This Week in Real Estate

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According to CoreLogic's latest Equity Report released This Week in Real Estate homeowner equity has nearly doubled in five years. Below are a few highlights from the third week of September that influence our business:
 
 
* Homeowner Equity Increased by About $1 Trillion Year-Over-Year. The amount of equity in mortgaged real estate increased by about $1 trillion in Q2 2018 from Q2 2017, an annual increase of 12.3 percent, according to the latest CoreLogic Equity Report. Homeowner equity has nearly doubled in five years, increasing by $3.9 trillion from Q2 2013 to Q2 2018. The nationwide negative equity share for Q2 2018 was 4.3 percent of all homes with a mortgage, more than 20 percentage points lower than the peak negative equity share – 26 percent – recorded in Q4 2009. Over the past 12 months, 570,000 borrowers moved into positive equity. 

* Western and Southern States Posts Single-Family Residential Permits Growth. Over the first seven months of 2018, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 521,438. On a year-over-year basis, this is a 7.0% increase over the July 2017 level of 487,495. The preliminary results from the New Residential Construction Survey are similar, year-to-date single-family permits over the first seven months of 2018 was, 522,200 which is 7.5% ahead of its level over the same period of 2017, 485,900. Year-to-date, single-family permits grew in the Southern and the Western regions of the country, while the Midwest reported no change and Northeast declined by 1.6% compared to July 2017 YTD. Western region had the highest growth in single-family (14.3%) while South recorded the highest multifamily permits growth (15.2%) during the last 12 months. Between July 2017 YTD and July 2018 YTD, 34 states saw growth in single-family permits issued while 16 states and the District of Columbia registered a decline. Colorado recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 27.6% while single-family permits in the District of Columbia declined by 69.6%, from 217 in 2017 to 66 in 2018. 

* Existing Home Sales Remain Flat Nationally, Mixed Results Regionally. Existing-home sales remained steady in August after four straight months of decline, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest canceled out downturns in the South and West. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, did not change from July and remained at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.34 million in August. Sales are now down 1.5 percent from a year ago (5.42 million in August 2017). The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $264,800, up 4.6 percent from August 2017 ($253,100). August’s price increase marks the 78th straight month of year-over-year gains. Total housing inventory3 at the end of August also remained unchanged from July at 1.92 million existing homes available for sale, and is up from 1.87 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace, consistent from last month and up from 4.1 months a year ago. Properties typically stayed on the market for 29 days in August, up from 27 days in July but down from 30 days a year ago. Fifty-two percent of homes sold in August were on the market for less than a month. Existing-home sales in the West dropped 5.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.12 million in August, 7.4 percent below a year ago. The median price in the West was $392,900, up 4.8 percent from August 2017. 

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