Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 27.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million units in July from a downwardly revised 5.26 million in June, and are 25.5 percent below the 5.14 million-unit level in July 2009.Read more

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), concluding fixed-rate mortgages reached another low, while the five-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) remained tied at its low for this survey. The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, the 15-year began in 1991, and the five-year adjustable in 2005.Read more

Homeowners are more pessimistic about the short-term future of home values in their local market than they have been in the past three quarters, according to the Zillow second quarter Homeowner Confidence Survey. One-third (33 percent) believe home values in their local housing market have not yet reached a bottom, while 38 percent believe they have already reached a bottom.Read more

The trend in firming home prices solidified in the second quarter with more metropolitan areas showing increases from a year ago, aided by a surge in home sales driven by the first-time homebuyer tax credit, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In the second quarter, 100 out of 155 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) had higher median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the second quarter of 2009, including 14 with double-digit increases; two were unchanged and 53 metros showed price declines.Read more

Home values in the United States continued to decline in the second quarter of 2010, with the Zillow Home Value Index falling 3.2 percent year-over-year and 0.6 percent from the first quarter to $182,500. The national rate of decline decelerated from the first quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of slowing declines, and negative equity fell to 21.5 percent, according to the second quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Read more

Forward-looking real estate broker and agent confidence in the United States fell by 8.85 percent in July 2010 compared to June, and set a new low on Point2 Technologies’ Real Estate Confidence Index (RECI).Read more

Clear Capital, a provider of data and solutions for real estate asset valuation, investment and risk assessment, has released its Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report.Read more

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), with the 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages reaching a record low of 4.49 percent for this survey. The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, and the 15-year began in 1991. The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) also reached its lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking it in 2005 at 3.63 percent.Read more

Pending home sales edged down with near-term sales expected to be notably lower in contrast to the spring surge when buyers rushed to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, declined 2.6 percent to 75.7 based on contracts signed in June from an upwardly revised level of 77.7 in May, and is 18.6 percent below June 2009 when it was 93.0. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.Read more

Following a surge driven by the first-time homebuyer tax credit, pending home sales fell with the expiration of the deadline for qualified buyers to sign a purchase contract, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, dropped 30.0 percent to 77.6 based on contracts signed in May from a reading of 110.9 in April, and is 15.9 percent below May 2009 when it was 92.3. The falloff comes on the heels of three strong monthly gains as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of the tax credit.Read more