Columbia home sales up 16% in January

Home sales in the metro Columbia market jumped nearly 16% in January as the residential real estate market appears to be on the rebound, S.C. Realtors reported Wednesday. Read more

Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Credit Standards

Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit. Read more

Fed Announces Low Interest Rates Through 2014

The Federal Reserve announced today that they will keep interest rates low until at least late 2014 in an effort to help jump-start the sluggish economy by making it less expensive to borrow money across all segments of the economy. Read more

Mortgage Rates Reach New Record Lows

Mortgage rates were back to hitting record lows again, pushing housing affordability even higher to home buyers, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. For the sixth consecutive week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular choice among buyers, has averaged below 4 percent — unheard of until a few weeks ago. Read more

Real Estate Outlook: Home Prices Fall

Home prices were on the downswing in the third quarter, according to the latest report from both the Case-Shiller Index and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The indices found that while levels were below third quarter 2010 numbers and the annual rate of decline for the last quarter range from 3.6 to 3.9 percent.

“Home prices drifted lower in September and the third quarter,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. “The National Index was down 3.9% versus the third quarter of 2010 and up only 0.1% from the previous quarter. Three cities posted new index lows in September 2011 – Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Seventeen of the 20 cities and both Composites were down for the month. Over the last year home prices in most cities drifted lower. The plunging collapse of prices seen in 2007-2009 seems to be behind us. Any chance for a sustained recovery will probably need a stronger economy.” Read more

Homeownership Still The American Dream, Fuels Economy

by Phoebe Chongchua

It’s billed as the American Dream and yet for some it’s been an all-time American nightmare.

Still “the home is central to American life” writes the National Association of Homebuilders in its report titled: Homeownership Works, released earlier this year.

Of course the report aims to show how housing is vital not just to homeowners but to the nation’s growth. The publication looks at the contributions that homeownership make to the economy specifically through residential construction, remodeling, rental housing, and various other related aspects of the industry. Read more

Survey Reveals Why Buyers Are Waiting on Sidelines

Twenty-seven percent of Americans say they plan to buy a home in the future (with most saying in two or more years), and only two percent say they plan to purchase a home in the next 12 months, according to a new Move Inc. survey of 1,000 American adults. So why are so many buyers continuing to wait on the sidelines when home affordability is high and interest rates are at or hovering near record lows?

About 23 percent of those surveyed say they are delaying buying a home because they are concerned about the real estate market in their local area, particularly with concerns over the future of home values, the economy and jobs, as well as difficulty in saving for a down payment. Read more

Should I buy or rent?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — For the last three years, my husband and I have been renting a house. But I would rather buy than throw my money away on rent. Still, even though we have about $120,000 in savings, great credit and no debt, my husband is reluctant. The job he’s had the past two years took 15 months to find, and it pays a lot less than his previous job. He’s afraid buying now isn’t a good idea because of the shaky economy. What do you think: Should we buy or continue renting? — Jean J.

First things first, I want to dispel the belief that you are throwing money away on rent.

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This is a self-serving notion real estate agents often spout that not only isn’t true, but isn’t a basis for making a rational decision when it comes to buying versus renting. Read more

Home builders dogged by tougher lenders, foreclosures

Midlands builder says regulators must ease up on banks to free money to stimulate the economy:

Wade McGuinn says a Camden bank recently turned him down for a loan to build up to 30 homes in Kershaw County.

That is 90 jobs people don’t have, he said.

Those jobs are the reason homebuilding needs to grab more attention in the national debate on how to revive the battered economy, said Barry Rutenberg, chairman-elect of the National Association of Home Builders, who was in town this week to speak to Midlands-area builders.

Foreclosures rose sharply in South Carolina in October, another hurdle for builders struggling to stay afloat in a stagnant housing market. The state ranked 13th nationally in the number of foreclosures. Meanwhile, foreclosure rates in the U.S. improved over last year. Read more

Americans Less on the Move, Census Says

High unemployment and housing woes are forcing more Americans to stay put, new Census Bureau data shows. In fact, Americans are moving less than they ever have on record, since the Census Bureau started tracking such data in 1948.

In the last year, about 35.1 million of Americans — or 11.6 percent — moved to a new home, which is down from 12.5 percent in the previous year. The record for American mobility was 21.2 percent, reached in 1951. Read more

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