Housing Market Better Off in 2012

In an election year it can be difficult to sift through the spin each party puts on specific issues, and one of the largest issues is the economy and how the housing market is affecting it.

Trulia has just posted a great article that helps you to see the state of the housing market in the current election cycle compared to where we were at during 2009. Here are some of the highlights of that article:

  • Home Prices have stabilized – From the period of January 2008 to January 2009 sales prices fell by almost 20% nationally. In the period from September 2011 to September 2012 prices actually rose 2.5%.
  • Affordability for homeowners has improved – Due to decreased mortgage rates a mortgage payment on a $200,000 loan at a 30-year fixed rate fell from $1080 in January 2009 to $885 in October of 2012.
  • Delinquencies decrease, foreclosures rise – Delinquent mortgages have decreased from 8.61% in January of 2009 to 7.4% in September of 2012. Foreclosures have risen from 2.43% to 3.87% for the same periods but this is primarily due to the fact that certain states have a particularly lengthy foreclosure process. The states in which judicial processes are used have a foreclosure rate three times higher than non-judicial states.
  • Inventory and vacancies are returning to normal – A normal inventory level is about 6 months. In January 2009 the “Months of Supply” level had risen to 9.5, whereas currently the inventory level is at 5.9 months of supply.

That is the current state of the housing market in Encinitas and around the United States in 2012 compared to the last election cycle from an Encinitas real estate agent. I hope to see you at the polls tomorrow.

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