Zillow’s Stan Humphries Talks Latest Housing News
Jawdropping housing numbers were released yesterday, and Zillow's Chief Economist, Stan Humphries, appeared on several news outlets to help make sense of the dismal news.
Homeowner Confidence Dips Again with News of Declining Home Sales
We've come a long way from 2008. Back then, when we first started fielding the Zillow Homeowner Confidence Survey, homeowners were convinced their homes weren't (when most of them actually were), and were overly optimistic about the future of home values. Not anymore.
Zillow's second quarter Real Estate Market Reports show continuing declines in home values, uncertainty about coming months as we experience payback from the expiration of the homebuyer tax credits.
Differences in Home Value Trends by Price Level of the City
In many areas, higher-priced cities and towns held their value better during the housing downturn. But in places like Chicago and Seattle, the opposite was true.
As home sales fell post-tax credit, home values as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index continued to decline.
Yesterday, in the final hours of the original deadline to close on a home eligible for the homebuyer tax credits, the Senate voted to extend the closing date by three months to Sept. 30, 2010. The extension only applies to buyers who signed a contract to purchase on or before April 30, 2010.
Home Sales Defy Expectations and Decrease in May
With homes purchased under the homebuyer tax credits still closing throughout May, economists across the country predicted increased home sales during the month. So today's news from the National Association of Realtors that existing-home sales fell 2.2 percent from April to May came as a surprise to many.
Four Myths of the Housing Market
After several years of housing depreciation the one thing that seems to be on everyone’s mind is, "When will this housing recession end?," and "When will my house start gaining value again?." This eagerness by homeowners to get the housing market back on track has spawned several misconceptions about the housing market.
National Home Values Continue to Fall in April; Sales Likely to Dry Up After Tax Credit Expiration
Homes values fell 0.38% nationally from March to April and were down 4.1% from their levels in April 2009. The rate of monthly depreciation has remained fairly steady since January, albeit at rates slightly above October 2009 levels when we recorded the smallest month-over-month decline in recent years (-0.27%).
