Walden Mortgage Weekly Newsletter: August 7, 2012
Posted by Ashley Whitworth on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 12:53 PM
By Ashley Whitworth / August 7, 2012
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Rental Vacancy Rates Fall to Lowest in Decade:The share of empty homes for rent fell to its lowest level in a decade during the second quarter. This is very important for the housing market, as this type of trend is always a pre-curser for stronger housing demand. The residential rental vacancy rate declined to 8.6 percent from 8.8 percent in the January-March period, the Commerce Department said on Friday. The second-quarter reading was the lowest since 2002. In a positive sign for the housing market, the homeownership rate edged up to 65.5 percent in the second quarter... |
Bright Spots in Housing:Is a perfect storm brewing for housing? Last week we saw record low fixed interest rates, an increase in home prices, an increase in housing starts, an increase in Home Builder Confidence and a decrease in housing inventory available for sale. This provides a much brighter picture in housing. Home Prices Rise: According to the National Association of Realtors , the median home price rose 5 percent to $189,400 in June. Prices are rising because there are fewer homes for sale. The inventory of unsold homes fell... |
"Underwater" mortgages are when a person owes more on their home than the home is worth. Most borrowers that did find themselves underwater was due to a rapid fall in home prices when the housing market tanked. But as home prices come back, the number of borrowers that are underwater are falling. This is very important to the housing market because this has started to release a segment of purchasers that have been essentially trapped in their house, unable to sell it so that they could make the move to another home. The number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined...
