Single-Family Home Sales and Prices Rise Across the U.S.

October 22, 2013
Market: National

In September, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing single-family home sales continued their streak of 27 consecutive months of annual increases. The 5.3 million homes sold declined 2% month-over-month but rose 11% year-over-year.

In addition, single-family home prices also increased year-over-year, with the median price appreciating 12% annually to $199,200. With prices and mortgage rates rising, home affordability has hit a five-year-low, meaning the demand for multifamily is expected to rise in the coming months.

Las Vegas Housing Recovery Slows

October 20, 2013
Market: Las Vegas, NV

The Las Vegas MSA’s streak of 19 consecutive months of single-family home price increases finally came to an end in September. The median price fell 1.1% month-over-month to $180,000, still representing a 29% annual increase. According to reports from The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors this is the first monthly decrease since January 2012. Dave Tina, the organization’s president, lent some perspective to the situation: “We knew these rising home prices had to slow down sometime. This may be the beginning of more stable prices for the coming months.”

In terms of demand, of the 14,659 single-family homes that were listed for sale at the month’s end, 6,330 homes did not yet have an offer. That is That is a 12.8% increase in homes without an offer over the previous month and 60% increase year-over-year.

Read more at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Albuquerque Home Sales Reach Seven-Year High

October 16, 2013
Market: Albuquerque, NM

In Albuquerque, single-family home sales increased by 17.8% annually to 769 in September, according to the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors. That’s the highest monthly total in over seven years. Homes priced over $250,000 saw the largest jump, with sales activity spiking 22% from a year ago. Meanwhile, the median sales price improved at a more modest level, climbing 3.2% from September 2012 to $177,500.

Read more at the Albuquerque Business Journal.

Single-Family Home Prices Increase in Albuquerque and Across the U.S.

October 7, 2013
Market: Albuquerque, NM

According to CoreLogic, August single-family home prices for metro Albuquerque increased at a modest annual rate of 3.6%. Higher mortgage rates and the conclusion of the yearly summer “buying season” resulted in slightly lower annual gains in August compared to June and July.

National single-family home price growth was even more encouraging, with prices increasing 12.4% from August 2012. Every single state, and 99 of the 100 largest cities, saw year-over-year price growth.

Read more at Albuquerque Business Journal.

Denver Home Sales Fall as Prices Rise

October 6, 2013
Denver, CO

In the Denver MSA, single-family home sales fell 16% from August to September to 4,730 transactions. Despite the month-over-month drop, sales increased 20% year-over-year. Average sales prices also increased 8% year-over-year to $304,958 in September.

On average, for-sale properties spent 39 days on the market, a substantial decrease from last year’s average of 64 days. Kirby Slunaker, president of Metrolist, summarized the data: “Prices are stabilizing, competition for new listings remains, and inventory increases seem to be steadying the local market overall. All of our data points to a healthy market, which leads us to believe we are experiencing a true housing market recovery.”

Seattle Apartment Vacancies Drop Despite New Supply

October 2, 2013
Market: Puget Sound, WA

Dupre + Scott reports the overall apartment vacancy rate in the Puget Sound region fell from 5.5% a year ago to 4.6% today despite the 7,200 new apartment units that came online during this span (the most in a year since the early 1990s). This spike in demand is partly due to the 49,900 new jobs created in the region in the past year.

As apartment demand continues to increase, rents in the Puget Sound have risen correspondingly. Region-wide average rents jumped 6.6% year-over-year to over $1,100 and are expected to gain another 2.7% by March 2014.

Arizona and Texas Lead Nation in Expected Job Growth

September 30, 2013
Market: Arizona, Texas

According to Moody’s Analytics, Arizona will lead the nation in job growth over the next five years—growth is expected to reach 3% annually—with Texas a close second. Other Hamilton Zanze markets in the top 10 for projected job growth include Colorado (#3), Nevada (#6), Utah (#7), and Oregon (#10).

Additionally, Moody’s forecasts that Arizona’s economy will grow 4.6% in the next year. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer credited business and sales tax cuts for the state’s continued bounce-back from the recession, saying: “This report reinforces Arizona’s commitment, as a right-to-work state, to business growth and success, and validates the work we have done to make the Arizona comeback a reality.”

Phoenix Single-Family Prices Rise, Foreclosures Fall

September 23, 2013
Market: Phoenix, AZ

According to separate reports from Arizona State University and CoreLogic, single-family home prices in Phoenix are on the rise and foreclosures are declining. The median home prices jumped 30% year-over-year in July to $194,150. Foreclosures fell 56% during the same time span.

However, negative equity continues to plague the MSA. In Q2 2013, 231,000 homeowners found themselves underwater on their houses. That figure represents 26% of the state’s mortgage owners, nearly double the national rate of 14.5%.

Portland Home Prices Jump by Double Digits

September 18, 2013
Market: Portland, OR

Average home prices in Portland rose 14% year-over-year to $321,900 in August, sustaining the city’s streak of double-digit annual price increases, according to the Regional Multiple Listing Service. Prices remain 17% behind 2007 levels, when the housing market was at its peak.

New listings and pending sales also saw increases of 10.3% and 9.5% in August, respectively. Experts estimate it would take 3.1 months to clear the market of its unsold inventory, well below the 6-month level considered characteristic of a healthy market.

Read more at the Portland Business Journal.

Seniors Continue to Turn to MF Living

September 16, 2013
Market: U.S.

Continued recovery in the housing market is benefiting just about everyone – especially seniors, who throughout the country are selling their homes to move into multifamily housing facilities. As reported by CoStar, senior multifamily properties (including assisted living facilities) have seen a 35% annual increase in sales volume, from $1.18 billion last year to $1.59 billion in 2013. Per-unit sales prices, meanwhile, have seen dramatic decreases, falling from $88,000 in 2011 to $58,000 now.

So what does this all mean? Demand for senior housing facilities has seldom been higher, and investment companies are jumping on the trend. If multifamily demand in the 65+ demographic can keep up with growth forecasts, investment companies across the country stand to profit.

HZ Connection

A Recap of Noteworthy Multi-Family News