President Now Needs to Focus on Housing

President Now Should Turn His Focus to Housing

Highlights of the report include: -Now the Obama Administration ought to direct phase two of a recovery by working together with the housing industry to decrease unclear regulations. -Going into the election, any gains in home prices held firm looking at the face of the unknown.

National, metro and regional gains gathered speed in October. Now that the national election is behind us at long last, there shouldn't be any more political hazards in tackling housing issues head-on. The housing policies of President Obama must evolve to change any recovery’s sprint to a marathon," said Dr. Alex Villacorta, Clear Capital Director of Research and Analytics .

Even with the better than annual average historical profits, lenders are still being cautious in our current environment of uncertainty. over regulations And this has left the entire middle class standing out in the freezing cold, lured by record high affordability levels although unable to still qualify for a home loan. President Obama now has an opportunity to press policymakers fix regulations. Only then will home lenders gain the confidence to completely re-engage in housing.

While each candidate closed their eyes to the landmine of political housing regulations, voters clearly did not. Whether direct or indirect, it would be difficult to find any voter who had not been unfavorably affected by the collapse of housing, and many out there are still in danger.

While prices have increased 4.6 percent during the year, they are still 37.6 percent less than the highest point. Given this trouncing, a home acquired for $200,000 during the year 2006 would most likely be worth only $124,800 in today's market After escorting our economy into the US Great Recession, housing recovery is finally thought of as being one of the solitary bright areas in a sluggish economic recovery.

Looking down the road, the Obama Administration now has a genuine opportunity (along with a challenge) to bring Main Street and Wall Street together. Removing the paralyzing effect of uncertainty which clouds the credit markets will not come soon enough. A triumphant outcome will clear up regulatory uncertainty and working together between industry government agencies. After signing the Dodd-Frank bill in 2010, key terms such as the QRM (Qualified Residential Mortgage) and QM (Qualified Mortgage) are still uncertain. This regulatory uncertainty leaves the industry at greater risk, putting private mortgage investors on their heels. This results in fewer potential buyers obtaining loans. If regulations are cleared up in a rational way, frozen credit will thaw out. This will lead to phase two of a housing recovery, as additional middle class begins to qualify for housing loans.

October Housing Trends: Persistent Gains Stubbornly Refuse to Give Up Quarterly price gains picked up momentum in October, after a soft September. While current quarterly gains are all under 5.0 percent, October marks the fifth consecutive month of quarter-over-quarter home price growth.

Nationally, prices edged up 2.1 percent over the rolling quarter, a slight uptick over September’s rate of growth. The West came in strong again, with quarterly gains of 3.7 percent. The South posted gains of 2.0 percent over the rolling quarter.

Previously trailing in quarterly gains, the Northeast saw the largest jump in regional performance. Up 1.7 percentage points from September, the Northeast posted 1.9 percent growth quarter-over-quarter. Price gains across the low, mid and top tier sectors all contributed to the region’s quarterly improvement.

Meanwhile, the Midwest was the only region starting to feel winter’s chill. Rolling quarterly growth of 1.0 percent was 0.9 percentage points lower than September’s. Considering the Midwest has typically been the most volatile region, the slight slowdown in growth doesn’t sound alarms. The Midwest tends to see quicker shifts in percentage change due to relatively low price points when compared to other regions. But there are certainly states within the Midwest, like Ohio, that have made notable progress. Ohio’s recorded quarterly gains of 1.6 percent are secondary to its more substantial long-term price growth of 15.0 percent since President Obama took office. Ohio is a great example of how housing was on the President’s side.

Yearly home prices in October came in strong. National gains of 4.6 percent are the highest since August 2010, when the first-time-homebuyer tax credit was enticing buyers.

The West posted its first double digit yearly gains since 2006, at 11.4 percent. While the hard hit region showed little signs of slowing down, it has a long way to go. Current prices are still 42.9 percent below the peak. On par with quarterly trends, the Midwest saw yearly gains soften to 1.1 percent. This, in part, reflects higher prices a year ago when the region saw a short uptick.

October year-over-year home prices in the South and the Northeast made headway; each up at least 1.0 percentage point over September, to 4.2 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively. Virginia, a key swing state in the South, played an important role in President Obama’s win. With yearly growth of 6.8 percent, Virginia outpaced its region by 2.6 points, so it’s no surprise Virginia swung blue.

November 9, 2012

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