Case-Shiller: Charlotte an exception to slowing growth in home prices in May - Charlotte Business Journal

Case-Shiller: Charlotte an exception to slowing growth in home prices in May - Charlotte Business Journal

Jen Wilson

Associate Editor/Online-Charlotte Business Journal

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The Charlotte market stood out as an exception to slowing growth in home prices in May, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

In its index released Tuesday morning,Case-Shiller reports a 1.4 percent rise in local home prices in May from April, noting that marks the area's largest monthly gain in more than a year.

And the Charlotte metro area posted an increase in home prices of 4.7 percent from May 2013, an acceleration from the 4.5 percent year-over-year rise posted in April, according to the report.

The Queen City stood alone in that regard, as 18 of the other 19 major metros tracked by the index saw annual growth in home prices decelerate in May, while Tampa, Fla., saw the rate of its gains hold steady.

"Housing has been turning in mixed economic numbers in the last few months," says David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Prices and sales of existing homes have shown improvement while construction and sales of new homes continue to lag. At the same time, the broader economy and especially employment are showing larger improvements and substantial gains."

The index tracks composites of the top 10 and top 20 U.S. markets. Those composites showed increases of 9.4 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, in May from the previous year, compared with respective over-the-year gains of 10.9 percent and 10.8 percent in April.

Case-Shiller notes that each of the cities on its index continue to post positive year-over-year returns. Nationwide average home prices are at summer 2004 levels, the report says, though they remain roughly 17 to 18 percent lower than the peak levels recorded in June and July of 2006.

More good news for Housing

http://m.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/news-wire/2014/07/22/sales-of-existing-homes-rise-to-fastest-rate-since.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2014-07-22&u=kxeEioSKSoHCqLJ35f+lEmOI+em&t=1406119536&r=full

Home builders' confidence index jumps in July as housing market benefits from better jobs market - Charlotte Business Journal

Home builders' confidence index jumps in July as housing market benefits from better jobs market - Charlotte Business Journal

Kent Hoover

Washington Bureau Chief

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Home builders’ confidence in the housing market surged in July, thanks in part torobust jobs growth in June.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Indexgained four points in July, hitting 53. That’s the first time it’s cleared 50 — the dividing line between good sales conditions for new single-family homes and poor sales conditions — since January.

NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder from Wilmington, Del., said the better-than-expected jump in the index shows that home builders’ confidence is “strengthening as pent-up demand brings more buyers into the marketplace.”

“As employment increases and those with jobs feel more secure about their own economic situation, they are more likely to feel comfortable about buying a home,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

All three components of the Housing Market Index increased in July, with the biggest gain coming in expectations for future sales, which jumped six points to 64. Current sales conditions gained four points to 57, while traffic of potential buyers rose three points to 39.

The most confident home builders are in the West and South, followed by the Midwest. The Northeast lags behind the other regions.

Charlotte home sales rise 3.7% in June | CharlotteObserver.com

Charlotte home sales rise 3.7% in June | CharlotteObserver.com

By Deon Roberts
deroberts@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Thursday, Jul. 10, 2014

Charlotte-area home sales jumped 3.7 percent in June from a year ago as low supplies continue to push prices higher, a report Thursday showed.

There were 3,631 purchases in the month, up from 3,502 a year ago, according to the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association report on existing-home sales.

Prices rose 7.5 percent on average, to $257,854, as the inventory of homes on the market fell to a 5.4-month supply from a 5.9-month supply the same month last year. A widely accepted definition of a seller’s market is one with a six-month supply of listings.

Low supplies, credited with helping boost prices in Charlotte and elsewhere, remain a factor in sizable annual appreciation gains.

“Inventory has been unchanged, fixed at 5.4 months’ supply for the past few months, which means prices across the region should most likely continue to increase as well,” Joe Rempson, president of the Realtors association, said in a statement.

June’s sales increase followed an annual decline in May sales. The Realtors association blamed the May decline largely on big investors scaling back purchases of single-family homes to rent them out.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/10/5035474/charlotte-home-sales-rise-37-in.html#.U77xG_ldXG8#storylink=cpy

Charlotte-area home prices up 6.6% in May, CoreLogic says - Charlotte Business Journal

Charlotte-area home prices up 6.6% in May, CoreLogic says - Charlotte Business Journal

Jen Wilson

Associate Editor/Online-Charlotte Business Journal

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The latest CoreLogic Home Price Index shows home prices in the Charlotte market, including distressed sales, were up 6.6 percent in May from a year earlier.

Home prices that month were up 2.4 percent from April in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill metro area, according to the report released Tuesday by data and analytics firm CoreLogic Inc.

With distressed sales such as short sales and real estate-owned transactions removed from the calculation, the local area’s home prices were up 7 percent from a year ago and up 2.3 percent from the previous month.

See Also

• Charlotte-area foreclosure activity continues steady decline

At the nationwide level, home prices logged a 27th consecutive month of gains, rising 8.8 percent in May from a year earlier with distressed sales included and 8.1 percent without those transactions, CoreLogic (NYSE:CLGX) says. The national monthly increases were 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

“The pace of home price appreciation is cooling off quickly as the weather warms up,” Mark Fleming, chief economist for the Irvine, Calif.-based firm, said in Tuesday’s report. “May’s 8.8 percent year-over-year growth rate is down almost three percentage points from just three months ago. The influences of modestly rising inventory and less-than-expected demand are causing price growth to moderate toward our forecasted expectations.”

In the Charlotte market, too, year-over-year growth in home prices has slowed in recent months.

CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi noted the continual climb in home prices across the country has mixed implications for the housing market.

“While the rapid rise in prices over the past two years has lifted many homeowners out of negative equity, it has also become a negative factor in buying decisions for prospective purchasers weighing affordability concerns,” Nallathambi said in the report. “As we move ahead, a moderation in home price increases over the next twelve months should help cool things down a bit and keep the housing recovery going.”