All the Real Estate News That’s Fit to RE-Print™

Welcome to our weekly edition of Hot Real Estate Investment News.
Real estate investing news items this week:

  • The Milken Institute released its “Best Performing Cities 2012.” Is your city on the list?
  • Zillow’s fourth quarter Real Estate Market Reports™ shows a 5.9 percent appreciation rate, the largest annual gain since August 2006.
  • The number of loans in foreclosure shadow inventory decreased from Q2 to Q3
  • DataQuick’s Property Intelligence Report for January 2013 is now available.

Here are the real estate investing related news items that caught our attention this past week. We hope they help you stay up-to-date with your real estate investment strategies and inspire some profitable real estate deals for you.

Best Performing Cities 2012

Where America’s Jobs are Created and Sustained

We’re always excited to see the release of this annual report by the Milken Institute. It tries to answer some very interesting questions and offers valuable insights for real estate investors.
From the report:
“Why are some places in America prospering, and some struggling? What separates the cities that are positioned well for the future from those that are still mired in the setbacks inflicted by the financial crisis and the Great Recession?
Our annual Best-Performing Cities index provides a data-driven, comprehensive measure of economic strength across metropolitan areas. We include job, wage, and technology metrics over a five-year period to capture the structural elements.
A relative handful of communities have seen employment rebound to pre-recession levels; they are poised to gain a bigger share of the accelerating expansion we expect to see. Identifying the regions that weathered the downturn best and are recovering fastest reveals a range of ideas and strategies for seizing opportunity and keeping risk at bay.
One clear takeaway is that communities and industries that embrace technological know-how can claim an enviable advantage. In 2012, rewards accrued to those that designed and produced communications and computing devices. It also helped to have the stuff in the ground to meet America’s energy needs and host industries that lent stability to the local economy, if not spectacular growth.”
Is your city on the list? Get your free copy of “Best Performing Cities 2012” here.

National Home Values Rose 5.9 Percent in 2012

—But High Growth Rate Likely Unsustainable—

Zillow’s fourth quarter Real Estate Market Report, released Monday, show home values increased 2.5% from the third to fourth quarter of 2012 to $157,400. This quarter marks four consecutive quarters of national home value appreciation. On an annual basis, the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) rose 5.9% from December 2011 levels….

See also:

Home Values See Largest Annual Gain Since 2006
The 5.9 percent appreciation rate is the largest annual gain since August 2006, near the peak of the housing bubble.

Servicers Decrease Loans in Shadow Inventory in Q3

Esther Cho reports:
According to a report from Moody’s Investors Service, “…Moody’s revealed the number of loans in foreclosure shadow inventory, or loans in the process of foreclosure but with no resolution, decreased from Q2 to Q3, with the exception of jumbo loans from Citi and subprime loans from Bank of America.

Foreclosure Inventory, Delinquency Rates Decrease from Year Ago

From DSnews.com:
“Lender Processing Services (LPS) offered preliminary data on mortgage performance in December, revealing foreclosure inventory and delinquency rates were both down year-over-year.
The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate fell to 3.4 percent in December. The figure represents a 2 percent decrease from November and an 18 percent drop from December 2011.”

DataQuick’s Property Intelligence Report for January 2013

December was yet another positive month for most measures of housing performance. While a recovery in housing is underway nationally, the strength of the housing market varies across the country. In comparison to prior reports, we see that home price growth and sales performance improved, while foreclosure performance worsened.
Key Findings:

  • Home price growth was positive in all 42 reported counties over the last month, quarter, and year.
  •  Sales increased in 32 of the 42 reported counties over the last month.
  • Sales increased in 12 of the 42 reported counties over the last quarter.
  • Sales increased in 38 of the 42 reported counties over the last year.
  • Foreclosures increased in 26 of the 42 reported counties over the last month.
  • Foreclosures increased in 27 of the 42 reported counties over the last quarter.
  • Foreclosures increased in 21 of the 42 reported counties over the last year.