Seriously Delinquent U.S. Mortgages Fall to Four-Year Low

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

Seriously delinquent U.S. mortgages fell to the lowest level since 2008 as employment improved and recovering housing demand enabled struggling borrowers to sell without losing money.

Home loans that were 90 days or more behind or in the foreclosure process fell to 6.78 percent of mortgages in the fourth quarter from 7.03 percent in the previous three months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report today. The rate was 7.73 percent a year earlier.  continue……

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Foreclosures, Mortgage, Pawleys Island Real Estate, Real Estate Information, Short Sales | Tagged | Leave a comment

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Climb by Most Since June 2006

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

Residential real estate prices increased in January by the most since June 2006, indicating the U.S. housing market strengthened at the start of the year

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities climbed 8.1 percent in January from the same month in 2012 after rising 6.8 percent in the year ended in December, the group said today in New York. The increase exceeded the 7.9 percent median forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey continue….

 

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Housing, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate, Real Estate Construction, Real Estate Information, Selling A Home | Leave a comment

Myrtle Beach area real estate continues its rebound New Homes Wanted

Posted on March 15, 2013 by

MYRTLE BEACH — The news for the Myrtle Beach real estate market is that it continues to improve month by month, but now a new problem has cropped up, said Linda Kostron, sales manager for the new home sales division of Caldwell Banker Chicora Real Estate.

Builders and Realtors are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for new homes.

Kostron said she’s constantly getting calls from Realtors who say they need a new home NOW, and are seeking her help to find it. Their clients have sold their houses and are anxious for a new place to call home. read on

 

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Georgetown County News, Housing, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, North Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate, Real Estate Construction, Real Estate Information | Leave a comment

Previously Owned U.S. Home Sales Climb to 4.92 Million

Posted on February 21, 2013 by

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes increased in January, showing more momentum for the industry coming off its best year since 2007.

Purchases of existing houses, tabulated when a contract closes, increased 0.4 percent to a 4.92 million annual rate, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 4.9 million pace. The number of available properties slumped to the lowest level since 1999.  read more….

Posted in Closings, Georgetown News, Housing, Mortgage, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, North Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate, Real Estate Information | Leave a comment

Homes Sell in Two Weeks With Low Supply for Spring Buyers

Posted on February 5, 2013 by

The U.S. housing market, entering its busiest season, is tipped so far in favor of sellers that almost a third of listings in areas from Washington, D.C., to Denver and Seattle are under contract in two weeks or less.

One home in Washington attracted 168 offers in December and sold for almost twice the asking price. About 70 people lined up last month for a lottery to select buyers for four available houses in a San Ramon, California, subdivision where, in August, bidders camped for weeks to secure purchases.  more of this story

 

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Georgetown County News, Housing, Mortgage, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, North Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Real Estate Information, Selling A Home | Leave a comment

Home building returns with smaller, less expensive models in Myrtle Beach area

Posted on February 1, 2013 by

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — The Grand Strand’s housing market is beginning to awaken from a long nap during the great recession, but planners are noticing that there appears to be new trends in the industry that are a result of the economic downturn that began in 2007.

The homes that builders are looking to build now are smaller and less expensive than those in the boom days prior to the recession, and they are building fewer in one construction phase than they did in the good times.

A briefing paper prepared recently for the North Myrtle Beach Planning Commission said there is now “a distinctly different product, reflecting what the current mortgage market will support. In almost every case, the new product has been less impressive in size and design, and less costly than what was previously approved.” Read Story

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Georgetown County News, Housing, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, North Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate | Leave a comment

Myrtle Beach area housing sales up, prices slightly down in 2012

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

MYRTLE BEACH — Single family home sales in Horry County jumped in 2012 by the highest percentage since 2005, according to figures from Tom Maeser, market analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors.

And while the median price paid for those homes in 2012 declined by 1 percent from 2011, the prices crept 2 percent upward in December – the largest December-to-December increase since at least 2006.

The median price for a single family home based on all 2012 sales was $160,000, the figures said. The median price for sales in December was $163,500.

Sales of condominiums also rose during 2012, but at a smaller percentage than single family homes. The prices of condominiums fell 3 percent during the year to a median price of $105,000, but were up 6 percent to $112,000 in December. Read Entire Article

 

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, North Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate | Leave a comment

Home-Price Gains Pick Up as U.S. Real Estate Market Rebounds

Posted on December 26, 2012 by

Home prices climbed in October by the most in more than two years as the real-estate market rebounds and contributes to the U.S. economic recovery.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities increased 4.3 percent from October 2011, the biggest 12-month advance since May 2010, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 30 economists in a Bloomberg survey projected a 4 percent gain.

Property values will probably keep heading higher as record-low mortgage rates, a growing population and an improving economy spur demand for housing. The turnaround in real estate is buoying household confidence and wealth, one reason why consumer spending is growing even as concern mounts that lawmakers will fail to stave off looming tax increases.

“The housing recovery is moving along quite well,” Sam Coffin, an economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said before the report. “Home prices are expected to keep rising as demand improves. Household formation has picked up, and that soaks up inventory pretty quickly.”

Read more

Posted in Buying New Home, Georgetown News, Housing, Mortgage, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate, Real Estate Information, Selling A Home | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Housing Starts in U.S. Post Best Three Months in Four Years

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

Builders in November capped the strongest three months for residential construction in four years and permits climbed as record-low borrowing costs buoyed the U.S. housing market.

Starts fell 3 percent to a 861,000 annual rate from a revised 888,000 annual pace in October, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington. The median estimate of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 872,000. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, advanced to a four-year high.

Low mortgage rates and an improving job market are boosting builders such as Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL), which are now able to raise prices as sales climb and inventory shrinks. Gains in housing will help shore up economic growth this quarter as businesses curb spending on concern lawmakers will fail to avert the tax increases and spending cuts slated to take effect in 2013.

read more:

Posted in Buying New Home, Closings, Housing, Mortgage, Real Estate Construction, Real Estate Information | Leave a comment

Real Estate | Property sales jump, prices drop in October in Myrtle Beach area

Posted on November 16, 2012 by

Real estate sales jumped in October along the coast at the same percentage rate they did statewide, according to data from the South Carolina Realtors association.

The number of homes and condos sold in Horry, Georgetown and southern Brunswick County, N.C., jumped 24 percent, to 754, in October compared to the same month last year, according to SCR. Statewide, sales also increased 24 percent, to 4,608 homes, condos and villas sold in October compared to the same month in 2011.

“Investors are still a strong part of the market,” said Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors. “They are seeing really good prices. They are taking cash or taking money out of other places and putting it in real estate.”

 

Posted in Georgetown County News, Georgetown News, Housing, Myrtle Beach News, Myrtle Beach Real Estate, North Myrtle Beach Real Estate, Pawleys Island Real Estate, Real Estate Information | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment