CREDIT SUISSE: There's A Buyer Rush In The US Housing Market Unlike Anything We've Ever Seen

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Credit Suisse analysts conduct a monthly survey of real estate agents in 40 housing markets across the U.S. to get a ground-level view of the market around the country.

The results from their latest survey are out, and Credit Suisse analyst Daniel Oppenheim writes in a note to clients that "the breadth of strength in both pricing and traffic at the start of spring selling season" is "unprecedented in [the] survey's history (dating back to '05)."

Oppenheim says real estate agents are "widely citing increased buyer urgency due to the combination of persistent inventory shortages (driving prices higher) and signs of mortgage rates moving higher."

The data showed that prices rose in all 40 markets last month – the first time that's ever happened in the history of the survey. Credit Suisse's home price index, derived from the survey data, increased to 79.3 from 74.6 in January.

The strongest price increases were observed in California, Florida, Austin, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Seattle, Denver, and Phoenix, according to Oppenheim.

The buyer traffic index derived from survey data rose to 65.1 from 59.0. Oppenheim notes that "only Charleston, Orlando, and Tucson failed to meet agents' expectations, while notable improvement was seen in the formerly-lagging Chicago and New York markets along Texas markets (Austin, Dallas, and Houston each increased by at least 14 points)."

Meanwhile, housing supply continues to fall and the length of time it takes to sell a home fell to a new low. Oppenheim says both of these factors point to further price gains this spring.

Full Story

Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Drops to Record Low

Housing sales have been picking up, and the lowest mortgage rates in decades are a key reason why. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage stands at 3.51 percent. That's close to the record of 3.31 percent set last November. "It's the rising prices that is the game changer," Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass., told Bloomberg News. "Housing is going to be the key driver that will get economy on a higher growth path," he said. The ultra-low rates have also encouraged many people to refinance. That often leads to lower monthly payments and more spending money.

Home-Buyers . . . and Realtors

Tonight, it's personal . . . in hopes of fostering better Buyer - Realtor relations.

Invested an entire day searching for a Manitowoc County WI home neighboring county or state land priced between $0-$120K to help a home-buyer who phoned into our office this morning. It's not an easy search because there's no pre-set box to check for "neighboring public land" -- requires serious research and various maps.

Having already asked 3 other Realtors for help and not being provided with homes matching her search criteria, this home-buyer was understandably frustrated . . . and pleased when I promised to perform the search and get back to her latter in the day with results.

Genuinely excited to send the good news and eager to hear her reply, "Found one! 3 Bedrooms, 2 Acres, Adjoining County Land" was the subject line of the outbound email to home-buyer at 5:21 p.m. that contained information on the home, the neighboring land, ect.

"The email account that you tried to reach does not exist." Is the reply that came back . . . subject line, "failure notice" . . . sender, MAILER-DAEMON@...

Seriously disappointed . . . huge request . . . a bogus email . . . an entire day wasted.

Another costly lesson learned (trust . . . but validate - check validity of email before doing the work).

Please note, Home-Buyers: Do not be afraid of meeting with a Realtor for a "buyer consultation" before heading out to search for homes together. A sit-down to discuss your goals and how the Realtor can help you achieve them helps establish a relationship of professionalism and trust.  It's the best way to begin your home search.    

America's State of Foreclosure

Foreclosure news for the vast majority of us throughout the United States is looking up -- JANUARY, 2013, marked a SIX YEAR LOW in foreclosure starts. Yee-HA! 3 Housing Markets in particular are still struggling, however.

 We all know about the ups and downs in California and Florida; few are aware the state holding unto that #3 spot in the "Nation's TOP Foreclosure States List" is in the midwest.

 It's saddens me to see Wisconsin's neighbor -- the state where I was born, raised, and have family -- in the nation's TOP 3 Foreclosure States. 

Click on this link to learn the good, the bad, and the ugly (mostly good -- if you're not in the top 3) regarding foreclosure in America today: http://www.realtytrac.com/content/foreclosure-market-report/january-2013-us-foreclosure-market-report-7596