The median price paid for a Bay Area home moved above the half-million-dollar mark for the first time in almost five years, pushed up by pent-up demand, an improving economy, investor activity, low mortgage interest rates and constrained supply, as well as a continued decline in distressed sales, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The median price paid in the nine-county Bay Area rose to $510,000 in April. That was up 17 percent from $436,000 in March, and up 30.8 percent from $390,000 in April a year ago.Click to continue

A correction from an unsustainably high level of production on the volatile multifamily side was largely responsible for a 16.5 percent dip in nationwide housing starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000 units in April, according to newly released figures from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. However, permits for new construction headed solidly higher in the month, with a particularly strong gain in multifamily issuance.Click to continue

CoreLogic released an analysis of home price trends in more than 380 U.S. markets based on the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes. The indexes are owned and generated by CoreLogic, supplemented with data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes estimate that home prices increased by 7.3 percent in 2012, the strongest rate of appreciation in nearly seven years. The analysis also projected that the trend of rising home prices will continue in 2013 and beyond.Click to continue

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing fixed-rate mortgages following U.S. Treasury bond yields higher this week on signs of stronger consumer spending. This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.51 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 16, 2013, up from last week when it averaged 3.42 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.79 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.69 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.61 percent.Click to continue

Growth in home sales and prices is contributing to a broader improvement in the overall economy, aided in part by current homeownership tax treatment, according to presentations at a residential real estate forum during the Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a multiyear housing recovery is likely. “Steady job creation and household formation have been helping to unleash a pent-up demand in the housing market,” he said.Click to continue

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved three points to a 44 reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for May. This gain, from a downwardly revised 41 in April, reflected improvement in all three index components - current sales conditions, sales expectations and traffic of prospective buyers.Click to continue

The Appraisal Institute advised homeowners to properly maintain their landscaping, which can significantly affect property values. “If a landscaping change is positive, it can often enhance price and reduce a home’s time on the market,” said Appraisal Institute President Richard L. Borges II, MAI, SRA. “But if the change is negative, it can lower the price and lengthen the time a home remains for sale.”Click to continue

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have implemented policies to expedite the short sales process, including new resources to help determine property values, according to panelists at a property valuation forum during the Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. Short sales continue to represent a significant portion of the real estate market. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), short sales accounted for nine percent of transactions during the first quarter of 2013.Click to continue

Mortgage applications decreased 7.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 10, 2013.Click to continue

Mortgage originations were off from the fourth quarter, but several players still managed to increase business. The second-quarter forecast calls for stronger production. Although the three-biggest mortgage servicers reduced their servicing portfolios, a trio of rising stars each added more than $100 billion to their portfolios. Residential lenders originated 6.2 percent less during the first three months of 2013 than in the final three months of 2012, according to Mortgage Daily's First-Quarter 2013 Mortgage Lender Ranking.Click to continue