LA home values down 1.3%

What’s interesting about most data reports is that they are 1 - 2 months behind. For example, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index that was released today discusses sales data for February. There is no mention of what the market has been going through in March and April.

I can personally tell you that in April we are seeing multiple offers on well priced properties. In many cases homes are selling well above asking price. I would imagine that when the April Home Price Index report comes out in 2 months, it will show that the 1.3% price drop experienced in February will be a thing of the past and the numbers will turn positive. I could be wrong, but I doubt it based on what I am seeing.

Here is some data from today’s S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index report:

Miami’s 10.8% year-over-year gain made it the best-performing city for the seventh consecutive month. Tampa (+7.7%) and Atlanta (+6.6%) continued in second and third place, with Charlotte (+6.0%) close behind.

Results were different in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. Last month, four West Coast cities (San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, and Portland) were in negative year-over-year territory. In February they were joined by four of their western neighbors, as Las Vegas (-2.6%), Phoenix (-2.1%), Los Angeles (-1.3%), and Denver (-1.2%) all tipped into negative territory.

Majority of potential homebuyers say they will not accept a mortgage rate over 5.5%

Today’s homebuyers are exceptionally sensitive to mortgage rates with house prices so high — and they’ve found their tipping point.

The majority of potential homebuyers, 71%, say they will not accept a 30-year fixed mortgage rate over 5.5%, according to a survey done in March by John Burns Research and Consulting. The current rate, however, is around 6.4%.

If so many potential buyers, however, are saying they won’t buy unless they get a rate below 5.5%, they may be sitting on the sidelines for a while. Mortgage rates have been over 6% for nearly a year and are not expected to move much lower this year.

An April survey from U.S. News and World Report seems to corroborate these findings: It found that 66% of Americans who plan to buy a home this year said they are waiting until rates fall.

The U.S. News survey also found that 25% of homebuyers who are holding out for lower rates are waiting until they drop below 5%. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they’ve had to reduce their housing budgets due to the current level of mortgage rates.