ATLANTA, GA– After a tumultuous few years, the U.S. residential housing market has finally began to show some significant signs of improvement and is poised for a “slow and unsteady” recovery in the months and years ahead.
That was the take of show host Michael Bull (top right photo) and his guests on the most recent episode of “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show,” which provided an enlightening look at the U.S. residential housing market.
Single-housing starts have increased 20 percent compared to this time last year, said Brad Hunter (top left photo) chief economist with MetroStudy, which tracks housing conditions in 84 metropolitan areas across the country. Furthermore, single-family home absorption has increased 12.4 percent during that same timeframe, he added. “So that’s a good sign,” Hunter said. “It means people are feeling more confident and getting past the problems with financing.”
Hunter did point out one dichotomy plaguing the housing market: although a whopping 1 million developed lots are awaiting purchase by builders, lots in close-in, A and B locations are in high demand by builders, who are often engaging in bidding wars for those sites. However, there is virtually no demand for developed lots in the far-flung suburbs, hence the huge supply.
Robert O’Brien (middle right photo), a partner at Deloitte & Touche who heads the firm’s U.S. real estate services practice, noted the Case-Shiller Housing Price Index rose 0.7 percent in April and also said his firm has observed an improved transaction volume, declining home inventories and shorter sell times.
Still, “it’s going to be slow and unsteady but we expect to see improvement throughout the remainder of 2012 and into 2013,” O’Brien said. “The fact that it’s a modest recovery doesn’t surprise me.”
Despite its noticeably improved performance, the housing market is going to need some help to get truly on track, said Steve Palm (lower left photo), president of Smart Numbers. “For the housing industry to really keep this momentum, the economy has to improve, bottom line,” he said.
Buyer motivation has increased in recent months, and homes in A locations and in the $400,000 to $1 million price range are seeing significant activity, said Todd Thrasher, a managing partner with Brooks Chadwick Capital.
“It feels good to finally feel good about housing,” Thrasher said.
The entire episode on the U.S. residential housing market is available for download on the show’s website. The next episode will be available July 19 and will provide an informative look at CMBS loan restructurings.
Contact
Stephen Ursery
Wilbert News Strategies
404.965.5026
No comments:
Post a Comment