New-home supply running at 10 months
Although sales of new single-family houses in June dipped just 0.6 percent from May’s level, they were down more than 33 percent from a year ago, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales last month were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 units, compared with 533,000 units in May and 793,000 in June 2007.
At $230,900, the median sales price of new houses sold last month was 1.95 percent below the year-ago median of $235,500.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 426,000, which represents a supply of 10 months at the current sales rate.
By region, sales of new homes were strongest in the South where a seasonally adjusted sales rate of 293,000 was reported in June, followed by the West at 114,000, the Midwest at 83,000, and the Northeast at 40,000.
Highest foreclosure rates located in West
Foreclosure filings were reported on 739,714 properties nationwide during the second quarter, up nearly 14 percent increase from the first quarter and a 121 percent jump from a year ago, foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac reported today. The report also shows that one in every 171 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
One in every 43 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing during the second quarter, the highest foreclosure rate among the states and nearly four times the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 24,657 Nevada properties during the quarter, up 26 percent from the previous quarter and up 147 percent from the first quarter of 2007.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 202,599 California properties during the second quarter, the highest total among the states and a rate of one in every 65 households — the nation’s second-highest state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure activity in California increased 19 percent from the previous quarter and was nearly three times the level reported in the second quarter of 2007.
With one in every 70 households receiving a foreclosure filing, Arizona posted the nation’s third-highest state foreclosure rate in the second quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 37,230 Arizona properties during the quarter, up nearly 36 percent from the previous quarter and close to four times the number reported in the second quarter of 2007.
Florida documented the nation’s fourth-highest state foreclosure rate in the second quarter, with one in every 78 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — more than twice the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 109,433 Florida properties during the quarter, the second-highest total of any state and an increase of nearly 25 percent from the previous quarter.
Affluent homeowners focus on location, location, location
Homeowners at the highest end of the real estate market still have a dream house in mind and ZIP code does play a factor in where some call home, according to the 2008 Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Survey. Top locations for a dream home among those surveyed were on an island (27 percent) or in a rural country setting (22 percent), followed by the suburbs (18 percent) or an international destination (18 percent). Additionally, 17 percent of those surveyed confirmed that they have considered moving expressly to obtain a specific address or ZIP code. Eight percent of respondents actually admitted to having been influenced to purchase a property to "keep up" with friends or family.
In addition, high-end homeowners remain optimistic about home values with a strong majority of the affluent homeowners surveyed (85 percent) expecting the price of their homes to increase over the next five years, a sharp increase from the 66 percent tallied in the 2007 survey. In addition, four out of five of these homeowners surveyed believe the increase in value will be "significant" to "moderate" (81 percent).
The 2008 Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Survey polled 305 U.S. homeowners whose primary residence is valued at more than $1 million ($2 million for California residents) and who have investable assets of more than $1 million. The average annual household income of the 2008 luxury survey’s respondents is $754,000.
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