Mortgage Applications Rising……
Locally, we are still seeing a trend of home values being on the decline. Although, not as drastically as we've seen in the past few years. Good news is that mortgage applications for purchases rose to their highest level of the year last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Purchase applications for mortgages increased 12.5 percent from one week earlier, and on an unadjusted basis, purchase application activity is the highest since last May. “An improving job market is beginning to pave the way for an improving housing market,” says Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics.
Locally, starting with Carolina Beach let’s look at the real estate trending this week reported on Trulia. The average price per square foot for Carolina Beach NC was $177, an increase of 1.1% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in Carolina Beach NC for Dec 10 to Feb 11 was $213,750 based on 32 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price decreased 10.2%, or $24,250, and the number of home sales decreased 56.8%. There are currently 438 resale and new homes in Carolina Beach, as well as 55 homes in the pre-foreclosure, auction, or bank-owned stages of the foreclosure process.
For Kure beach the average price per square foot was $198, a decrease of 4.8% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in Kure Beach NC for Dec 10 to Feb 11 was $278,500 based on 14 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price decreased 25.1%, or $93,500, and the number of home sales decreased 51.7%. There are currently 156 resale and new homes in Kure Beach, including 10 homes in the pre-foreclosure, auction, or bank-owned stages of the foreclosure process.
We're still seeing the roller coaster of news coming from real estate market nationwide. The National Association of Realtors economists are reporting that pending home sales dropped in the month of February, but closed sales were up slightly. The decrease in sales recently could very easily be attributed to the winter weather conditions we have seen lately all around the nation. The good news on increased home sales could mean the beginning of a market turn for the better. With 30 year conventional mortgage rates on the decline again, hopefully March and April will see a continuation of the trend for higher home sale volume nationally and locally.