U.S. homes are expected to lose more than $681 billion in value during 2011 – 35 percent less than the $1.1 trillion lost in 2010 – according to analysis of a recent Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.
The bulk of the total value lost during 2011 was in the first half of the year. From January to June, the U.S. housing market lost $454 billion. From July to December, Zillow projects residential home value losses will total a significantly lower $227 billion.
Regionally, only nine out of 128 markets showed gains in home values during 2011.
The majority (92 percent) of markets analyzed for the report showed home value losses for 2011. The biggest home value losses, in terms of total dollars lost in 2011, were in the large MSAs of Los Angeles (down $75.5 billion), New York (down $44.8 billion), and Chicago (down $41.7 billion). The large overall losses were due to the high number of homes in these metro areas, along with decreases in median home values.
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Housingwire
Pending home sales in California declined from October to November, but grew over last year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported last week.
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http://www.housingwire.com/2011/12/21/california-pending-home-sales-drop-in-november-2
CNNMoney
Housing starts shot up to an annual rate of 685,000 in November, up 9.3 percent from October and 24.3 percent higher than a year earlier.
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http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/20/real_estate/construction_building_permits/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3
Home values nationwide declined 0.3 percent in October compared with September, according to this month’s Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. However, the rate of monthly depreciation has stabilized as the housing market heads towards the bottom. On a year-over-year basis, the Zillow Home Value Index declined 5.1 percent to $147,900. Home values have fallen 23.7 percent since their peak in May 2007.
Regionally, 95 of the 156 of the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) covered by Zillow experienced monthly home value depreciation and 39 metros showed monthly home value increases. Twenty-two metros remained flat.
The foreclosure liquidation rate continued to decline in October with 8.1 out of every 10,000 homes in the country being liquidated. This is down significantly from the all-time high of 10.7 out of every 10,000 in October 2010 — just prior to the robo-signing controversy.
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Calif. median home price: October 2011: $278,060 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county October 2011: Marin: $781,250 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county October 2011: Lake County: $96,500 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: October 2011: 122., an increase of 3.1 percent compared with a prior year.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 12/1/2011 30-yr. fixed: 4.00% fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.30 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.78% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
