Today’s News Synopsis:
CBIA announced that housing affordability has decreased in 22 of California’s 28 metropolitan areas. The Commerce Department reports that housing and apartment construction increased by 2.8 percent last month. According to SFAR, there is a 3.5 month supply of housing inventory in the San Francisco market. A survey shows that large investment companies are spending more on REIT investments.
In The News:
CBIA – “California Housing Affordability Continues Slide in Fourth Quarter, CBIA Announces” (2-17-10)
“Housing affordability in California continued to fall throughout most of the state during the fourth quarter of 2009, the California Building Industry Association said today. The quarterly National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index found that homes were less affordable in 22 of the state’s 28 metro areas included in the report.”
Mortgage Bankers Association – “Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey” (2-17-10)
“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 12, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.5 percent compared with the previous week.”
Los Angeles Times – “Housing construction rises 2.8 percent in Janury” (2-17-10)
“The Commerce Department said Wednesday that construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 units. That was better than the 580,000 annual pace that economists were forecasting.”
Housing Wire – “Continental Conflicts Arising Over Banker Pay” (2-17-10)
“The majority of banking executives oppose government intervention in setting bank compensation parameters, according to a bank executive survey conducted from Nov. 17-Dec. 3, 2009 by US audit firm Grant Thornton. The sentiment, however, is not as greatly embraced abroad. The survey found 96% of 246 respondents do not agree the government should play a role in determining compensation, while 61% do not think a requirement to evaluate compensation will reduce excessive risk-taking.”
Housing Wire – “San Francisco Inventory at 3.5 Month Supply” (2-17-10)
“Despite a lull in luxury home sales, prices are up and inventory is down in the San Francisco market, according to a joint research report released by the Rosen Consulting Group and the San Francisco Association of Realtors. The report said there is a 3.5-month supply of single-family homes on the market, down from 5.8 months in January 2009. Condo inventory was at a 4.1-month supply, down from 9.5 months in January 2009.”
Housing Wire – “FHFA Proposes New Performance Goals for Fannie, Freddie” (2-17-10)
“The FHFA required, as the first goal for single-family housing, that 27% of the total number of mortgages purchased by Fannie and Freddie be of low-income family housing. The FHFA defined low-income as not exceeding 80% of the area median income.”
Inman - “5 arguments for open houses” (2-17-10)
“Want to pick a fight in a roomful of real estate agents? Ask them whether they think open houses are worthwhile. We did the virtual equivalent of that, sending out an online request for comments from real estate agents about the effectiveness of open houses — and they responded by filling up the old inbox faster than we could clean it out. Their responses range from passionate conviction that open houses are ‘a must,’ to cynical observations that they’re of benefit to no one other than to agents who are trolling for new clients.”
Realty Times – “Investor Report: REITs” (2-17-10)
“New York and London-based research firm Preqin reports that 62 percent of the large investment companies it surveyed said they plan to buy into – or add to their holdings – of private equity REITs, or real estate investment trusts. That’s up from 45 percent in a similar survey Preqin conducted in early 2009.”
Looking Back:
One year ago, the NAHB reported that builder confidence reached an all-time low. CBIA claimed that the pace of new home sales was continuing on a decreasing trend. The California government ended 20,000 jobs. S&P estimated that commercial real estate defaults would reach 3.5 percent by the end of 2009.
About Bruce Norris
Bruce Norris is an active investor, hard money lender, and real estate educator with over 30 years experience. Bruce has been involved in over 2,000 real estate transactions as a buyer, seller, builder and money partner.
Tags: affordability, apartment, audit, bank, bruce norris, CBIA, Commerce Department, construction, FHFA, Grant Thornton, housing, investment, mortgage, mortgage bankers association, NAHB, real estate, realtor, REIT, SFAR, Wells Fargo