17.2 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $131,800, which is 8.6 percent above January 2012.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 1.0 percent to an annual level of 1.96 million in January and are 14.0 percent above January 2012. The median price in the South was $152,100, up 13.4 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West fell 5.7 percent to a pace of 1.15 million in January and are 5.7 percent below a year ago. The median price in the West was $239,800, which is 26.6 percent above January 2012.

South Charlotte home sales surge

South Charlotte home sales surge

Home sales in south Charlotte have surged in a year’s time, according to data from Carolina Multiple Listing Services.

In 2011 there were 2,995 home closings in the south Charlotte area compared to 3,747 closings in 2012, a 25 percent increase, according to MLS data.

The MLS figures show that Area 5 saw 1,974 homes sell in 2011 compared to 2,415 homes in 2012. The area includes the neighborhoods of Myers Park, Dilworth, SouthPark, Olde Providence, Ballantyne, Stonecroft and Piper Glen.

Area 4 saw 1,021 homes sold in 2011 compared to 1,332 in 2012. That area is southeast Charlotte and includes Matthews, Eastover, Elizabeth, Cotswold, Chantilly, Providence Plantation, Landsdowne and Stonehaven.

Low inventory

According to Carolina MLS data, housing inventory citywide has continued a downward trend, decreasing 42.7 percent in December 2012 compared to December 2011.

That trend continued in Area 5, which includes Ballantyne, Blakeney and Piper Glen. The area saw a 48.8 percent decrease in new listings during 2012, declining from 1,324 in December 2011 to 678 homes in December 2012.

Area 4, which includes Cotswold, Landsdowne, and Sardis, experienced a 34 percent decrease from December 2011 of 698 homes in inventory compared to December 2012 with 460 homes in inventory.

The result? Good news for sellers.

“I am seeing growth in home sales in my area,” said Ted Goldsmith, a real estate agent with Allen Tate’s Ballantyne office. “But what I’m seeing in south Charlotte and Wesley Chapel, Marvin and even the northwest quadrant of Union County on into Fort Mill and Indian Land, is buyers getting multiple offers. I’ll work with a buyer and we talk about a house and three days later it’s gone. Ballantyne is doing great.”

Debe Maxwell with Savvy + Co. Real Estate agreed.

“I just showed a property to a client on Saturday and reminded them that Monday was the magic day if you are going to make an offer,” she said. “The client called on Monday and wanted to see the property again, and sure enough, the selling agent said they had two other offers. My client had to pay a little bit more but won the bid.”

“You really have to be a strategist as a Realtor these days because the inventory is so low and we’re seeing multiple offers everywhere,” Maxwell said. She sells primarily in Midwood-Plaza, Elizabeth, Dilworth, Myers Park, SouthPark and along the Providence Road and Carmel Road corridors.

She said MLS figures show that 16 homes have sold in Piper Glen in the past six months. In 2012, 37 homes sold in the upscale neighborhood at an average price of $651,486. That compares to 2011 when 26 homes sold at an average price of $541,610.

Maxwell said sales in older south Charlotte neighborhoods such as Beverly Woods, Beverly Crest, Madison Park and Olde Providence are also climbing. She said the average home price in Olde Providence has jumped to $390,000.

The biggest difference from 2008, when the real estate market grew sluggish at the beginning of the recession?

“Buyers’ expectations and price points,” said Goldsmith.

The agent said comparing 2011 to 2012 in his office, “our sales are up 32 percent. That’s significant. Things are selling, but the key is the perception of the house. What’s selling is a perfect house at the right price. They are clearly staged homes that are primed and ready to go.”

Goldsmith said his buyers, who are primarily relocations to the area, want a house that is “impeccable” with no remodeling or repainting to do.

“Buyers really are looking for perfection,” he said.

Realistic pricing

Pricing is making a big difference in sales, he added, saying that homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range and $400,000 to $600,000 range seem to be moving as “two hot price points.” He added that homes more than $1 million are seeing sluggish sales.

“Sellers have become much more realistic and are pricing their homes better, but I’m still seeing multiple offers that are coming in more than the listing price,” said Maxwell.

“I’m seeing, on average, homes selling in about a six-month period, compared to two years ago it was eight, nine, 10 or 12 months on the market.”

Maxwell said in recent months she has seen an increase in south Charlotte buyers who have been wanting to move to a new neighborhood but have been cautious.

“A lot of folks have been thinking ‘I can’t wait until this market is moving,’ ” she said. “People are ready to get up from underneath their current homes and make a change whether it’s moving up or downsizing – they are ready to go.”

In Area 5, the average sales price increased 35.4 percent during 2012 to $379,968, while Area 4 saw the average sales price increase 13.1 percent to $303,343.

Interest rates on a 30-year mortgage loan are at 3.5 percent, but Goldsmith added that lenders are requiring much more paperwork. He said that most sales are taking 45 days from offer to closing.

Goldsmith said schools continue to be big attractions for buyers, and that south Charlotte schools as well as schools in Fort Mill and Union County are “an easy sell.”

“Ballantyne is one of my key markets and I think one of the key things is that there is a lot of retail and restaurant growth in the area right now,” he said. “Is it pushing the real estate sales? I don’t know but it seems to be helping. Maybe it’s the convenience of having so much nearby.”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/20/3855462/south-charlotte-home-sales-surge.html#storylink=cpy

Housing recovery momentum continues to build | HousingWire

Housing recovery momentum continues to build | HousingWire

By Megan Hopkins

 • February 15, 2013 • 11:37am

Momentum continued to grow in a snowball effect manner, with prices rising to a two-year high in December, according to the latest FNC report.

Battling a deceleration in economic growth, the housing recovery maintained a steady pace, shooting FNC’s residential price index up 5.4% year to date.

The recovery of the underlying property values is strongly influenced by a stabilizing foreclosure market. While many markets that were hardest hit still face challenges, there are signs that foreclosure prices have bottomed out.

As a percentage of total home sales, foreclosures were 17.8% in December, down from 24.0% a year ago.

The FNC 100-MSA, which is based on recorded sales of non-distressed properties in the 100 largest metropolitan areas, revealed that December home prices remained relatively unchanged from the month before, but still rose 4.9% on a year-over-year basis.

The 30-MSA and 10-MSA composite indices paralleled the 100-MSA momentum, relatively unchanged from November and up 5.8% from December 2011.

Click on the image below to see the monthly index trends.

The housing markets varied widely throughout the country. Baltimore, Chicago, Houston and San Antonio fell relatively flat over the last 12 months. Conversely, Phoenix and Denver saw double-digit growth. Chicago continues to underperform other major markets that make up the FNC 30-MSA index.

Real estate broker Redfin also released its real-time home price tracker Friday, revealing that sales volume fell by 20% from December, but were up 12% from overall 2012 levels — the strongest January in four years. Phoenix led the price tracker, with a 31% increase in home prices year-over-year.

Inventory continues to shrink as buyer demand grows, with the top seven markets showing the largest drop in inventory all in California: Sacramento (70% decrease), San Francisco (63.7% decrease), San Jose (61.2% decrease), Ventura (60.3% decrease), Los Angeles (57.3% decrease), Inland Empire (54.7%) and San Diego (52.4% decrease).

Because the inventory is so small, homes are being snagged off the market quickly. The top five fastest-selling markets were also all in California: San Jose, San Francisco, Ventura, Los Angeles, Inland Empire and San Diego.

Housing Inventory, Already Low, Dropped Further in January - Developments - WSJ

Housing Inventory, Already Low, Dropped Further in January - Developments - WSJ

By Nick Timiraos

See inventory and prices in major markets.

The number of homes listed for sale, which stood at an 11-year low at the end of last year, fell even further in January, according to a report released Thursday.

There were just 1.48 million homes listed for sale at the end of January, down by 5.6% from December and by 16.5% from one year ago, according to data compiled by Realtor.com. That’s the lowest level since the firm began its count in 2007. The National Association of Realtors separately reported last month that inventory ended 2012 at an 11-year low.

It’s normal for inventories to decline in December and January, as home sellers wait for the start of the spring buying season to list their homes for sale. But the shortage of homes for sale in a growing number of U.S. markets is maddening for would-be buyers who frequently complain that there aren’t enough good choices. Bidding wars are becoming more common.

Of the 30 largest U.S. markets, only Miami saw inventories increase in January from December, though they were still 10% below last year’s level. Other cities that have witnessed huge drops over the past year saw more modest monthly declines: inventories fell by less than 2% in Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Several others reported huge monthly declines. There were just 1,800 homes listed in San Francisco, down by 21% from December and by 47% from one year ago. There were fewer than 4,000 homes listed in Seattle, down by 9% from December. Last year at this time, there were 7,175 listed for sale, and two years ago, there were more than 11,000.

Seattle and San Francisco have witnessed some of the sharpest price increases over the past year; median asking prices were up by 16.4% and 23.7% in both cities, respectively. Nationally, median asking prices were down by 0.5% from December and up by 0.8% from one year ago.

Housing inventory is low right now for several reasons. Notably, housing demand has picked up over the past 18 months, first as investors moved in to snatch up bargains on distressed properties, and later as demand from traditional buyers has picked up. Many investors have been buying homes that can be held as rental properties, which has kept them off the market.

Meanwhile, banks have slowed down their pace of foreclosure. The share of delinquent mortgages has been declining over the past three years, though it is still high. Lenders and other mortgage companies are also facing new processing requirements for foreclosures in some states, such as California, that have led to further declines in foreclosed-property listings.

A separate report Thursday from RealtyTrac, a real-estate firm, said that newly initiated foreclosures dropped by 11% in January and stood 28% below last year’s levels to a 6½ year low. A large part of that decline was due to the new “homeowner bill of rights” that took effect in California.

Many homeowners may be unwilling or unable to list their homes for sale because they don’t have any equity, or because they don’t have enough equity to sell their home and make a down payment their next home. Others that have equity may simply be unwilling to sell at a steep discount to prices that they would have paid in 2005, 2006 or 2007.

The Realtor.com figures include sale listings from more than 800 multiple-listing services across the country. They don’t cover all homes for sale, including those that are “for sale by owner” and newly constructed homes that aren’t always listed by the services.

Ryland Homes Announces the Grand Opening of Tuscany in Waxhaw, North Carolina

Ryland Homes Announces the Grand Opening of Tuscany in Waxhaw, North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ryland Homes (NYSE:RYL) announces the grand opening of their newest community, Tuscany, in beautiful Waxhaw, NC. Grand Opening festivities will be held on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a live radio remote featuring WKQC. Guests will enjoy lunch and a dessert bar catered by Dean and Deluca, horse-drawn carriage rides throughout the community and a bounce house for the kids. Tuscany features two collections of homes: the Discovery and Signature Collections. This spectacular development features ENERGY STAR^® certified homes on oversized, wooded homesites, as well as fantastic amenities, low Union County taxes and award-winning Union County schools.

The Discovery Collection includes six two-story home designs, ranging from 1,800 sq. ft. to more than 3,500 sq. ft. Starting from the $240’s, these four bedroom homes feature crawl spaces, spacious kitchens, stainless steel appliances, and countless My Style® Design Center upgrades.

The Signature Collection showcases nine different floor plans, ranging from 2,400 sq. ft. to more than 5,000 sq. ft. This collection offers up to one-acre homesites from the $280’s to the $400’s. These three, four and five bedroom homes offer crawl space foundations, side-entry garages and the option for a third-story bonus area. Basement homesites are also available.

Tuscany provides a desirable secluded feeling, but still allows the convenience of easy access to shopping, dining and all major highways. With a walking trail, a park with multiple sports recreation areas, an oversized pool with a kids’ beach and a state-of-the-art clubhouse, residents can lead an active lifestyle with the many amenities this community offers.

For more than 45 years, homebuyers have trusted Ryland Homes for their truly livable designs, great neighborhoods, outstanding quality and a commitment to complete satisfaction in their new home. With national strength rooted in local focus, and a dedication to building energy-efficient homes that are a better value to their customers, Ryland Homes and its dedicated team takes pride in the day-to-day commitment to their customers.

Housing as an Investment? Yes, That Idea Is Back - Businessweek

Housing as an Investment? Yes, That Idea Is Back - Businessweek

Should you look at housing as a (good) investment?

For the love of five years of foreclosures, bank failures, and congressional testimonies, have we learned nothing? Bobcats and coyotes, after all, were taking over condemned houses with antifreeze-green pools. That’s pretty Mad Max where I come from.

Don’t look now, but with the sector resurgent—prices for single-family homes climbed in 88 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter—the idea of “house as nest egg” is making a comeback. The most recent national median price for an existing single-family home is about $179,000, a 10 percent rise from a year earlier, which was the biggest gain since 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Still, Yale professor and home-price tracker Robert Shiller says housing remains a pretty crummy investment over the long run. He calculated (PDF) that real (after-inflation) home-price appreciation from 1890 to 1990 was approximately zero percent. “Housing,” he told Bloomberg TV, “takes maintenance, it depreciates, it goes out of style. All of those are problems. And there’s technical progress in housing. So new ones are better.”

He continued: “So why was it considered an investment? That was a fad. That was an idea that took hold in the early 2000s. And I don’t expect it to come back. Not with the same force.” The professor then compared the idea of investing in housing to investing in cars: “Buy a car, mothball it, and sell it in 20 years. Obviously not a good idea because people won’t want our cars. It’s the same with our houses. So they’re not really an investment vehicle.”

Those in the industry don’t buy that analysis. “The key to evaluating housing from an investment standpoint is to understand what gives real estate its value,” saysAndrew Jeffery, a director of acquisitions for Cirios, a San Francisco residential property investment shop. “Shiller misses the point by comparing investing in houses to investing in cars. Houses, and all real estate, have the potential to generate cash flow. Cars do not. The value of a property is derived from what multiple the market assigns this cash flow, which is based on a variety of factors, from location to property type and tenant profile.”

He says many homeowners—present and prospective—simply view homes as assets whose price appreciates and depreciates with market conditions, ignoring their key potential to throw off cash. Also, Jeffery says it’s critical for investors to grasp how leverage works in housing. Think about it: You put down $110,000 on a $540,000 house. If the value jumps to $650,000 when you’re ready to sell, you’ve effectively used debt to double your initial investment. Of course, interest payments and upkeep eat into that profit, and too many people know the pain of owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. But the tax deductibility of mortgages mitigates the risks.

Jeffery says that thanks to leverage, a person who buys a house and rents it out will come out ahead of someone who invests the same amount of money in the stock market—especially at the point when the incoming rent covers maintenance outlays and helps pay off the mortgage. Going by historical data, by the time the owner retires, the house should be worth more than what equities would have returned. Plus, he says, “You’d already own your cash-flowing fixed income assets to retire on.”

There is, of course, that holistic way of looking at housing: as an investment that at least holds its value as inflation rises, and whose dividends—a home office, kids playing in the backyard, school bus around the corner—pay out big, however nonfinancially.

The Cities Winning The Battle For The Fastest Growing High-Wage Sector In The U.S. | Newgeography.com

The Cities Winning The Battle For The Fastest Growing High-Wage Sector In The U.S. | Newgeography.com

In an era in which many businesses that pay high wages have been shedding jobs, the wide-ranging employment category of professional, scientific and technical services has been a relatively stellar performer, expanding some 15% since 2001. In contrast, employment dropped over 20% in such lucrative fields as manufacturing and information-related businesses (media, telecom providers, software publishing) over the same period, and finance and wholesale trade experienced small declines.

With an average annual wage nearing $90,000, this category — which includes computer consulting and technical services, accounting, engineering and scientific research, as well as legal, management and marketing services  — increasingly shapes the ability of regions to generate higher-wage jobs. In order to determine which metropolitan areas are doing best, Mark Schill ofPraxis Strategy Group compiled rankings based on both long and short-term growth, as well as the extent and growth of each region’s business service economy compared to the national average.

Notably absent from the top 10 are Chicago and the big metropolitan areas of the Northeast and California that have traditionally dominated high-end business services. The only exception is the third-ranked San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metropolitan statistical area, which has logged 21% growth in this sector since 2001, while expanding the proportion of such jobs in the local economy to nearly twice the national average. Over the past year alone the region added 22,000 professional and business services jobs, which was more than a quarter of all new positions during that period.

The continuing vitality of nearby Silicon Valley, and the region’s attraction to educated workers, have made the Bay Area easily the best performer of the nation’s mega-regions. Yet the other leaders on our list are generally smaller, growing metro areas whose expansions have been propelled by a rapid increase in employment in technology and professional management services. These include our top-ranked metro area, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas, which enjoyed over 46% growth in employment in professional services since 2001;  fourth-place Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and No. 5 Salt Lake City, Utah. These areas have enjoyed strong net-in migration of educated workers, and have poached companies from more expensive regions.

More surprising still has been the rapid ascent of such unheralded regions as second-place Jacksonville, Fla., and Oklahoma City (sixth place). In Oklahoma City, where business and professional services employment has grown over 30% since 2001, progress can be traced to thecity’s burgeoning energy sector.

But some other areas on our list are benefiting from a hitherto unnoted shift of high-end services to lower-cost and often lower-density regions. Jacksonville may be the poster child for this. Over the past decade, the northern Florida metro area’s population has grown 20% to over 1.3 million, but business services employment has expanded nearly 50%, the biggest jump of any of the country’s 51 largest metropolitan areas. Once a business services backwater, the share of jobs in that sector in the local economy has rapidly climbed towards the national average. This growth has been driven by management consulting as well as computer and data center services, an area in which Jacksonville has enjoyed among the highest growth rates in the country. One major player is web.com, which employs 500 people at its headquarters in south Jacksonville.

Other industries that rely on professional and business service providers have recently added jobs in the market, including BI-LO and Winn Dixie, which moved their combined headquarters  there, as did environmental services company Advanced Disposal. Financial giant Deutsche Bank has also  expanded in the area.

Jerry Mallot, president of the local business development group Jaxusa Partnership, suggests that low costs, a high rate of housing affordability and Florida’s lack of income tax make Jacksonville attractive to companies seeking to expand or relocate. The state, according to a recent reportfrom New Jersey-based www.BizCosts.com, is now home to five of the country’s least expensive and most pro-business cities. Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa also are all among the U.S. metro areas adding college-educated residents the fastest.

Of course up-and-comers like Jacksonville, Charlotte, and Oklahoma City, and even Portland (10th place), still lack the critical mass of high-end business services of many of the larger, more established metropolitan areas. Some have continued to see strong growth in their professional services sectors. Not surprisingly, this includes greater Washington, D.C. (11th), with 26% growth since 2001, keyed by the expansion of government and the regulatory apparat in recent years. The share of professional services jobs in the local economy is two and a half times the national average, the highest concentration in the country.

Yet many of America’s largest metro areas, including longtime business service bastions, have lagged well behind. New York, home to Wall Street and many leading consulting, legal and professional firms, ranks a mediocre 32nd out of the 51 largest metro areas, with relatively meager growth of 8.5%. The share of professional services jobs in the New York economy fell, as it did in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (36th) and Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (43rd). This suggest trouble ahead for the future.

Chicago was among the few areas that actually lost employment in this generally fast-growing field. The other big losers include Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (39th) , despite a decent  pickup in the last two years as the auto industry has rebounded;  the Cleveland metro area (47th); Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisc. (49th); Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. (50th); and last-place Memphis.

What do these trends tell us about the future of high-wage employment? Certainly size is not enough, nor even the possession of strong legacy in business service industries. The relative declines of our three largest metro areas — New York, Los Angeles and especially Chicago — alone tells us that. Chicago, which has touted itself as a capital of business expertise, now seems to be falling into the nether reaches long inhabited by older Rust Belt cities and Southern backwaters. Chicago leaders such as Mayor Rahm Emanuel needs to spent less time being possessed by what Time Out Chicago called a “world class city complex” and look into why, as urban analyst Aaron Renn suggests, the city’s vaunted global economy is not enough to produce enough high-wage jobs to sustain its vast surrounding region.

At the same time, being small and affordable, while helpful, is also not sufficient for business services success, as the presence of a number of smaller metro areas at the bottom of the list suggests. But the strong performance of many mid-sized cities  – ranging from Austin, Raleigh and Salt Lake to less-heralded Jacksonville, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Richmond — suggest that these jobs will likely continue to migrate to smaller, less costly and generally less dense urban regions.

Once considered the natural domain of megacities and dense urban cores, high-wage business service jobs, largely due to technology, can increasingly be done anywhere. This suggests that the playing field for such positions, rather than concentrating, will become ever wider. As the struggle for good jobs intensifies in the years ahead, expect the competition between regions to get even greater.

Professional, Technical, and Scientific Services in the Nation's Largest Metropolitan Areas
Rank		Index Score	2001 - 2012 Growth	2005 - 2012 Growth	2010 - 2012 Growth	2012 LQ	2001 - 2012 LQ Change	2012 Avg. Annual Wage
1	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	79.6	46.9%	38.8%	13.8%	1.43	5.9%	$90,649
2	Jacksonville, FL	79.1	50.2%	17.6%	8.4%	0.99	28.6%	$72,913
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	67.2	21.4%	23.6%	12.9%	1.97	11.3%	$120,442
4	Raleigh-Cary, NC	63.5	34.5%	26.1%	10.8%	1.40	0.7%	$81,025
5	Salt Lake City, UT	63.3	33.4%	26.2%	9.8%	1.10	6.8%	$76,341
6	Oklahoma City, OK	59.9	31.1%	16.6%	11.0%	0.89	8.5%	$62,374
7	Kansas City, MO-KS	59.5	24.2%	17.6%	10.4%	1.24	10.7%	$82,060
8	Richmond, VA	57.7	28.9%	16.9%	8.2%	1.01	9.8%	$82,184
9	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC	56.1	29.9%	24.4%	6.3%	0.97	5.4%	$81,171
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	55.1	24.6%	17.3%	10.2%	1.05	5.0%	$73,601
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	55.1	26.1%	11.7%	3.5%	2.45	1.7%	$119,460
12	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	54.6	45.5%	3.1%	2.1%	0.58	11.5%	$52,617
13	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	52.8	31.7%	11.3%	5.6%	0.88	7.3%	$81,189
14	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY	52.4	22.7%	19.4%	5.2%	0.93	10.7%	$64,449
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA	52.2	18.6%	14.4%	10.7%	1.30	3.2%	$87,575