Thursday, May 24, 2012

Housing News Digest, May 24

Fort Collins, Greeley among most affordable Colorado cities The Fort Collins-Loveland area ranked 118th on the list of 225 while Greeley ranked 127th. Pueblo and Colorado Springs are listed as more affordable for home buyers, ranking 27th and 65th respectively. The index calculates affordability based on the share of homes in an area that are affordable for households at the median income level, according to the Colorado Division of Housing. Rental home data is not included in the index.

 US sales of new homes rose 3.3 percent in April WASHINGTON — Americans bought more new homes last month, the latest evidence that the U.S. housing market could be starting to recover. New-home sales increased 3.3 percent in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Sales rose sharply in every region of the country but the South.

 Sales of new homes inch up NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Sales of new homes are showing some signs of life, growing 3.3% month over month to an annualized rate of 343,000 in April, according to a government report released Wednesday. Sales are still slow compared with the boom years when they reached a rate of close to 1.4 million, but the month's results were slightly better than expected. Industry experts had projected a rate of 339,000, according to Briefing.com.

  Vacancies in Denver-area rental houses at historic lows Vacancies in Denver-area rental houses remained near historic lows during the first quarter of this year, the Colorado Division of Housing said today. Vacancies in for-rent condos, single-family homes and other small properties across metro Denver rose slightly during the first quarter although the market remained tight with a vacancy rate of 1.6 percent.

 More than 30% of mortgage borrowers still underwater NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Despite rising home prices, more than 30% of borrowers, or close to 16 million homeowners, were underwater on their mortgage during the first quarter, according to Zillow. The percentage of borrowers who owed more on their home than it was worth increased to 31.4% during the quarter, up slightly from 31.1% three months earlier, according to Zillow. In the year-ago period, 32.4% of all borrowers had negative equity on their loan.