Numbers are out, market still on fire!!!!

Weekdays at 3 P.M. Central Standard Time, ESPN airs what, in my opinion, is the most interesting show in their line up. "Numbers Never Lie" breaks down and analyzes a variety of sports stories and scenarios in a purely empirical format in order to predict or explain outcomes. This idea is not only familiar to top notch real estate agents, but the approach is a pertinent piece of a more comprehensive effort to maintaining one's market expertise. And so it is that last month's transaction numbers have come out and for the same reason ESPN's Michael Smith predicts the Spurs to win the NBA Finals, Agent Brian Force predicts this market to continue to outperform itself each month...because numbers never lie

Inventory on the Rise!

Housing inventory rose significantly in April, easing a supply shortage that some experts say has constrained home sales.

Meanwhile, existing-home sales edged upwards in April. Still, sales remain hampered due to limited supply and tight credit, according to NAR.

Housing inventory rose 11.9 percent to 2.16 million homes in April, representing a 5.2-month supply of homes at the current rate of home sales. That’s up from 4.7 months in March. But inventory still remained 13.6 percent below a year ago, when there was a 6.6-month stock.

Existing-home sales ticked up 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in April from an upwardly revised 4.94 million in March, according to NAR. That put sales at their highest level since November 2009, when a tax credit stimulated purchases, NAR said.

“The robust housing market recovery is occurring in spite of tight access to credit and limited inventory. Without these frictions, existing-home sales easily would be well above the 5-million-unit pace,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Buyer traffic is 31 percent stronger than a year ago, but sales are running only about 10 percent higher.  It’s become quite clear that the only way to tame price growth to a manageable, healthy pace is higher levels of new-home construction.” Source: realtor.org.

- See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/home-inventory-rises-sharply-in-april/#sthash.50uhjKPe.dpuf

March closed sales still up up up!

More good news for sellers!

Home prices in Dallas were up another 7 percent year-over-year this spring, posting a median home price of $169,900, though housing inventory continued to dwindle.

The number of homes listed for sale on the market dropped 33% according to a report released Tuesday from ZipRealty, which measured MLS housing data from Feb. 15-March 15.

The rising home prices, coupled with the dwindling number of listings, has created a frenzy that's being seen not just in Dallas, but throughout the country, said Lanny Baker, president and CEO of ZipRealty.

Across the country the median sales price rose to $242,519, a 14.6 percent increase year-over-year, according to the report. The national inventory of home listings decreased 34 percent.


Long story made short, home prices will continue to climb this year as inventory remains at historically low levels.

First-quarter new construction way up

Work began on exactly 4,312 new homes in the DFW area since the beginning of 2013. This shows a 35% increase in new home starts and is the highest first-quarter construction volume in five years. Experts attribute the high level of activity to builders reacting to the increasing sales rise and low level of inventory.

Rates down again

Mortgages rates dipped again this week, even as the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones remained at record highs. This comes just a day after the Federal Reserve announced it would begin to taper off its stimulus program this summer and end it all together later this year. Average rates on a 30-year fixed were posted at 3.54, down from 3.57 last week and 3.98 this time last year.

Application rates stayed mostly flat this week, coming up only the seasonally adjusted 1 percent.

More Millennials Seeing Value in Ownership

Most millennials that make more than $50,000 a year are more interested in buying homes than they were a year ago, a recent survey by homebuilder PulteGroup, Inc. found.

Nearly two-thirds, or 65 percent, of renters between 18 and 34 who responded to the survey and had an income above $50,000 said that their intention to buy has "significantly or somewhat increased in the past year," PulteGroup said.

"Millennials have witnessed the housing boom and bust, but still believe homeownership is a good investment," said Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup, in a statement. "Consistent with other third-party research that shows more than 90 percent of millennials plan to buy a home someday, we see a lot of young adults who are making financial sacrifices to afford a place of their own."

As part of the survey, PulteGroup also polled people on what home aspects matter most to them. The company found that millennials highly value efficient use of space in a home, with 69 percent of respondents indicating that they "overwhelmingly want an open layout space in the kitchen and family rooms for entertaining family and friends."

Millennial survey respondents also said these features were either very important or extremely important to them:

84 percent said ample storage for daily items;
76 percent said space for TV, movie, or sports watching;
73 percent said the entry to the home;
63 percent said an outdoor living space or deck; and,
36 percent said the ability to conduct business from home.


Originally from Inman News - http://www.inman.com/news/2013/04/1/more-millennials-see-homeownership-a-good-investment