Housing Momentum on Course to Continue
It may be a little early to start
putting the champagne on ice, but looking over last
week’s releases of housing reports gives us a fairly good idea of how
our housing picture for the year 2012
is likely to end up.
“The housing recovery that started earlier
in 2012 continues to gain momentum,” according to CoreLogic’s Chief Economist.
The monthly data report covered final national numbers for October (a
year-over-year rise of 6.3%) as well as a probable 7.1% increase for the month just ended.
CoreLogic was also “seeing an ongoing
strengthening of the residential housing market” as well as “improving buyer
demand.” Housing watchers might have
assumed that the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy would have put a big dent in the
national outlook, but apparently that effect may be less than anticipated.
If CoreLogic’s take was not quite
definitive enough to trigger an early break for the bubbly, there was
additional news from the financial soothsayers. Seekingalpha.com stayed
with its months-long view that “there are immediate long-term opportunities for
homebuyers,” while Barron’s quoted RDQ Economics’ John Ryding’s
pronouncement on the housing market: “the recovery is running ahead of our
expectations…”
Meantime, the Wall Street
Journal was blogging about the ‘Five Reasons Home Prices Have Been Rising’
– including favorable affordability, lowered levels of distressed sales, and
rising rent levels. They also pointed to plunging inventories that “see more
buyers chasing after fewer properties.”
Of course, the complete national housing picture for the full year won’t be
known until December is in the books. But considering how the year has treated
us so far, it might not be too soon to stash a bottle or two of the good stuff
in the fridge after all!
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