The second quarter has come to an end and we’re receiving a bit of a reality check on the housing market. There is some good and some not so good news to report. Let’s take a look at some key numbers in the northeast to give you an idea of what I’m talking about. In the past 6 months, we have seen a push up in the market due to the following factors:
- Housing Tax Credit, which expired April 30th…The credit produced a flurry of activity in the market as people rushed to purchase & close on time
- Historically low interest rates…under 5%
- Increased consumer confidence (according to Realty Times, consumer confidence had been on a fairly steady upward trend for the past quarter or two)
And a closer look at more recent numbers in the northeast from this quarter compared to 2nd Q. last year:
Average Sale Price-
Single Family
CT- up by 14%
MA- up by 8%
RI- up by 12%
Westchester County- up by 8%
Condo
CT- sales price increased slightly, 4%
MA- up by 4.5%
RI- up by 6.5%
Westchester County- avg sales price down by 2.3%
Unit Sales-
Single Family
CT- up by 29% compared to last year
MA- up by 30% compared to last year
RI- up by 12% compared to last year
Westchester County- up by 68% compared to last year
Condo
CT- up by 42%
MA- up by 35%
RI- up by 26%
Westchester County- up 82%
Days on Market-
Single Family
CT-avg market time 80 days compared to 90 last year…decrease of over 11%
MA-market time down by 13.1%
Westchester County- down 9.4%
Condo
CT- 10.4% decrease
MA- down 13.5%
Westchester County- down 12.9%
Also, key numbers show some positive trends in the luxury market. For example, average sale prices in the $2 million + range were up in CT, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Westchester County and sales volume was up by a minimum of 50% in each of those states/counties. New Hampshire saw a 221% increase in sales volume between YTD 2010 vs. 2009.
Although a lot of the data we saw in the past 6 months and even some of the 2nd Q was positive, May & June have shown downward trends:
- Expiration of tax credit…credit temporarily inflated market
- Commerce Department stated that new homes sales were down by 33% in May; existing home sales were down 2.2% from April
- Consumer confidence fell by 10 points in June…also sent stock prices plummeting
Low Interest Rates
- Continued sluggishness in jobs report
There are golden nuggets amongst all the rubble, however:
- Interest rates are at all time lows…a great time to buy…can get a 30yr FRM at 4.57%…an all time low in Freddie Mac’s 39 year survey or a 5yr ARM at 3.75%
- If you price right, your house can sell!
- Good time to refinance
If you’d like to know more about how your town fared this quarter and year–to-date, visit raveis.com’s local housing data matrix.
Posted by William Raveis Headquarters+ in Company News, Local Housing Data, Market Trends, Mortgage, News, Raveis.com
Tags: 2nd quarter, bill raveis, housing market data, Housing market statistics, housing market trend, low interest rates, Mortgage in the news, Raveis In the News, Raveis.com, william Raveis Real Estate
July 19th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
July 20th, 2010 at 10:44 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by William Raveis , William Raveis . William Raveis said: New blog posting, Market Outlook: How Is Your Town Doing? – http://tinyurl.com/28y95gp [...]
July 22nd, 2010 at 4:37 pm
[...] ago from Facebookreply | follow WilliamRaveis WilliamRaveis: New post on quarterly market update http://blog.raveis.com/2010/07/19/housing-market-data/ 2 days ago from webreply | follow WilliamRaveis WilliamRaveis: New post on quarterly market [...]
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 pm
[...] [...]
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:23 am
Thank you for sharing this very interesting post. Which is better to buy? An adjustable interest rate or fixed interest rate?
August 6th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Thank you for your great question! When choosing between and ARM or fixed interest rate loan, carefully review your individual circumstances. How long do you plan on staying in the home? This is an important factor to look at. However, when fixed rates are at the historic lows we’re seeing now (below 4%!), you should capitalize and go with a fixed rate. ARMs are best when interest rates are higher. Hope this answers your question. Thanks for reading!
September 16th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
[...] a follow-up to our prior post on quarterly housing numbers, lets also take a look at how the market has fared for the first half of the year. The chart below [...]