According to data from the National Association of REALTORS®, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, December’s Existing Home Sales climbed by 120,00 units overall from the month prior on its way to an 11-month high.

An “existing home” is a home that’s been previously occupied; that cannot be considered new construction.

After 4.61 million existing homes were sold in December, there are now just 2.38 million homes for sale nationwide. The last time the national home supply was this sparse was March 2005.

At today’s sales pace, the complete, national home inventory would be exhausted in 6.2 months — the fastest pace since before the recession. A 6.0-month supply is believed to represent a market in balance.

The December Existing Home Sales report contained noteworthy foreclosure and short sale statistics, too :

• Foreclosures sold at an average discount of 22% to market value
• Short sales sold at an average discount of 13% to market value
• Together, foreclosures and short sales accounted for 32% of all home sales

Clearly, “distressed homes” remain a large part of the U.S. housing market.

Furthermore, in its report, the real estate trade group also noted that one-third of homes under contract to sell nationwide succumbed to contract failure last month. That’s up from 9% one year ago.

Contract failure occurs for a multitude of reasons, most notably homes appraising for less than the purchase price; the buyer’s failure to achieve a mortgage approval; and, insurmountable home inspection issues. December’s high failure rate underscores the importance of getting pre-approved as a buyer, and of buying homes in “good condition”.

For today’s home buyer , December’s Existing Home Sales figures may be construed as a “buy signal”. Home supplies are dropping and buyer demand is rising. This is the basic recipe for higher home prices ahead.

If your 2012 plans call for buying a home, consider that home values throughout Washington State are expected to rise as the year progresses. The best values of the year may be the ones secured this winter.

Data was strong across all categories last week.

• Home Resales :Existing Home Sales rose 5%
• New Homes : Single-Family Housing Starts rose 4%
• Builders : Home Builder Confidence rose to a 5-year high
• Jobs : Jobless claims fell to lowest level since April 2008
• Inflation : CPI remained in balance

In addition, European leaders moved closer to a final resolution on the Greek sovereign debt default situation.

Overall, the action gave investors reason for optimism in the U.S. economy, and economies abroad. This drew money away from the U.S. mortgage bond market, which caused mortgage rates to rise.

Freddie Mac reports the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage slipping 0.01 percentage points to 3.88% nationwide, with an accompanying 0.8 discount points and complete set of closing costs. These costs are slightly higher as compared to the week prior.

1 discount point is equal to one percent of the borrowed loan size.

Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey puts the conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage under 4 percent for 7 consecutive weeks.

This week, mortgage rates may rise; the week is anchored by a 2-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Whenever the FOMC meets, mortgage rates can be volatile.

The Ben Bernanke-led FOMC is not expected to raise the Fed Funds Rate from its current target range near 0.000 percent, but it’s not what the Fed does that can change mortgage rates as much as it is what the Fed says.

After its 2-day meeting concludes Wednesday, the FOMC will issue its customary statement to the markets, to be followed by a press conference led by Chairman Bernanke. Wall Street will watch the press release and conference for clues about the Fed’s next steps and its outlook for the U.S. economy.

If the Fed indicates that the economy is growing, mortgage rates in Lacey are likely to rise. Conversely, if the Fed indicates that the economy is slowing, mortgage rates are likely to fall.

Other factors influencing mortgage rates this week include the President’s annual State of the Union address (Tuesday), the Pending Home Sales Index (Wednesday) and New Homes Sales data for December (Thursday).

Mortgage rates remain low but may not stay that way. If you’re looking for the best rates of the year, this week may be your chance.

Some expect those trends to continue through the first quarter and beyond. Others expect a rapid reversal.

Who’s right and who’s wrong? A quick look through the newspapers, websites and business television programs reveals “experts” with opposing, well-delivered arguments views. It’s tough to know who to believe.

For example, here are some “on-the-record” predictions for 2012 :

• Home prices will rise in 2012 (says Freddie Mac)
• Home prices will fall in 2012 (says CBS News)
• Mortgage rates will rise in 2012 (says American Banker)
• Mortgage rates will fall in 2012 (ays the LA Times)

The issue for buyers, seller, and would-be refinancers in Tumwater and nationwide is that it can be a challenge to separate a “prediction” from fact at times.

When an argument is made on the pages of a respected newspaper or website, or is presented on CNBC or Bloomberg by a well-dressed, well-spoken industry insider, we’re inclined to believe what we read and hear.

This is human nature.

However, we must force ourselves to remember that any analysis about the future — whether it’s housing-related, mortgage-related, or something else — are based on a combination of past events and personal opinion.

Predictions are guesses about what might come next — nothing more.

For example, at the start of 2009, few people expected the 30-year fixed rate mortgage to stay below 6 percent, but it did. Then, at the start of 2010, few people expected the 30-year fixed rate mortgage to stay below 5 percent, but it did.

All we can know for certain about today’s market is that both mortgage rates and home values are low, creating favorable home-buying conditions in and around King County and nationwide.

At that start of last year, few people expected mortgage rates to even reach 4 percent. Today, rates “with points” price in the 3s.

What 2012 has in store we just can’t know.

The Pending Home Sales Index rose 7 percent in November to rise to its highest level since April 2010, the last month of last year’s home buyer tax credit program.

The Pending Home Sales Index is published monthly by the National Association of REALTORS®. It measures homes under contract nationwide, but not yet “sold”.

In this way, the Pending Home Sales Index is different from other housing market indicators. It’s a “forward-looking” figure; a predictor of future home sales. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, more than 80% of homes under contract close within 60 days.

By contrast, housing data such as the Existing Home Sales report and the New Home Sales report “look back”.

November marks the second straight month of Pending Home Sales Index improvement. The housing market metric made big gains of 10 percent in October 2011, as well.

On a regional basis, each part of the country showed an increase in homes under contract.

• Northeast Region: +8.1 percent from October 2011
• Midwest Region : +3.3 percent from October 2011
• South Region : +4.3 percent from October 2011
• West Region : +14.9 percent from October 2011

However, here in Olympia, we must discount the value of even the regional data, somewhat. Like else in real estate, the volume of homes going under contract vary by locality.

Throughout the West Region, for example, the region in which pending home sales increased the most from October, there are nearly a dozen states. Undoubtedly, some of those states performed better than others in terms of “homes under contract”, but we don’t have an indication of which states those were.

In addition, within each state, every city, town, and neighborhood realized its own unique market in November, and produced its own sales statistics.

For buyers and sellers throughout Washington State and the country, therefore, it’s more important to watch data on a local level than on a national one. Reports like the Pending Home Sales Index are helpful in showing national trends, but as an individual, what you need are local trends.

For local real estate data, be sure to ask your agent.

The action sparked a stock market rally at the expense of mortgage bonds, sending conforming and FHA mortgage rates meaningfully higher for the first time in more than 2 months.

Markets closed early Friday and remained closed Monday. When they re-open today, conforming mortgage rates will already have bounced off last week’s new, all-time lows.

As reported by Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.91 percent nationwide, with an accompanying 0.7 discount points plus closing costs. 1 discount point is equal to 1 percent of your loan size such that 1 discount point on a $100,000 loan is equal to $1,000.

It’s not just the conventional 30-year fixed that made new lows last week, either. All of Freddie Mac’s reported rates fell to new, all-time lows.

• 30-year fixed : 3.91% with 0.7 discount points
• 15-year fixed : 3.21% with 0.8 discount points
• 5-year ARM : 2.85% with 0.6 discount points

These rates are no longer valid, however. FHA mortgage rates rose slightly last week, too.

This week, mortgage rates will be more volatile than usual. There isn’t much economic data on which to trade, and it’s a holiday-shortened week (again). Look for geopolitics and momentum to nudge markets forward, therefore — a potentially bad combination for today’s rate shoppers. There is very little room for mortgage rates to fall, but lots of room for them to rise.

If the stock market rallies to close 2011, mortgage rates will rise right on with it.

For now, rates remain historically low. If you’ve been shopping for a mortgage — waiting for rates to fall — this last week of the year may be your last chance at sub-4 percent, fixed-rate mortgage rates. Don’t wait too long or you might miss it.

It’s a good time to execute on a rate lock.

Home resales moved to a 10-month high in November, the latest in a series of strong showings from the housing sector.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, November’s Existing Home Sales rose to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 4.42 million units nationwide —  a 4 percent climb from October 2011.

An “existing home” is a home that has been previously occupied and cannot be categorized as new construction.

Home buyers and sellers throughout Tumwater should take note of November’s numbers because — behind the headlines — there’s a series of statistics that foretell higher home prices ahead.

First, the total number of homes for sale nationwide dipped to 2.58 million, an 18% reduction from November 2010 and represents the fewest number of homes for sale since February 2007.

At the current sales pace, the complete home resale inventory would be sold in 7.0 months.

And, second, the real estate trade group reports that 33% of all homes under contract “failed” for some reason last month.

Contract failures can occur because of mortgage denials in underwriting; home inspection issues; and homes appraising for less than their respective purchase prices.

In other words, despite a reduction in the number of homes for sale, and a rash of failed contracts, Existing Home Sales volume is still on the rise.

Broken-down by buyer-type, here’s to whom home sellers were selling in November :

• First-time buyers : 35% of home resales, up from 34% in October 2011
• Repeat buyers : 46% of home resales, down from 48% in October 2011
• Investor buyers : 19% of home resales, up from 18% in October 2011

Given high demand for home resales and shrinking home supplies, we should expect that King County home prices will rise through December 2011 and into early-2012, at least. Recent Housing Starts data supports this notion.

Thankfully, mortgage rates remain low. Low mortgage rates help keep homes affordable.

If you’re waiting for home prices to reach its bottom, you may have missed your window.

After 3 consecutive months of easing, the Pending Home Sales Index jumped 10 percent in October, lending credence to the belief that housing is in recovery.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a monthly publication from the National Association of REALTORS®. It measures the number of homes under contract to sell nationwide. October’s reading is the highest for all of 2011, and the second-highest dating back to April 2010.

April 2010 was the last month of the last year’s federal home buyer tax credit.

For buyers and sellers in Olympia and nationwide, the Pending Home Sales Index is a housing metric worth watching. Different from the Existing Home Sales and New Home Sales reports which report on “the past”, the Pending Home Sales Index is a forward-looking housing market indicator.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 80% of homes under contract close within 2 months.

The majority of the rest close within Months 3 and 4.

The spike in October’s Pending Home Sales Index, therefore, foretells a strong Existing Home Sales report for November and December. Not that we should be surprised! Home builders have been telling us for weeks that the market is strengthening, and that home supplies are at multi-year lows.

The only wild-card is the market’s out-sized contract failure rate. One in three pending home sales failed to close in October — nearly double the rate of the month prior and 4 times the rate of October 2010. Should this high failure rate continue, the Pending Home Sales Index’s role as a forward-looking indicator would be muted.

Overall, though, new buyer demand for housing accompanied a smaller home supply will result in higher home prices through 2012. And, with mortgage rates expected to rise, monthly carrying costs will be higher, too.

Looking at the data, the best time to buy a home may be right now.

Call CU Mortgage Division for a free pre-approval to get started shopping now.

Standard & Poor’s released its September 2011 Case-Shiller Index this week. The index tracks home price changes in select cities between months, quarters, and years.

The Case-Shiller Index for September showed drastic devaluations nationwide.

As compared to August, home values fell throughout 17 of the index’s 20 tracked markets, led by Atlanta’s 5.9% drop. On an annual basis, home values have now returned to early-2003 levels.

That said, home buyers and sellers in the Thurston County area should be cautious when referencing the Case-Shiller Index. The index is a flawed metric and, as such, can lead to improper conclusions about the housing market overall.

The Case-Shiller Index’s first flaw is its most obvious — its limited sample set.

According to Wikipedia, there are more than 3,100 municipalities nationwide. Yet, the Case-Shiller Index includes data from just 20 of them in its findings. These 20 cities account for fewer than 1% of all U.S. cities, and just a small percentage of the overall U.S. population.

The “national figures” aren’t really national, in other words.

Even on a city-by-city basis, the Case-Shiller Index gets it wrong.

By lumping disparate neighborhoods into a single, city-wide result, the index ignores the relative strength of one area at the expense of another. In the aforementioned Atlanta, there are areas that fared much better than September’s -5.9% as cited by Case-Shiller. Some areas fared much worse.

A second flaw in the Case-Shiller Index is it’s methodology for measuring changes in home value. The index only considers “repeat sales” of the same home in its findings, and those homes must be single-family, detached property. Condominiums, multi-family homes, and new construction are not included.

In some cities — Chicago, for example — “excluded” property types can account for a large percentage of total monthly sales.

And, third, the Case-Shiller Index is flawed by “age”.

Because Standard & Poor’s publishes on a 60-day delay, the Case-Shiller Index is reporting on a housing that no longer exists. Sales that closed in September are based on contracts written from June-August –a time-frame that’s 6 months aged.

The best use of the Case-Shiller Index is as an analysis tool for economists and policy-makers interested in the long-term trends of U.S. housing. The index does very little good for every day buyers and sellers, unfortunately.

For up-to-date, accurate market data, talk to a real estate professional instead.

If you plan to buy of new construction in Washington State sometime in 2012, don’t expect today’s low prices. Like everything in housing of late, the market for newly-built homes appears to be stabilizing and, in some markets, improving.

As foreshadowed by this month’s strong Homebuilder Confidence survey, the Census Bureau reports that the number of new homes sold rose to a 6-month high in October, climbing to 307,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis.

A “new home” is a home that is considered new construction. It’s the opposite of an “existing home”.

Home buyers are comparing new construction to home resales and liking what they see. At the current sales pace, the nation’s complete new home inventory would now be depleted in just 6.3 months. This marks the lowest home supply since April 2010 — the last month of the last year’s federal homebuyer tax credit.

By building only to meet new demand, builders are keeping home supplies in check, and home prices stable. They’ve also found a niche market – 80% of homes sold last month sold for less than $300,000.

Split by region, the Census Bureau reports October’s New Home Sales as follows :

• Northeast Region : +0.0% from September 2011
• Midwest Region : +22.2% from September 2011
• South Region : -9.5% from September 2011
• West Region : -14.9% from September 2011

Unfortunately, the data may be incorrect.

Although the October New Home Sales report says that sales climbed 1.3 percent last month, the government’s data was published with a ±19.7% margin of error. This means that the actual New Home Sales reading may have been as high as +21.0 percent, or as low as -18.4 percent. Because the range of values includes both positive and negative values, the Census Bureau assigned its October data “zero confidence”.

As home buyers, then, we can’t take our market cues from the published data. Instead, we should look to other metrics including Housing Starts data and the aforementioned homebuilder confidence survey. Each points to strength in the new home market, and foretells higher home prices in 2012.

If you’re in the market for new construction, consider writing an offer soon. Home prices remain low and mortgage rates do, too — a combination that keeps home payments low. Next year, that may not be the case.

According to data from the National Association of REALTORS®, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, October Existing Home Sales gained 70,000 units as compared to September, registering 4.97 million existing homes sold overall.

An “existing home” is a home that has been previously occupied and, as compared to prior months, the stock of homes for sale is depleted.

Just 3.3 million homes were listed for sale last month. This represents a 2 percent drop from September and marks the sparsest home resale inventory of 2011.

The current home supply would last 8.0 months at today’s sales pace — the fastest rate since January 2010.

The real estate trade group’s report contained other noteworthy statistics, too :

1. 34 percent of all sales were made to first-time buyers
2. 29 percent of all sales were made with cash
3. 28 percent of all sales were for foreclosed homes, or short sales

It also said that one-third of transactions “failed” as a result of homes not appraising for the purchase price; failure to achieve a mortgage approval; and, insurmountable home inspection issues.

This 33% failure rate is huge as compared to September 2011 (18%) and October 2010 (8%). It underscores the importance of getting pre-qualified to purchase, and of selecting a home “in good condition”.

For today’s Olympia home buyer, October’s Existing Home Sales may be a “buy signal”. Supplies are falling and sales are increasing. Elementary economics says home prices should begin rising, if they haven’t already.

Remember : The data we’re seeing is already 30 days old. Today’s market may be markedly improved already.

The good news is that mortgage rates remain low. Freddie Mac reports that the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate is 4.000% with 0.7 discount points, making homes as affordable as they’ve been in history.

With rising home values, you may end up paying more to purchase your new home, but at least you’ll pay less to finance it.