Seattle home prices show monthly gain for first time in 2 1/2 years
Home prices in Seattle rose on a seasonally adjusted basis in October from September, the first increase in almost two and a half years, according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller index.

By Seattle Times staff and news serivces

Home prices in Seattle rose on a seasonally adjusted basis in October from September, the first increase in almost two and a half years, according to the closely watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index.

The seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller figure for Seattle rose 0.44 percent in October. The index had fallen every month since peaking in May 2007; it’s still down 22.5 percent since then and down 12.5 percent since October 2008.

Seattle was one of 11 cities in the 20-city Case-Shiller index to post a seasonally adjusted increase in October.

On a non-adjusted basis, the local index has been essentially flat since March.

The local numbers compare to a seasonally adjusted October increase of 0.37 percent in the 20-city composite index, the fifth month of gains. Without adjusting for seasonal factors the index was flat from September.

Home price gains since the summer reflect the rush of homebuyers trying to close their deals before the original expiration date of a federal tax credit. The Nov. 30 deadline was extended last month to April 30.

Besides a credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, Congress expanded the program to include homeowners who have lived in their current properties for at least five years. They can now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they relocate.

The 20-city home-price index was off 7.3 percent from October last year, nearly matching expectations of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Many economists, however, are predicting a double dip in prices this winter as foreclosures increase and government support wanes.

“I’d be very surprised if we don’t go below the lows we hit this year,” Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning Washington think tank. “We still have a very glutted housing market.”

The 20-city index is now up 3.4 percent from its bottom in May, but still almost 30 percent below its peak in April 2006.

Information from Seattle Times reporter Drew DeSilver and The Associated Press is included in this report.

Seattle Real Estate Tyler Freed

US Treasury sets guidance on housing short sales
Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:15pm EST

More Business & Investing News… NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury on Monday set guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to use “short sales” and other loan modification alternatives to stem a rising tide of foreclosures.

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program simplifies the procedures for completing short sales, a growing practice in which a house is sold for less than the principal owed on existing mortgages, according to an announcement on the Treasury’s website.

(Reporting by Al Yoon; Editing by Dan Grebler)

((albert.yoon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6347; Reuters Messaging: albert.yoon.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Seattle Real Estate Tyler Freed

Four Tacoma police die in coffee shop shooting ambush in Washington state
AFP From: AFP November 30, 2009 7:58AM

Unidentified police officers stand outside a coffee shop in Washington, where four police officers were shot and killed by a gunman, November 29, 2009. Picture: Reuters Source: Reuters
FOUR police officers have been gunned down in a US coffee shop in a “flat out ambush”.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ed Troyer said the officers were sitting in a coffee shop before their shift started when at least one gunman entered and started shooting.

“We have somebody out there who blatantly went in and opened fire on four police officers, killing all four of them,” Mr Troyer said following the shooting near McChord Air Force base in Tacoma, around 35 miles south of Seattle.

Mr Troyer did not disclose any information about the identities of the victims, saying only that the officers had worked in law enforcement in Washington state for their entire careers.

He said authorities believed the men had been specifically targeted, noting that staff and other customers at the coffee shop at the time of the shooting had not been shot at.

“It was definitely an ambush target situation, there were two baristas and some other customers in there. None of them were hurt or shot at or aimed at,” Mr Troyer said.

“It was not a robbery. Gunman came in there and opened fire on the four police officers.”

Mr Troyer said the victims had been going over some paperwork ahead of their shift at the time of the shooting.

“They were getting ready for their shift to start. They had a meeting to go over some paperwork and what they would be working on. That’s standard procedure,” he said.

Seattle Real Estate Tyler Freed

Home sales rise to highest level in 2.5 years
Only a 7-month supply of homes on market; bidding wars are erupting

Reed Saxon / AP
October home sales rose 10.1 percent, beating expectations, as tax credit spurred sales.

Realty Check: Existing Home Sales
Sales of existing homes jumped, but commercial real estate has further to fall, with CNBC’s Diana Olick.
CNBC

WASHINGTON – Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 36 percent from their bottom in January, data Monday showed, though they are still 16 percent below the peak in autumn 2005. At the current sales pace, there is only a 7-month supply of homes on the market and in some areas there are bidding wars.

Joey Wilson, 53, and her husband made unsuccessful offers on 20 Las Vegas homes since midsummer before closing on a four-bedroom, $136,000 home this month.

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“It’s insane,” said Wilson, who relocated from Kentucky. “I’ve never seen a market like this before.”

The National Association of Realtors said home resales rose 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September. It was the biggest monthly increase in a decade, and far above the 5.65 million pace expected by economists, according to Thomson Reuters.

Without adjusting for seasonal factors, sales were up 21 percent from a year earlier and were up in all four regions of the country. The gains were led a 26 percent increase in the Midwest. Sales were up 25 percent in the Northeast, 23 percent in the South and 10 percent in the West.

The housing recovery is being driven by lower prices combined with federal programs to lower mortgage rates and bring more buyers into the market. The median sales price was $173,100, down 7 percent from a year earlier and off roughly 2 percent from September.

Many experts predict prices will hit a new low next spring, perhaps falling another 5 to 10 percent, as more foreclosures get pushed onto the market.

The government has tried to counter that trend by offering a tax incentive for first-time buyers and by keeping mortgage rates around 5 percent since the spring.

The tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time owners was originally set to run out on Nov. 30, but Congress renewed it earlier this month and broadened its reach. People who have owned their current homes for at least five years can now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 for a home purchase. To qualify, buyers must sign a purchase agreement by April 30.

The Realtors’ report on October home sales reflects offers made before buyers knew the tax credit would be extended.

“The incentives really did get people to go out and buy,” said Wells Fargo economist Adam York. “The question is: What does the trend look like when the credit is over with?”

Home sales are likely to drop over the winter as buyers hibernate for a few months without the looming tax credit deadline.

The new deadline means “we’re going to see some good activity coming out of the spring,” said Pat Lashinsky, chief executive of online real estate brokerage ZipRealty Inc.

But the government support can’t last forever. For example, the Federal Reserve is likely to curtail its effort to push down mortgage rates next year. If rates then rise too high, it would make home purchases less affordable and dampen housing demand.

“When we do kick those crutches out from under the housing market, will it be able to stand on its own?” said Mark Fleming, chief economist with real estate information company First American CoreLogic. “It’s really hard to tell.”

Another concern is that job losses are pushing once creditworthy homeowners into default. Borrowers with prime, fixed-rate loans accounted for one in three new foreclosures in the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week. Nationwide, a record 14 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure.

And in areas where foreclosures have hit hard, housing remains depressed, despite low prices and mortgage rates and the tax credit.

Cleveland real estate agent Colleen Rock notes that the city’s economy is still struggling with job losses. Another round of foreclosures could depress prices again.

“Just because we’re stabilizing, I can’t comfortably tell you we’re back to a normal market,” said Rock, an agent with Re/Max Crossroads. “It might be another year.”

Seattle Real Estate Tyler Freed

Growing Asian middle class to propel oil use: study NEW YORK (Reuters) – A rapidly expanding middle class in China and India will provide the main engine for world oil demand growth in the coming years as families in developing nations buy more cars and appliances to go with their thicker wallets, according to a study released on Thursday. The outlook could place a firm floor under global oil prices into the next decade after the first decline in world energy demand in a quarter century pu

Seattle Real Estate Tyler Freed