MSN Money Insight
| Currency | US Dollar |
|---|---|
| British Pound to US Dollar | 1.659200 |
| Euro to US Dollar | 1.497454 |
| Japanese Yen to US Dollar | 0.011298 |
| Canadian Dollar to US Dollar | 0.945180 |
Home prices creep higher
But the values of US homes aren't as high as expected.
Prices for U.S. homes rose by 0.3% in July from June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported today, the third monthly gain in a row.
The first-time homebuyer tax credit helped lift prices in July after June prices were revised down to a 0.1% gain from a previously reported 0.5% increase. Economists had expected a 0.5% gain in July home prices.
Prices were down 4.2% from July 2008 and were down 10.5% from the housing market's peak in April 2007. Prices in July were at the same level as March 2005.
Five of nine regions in the U.S. saw price increases, with a 1.6% gain in the Pacific region leading the way. On a year-over-year basis, that region saw prices fall 9%.
The biggest monthly drop was in the East South Central states, which include Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. That region saw prices fall 0.9% in July.
"Mortgage rates have come back down, and demand for homes remains high," Brian Bethune, the chief financial economist of IHS Global Insight, told Bloomberg News. "There are a lot of positives in housing right now."
The index is based on repeat sales financed through Fannie Mae (FNM) or Freddie Mac (FRE).
The value of any item is the price a buyer and seller agree upon. That value may change for the next buyer and seller. If you think the price of ahome is outrageous, don't buy it. If you think it is a fair price, buy it.
My guess is that house prices will continue to drop because needing two full time working adults to buy a house is making Americans into a miseable bunch. Eventually, people will accept that renting will free up much of their lives and the percentage of Americans that own homes will drop. the pendulum will eventually swing the other way and the percentage of Americans that own homes will start to rise again.
gettinitagain,
No you're not.
What license? Home appraisers in the vast majority of states are not licensed and not even required to be registered. One of the financial reforms the Administration might want to adopt is a national licensing standard and code of professional conduct for home appraisers.
One egregious example - and this was in 1998, not last year. We were buying a home in the DC area and had a home appraiser OUR REALTOR found for us. (Who doesn't ask their realtor for an appraiser? You're moving to the area and know nobody!) Our realtor winked when I asked if the guy was good and said, "He's my guy - he always appraises at what we need!" Well, this idiot never went on the roof ("I looked at it from the sidewalk"), never checked an outlet (none of which were grounded), missed an active leak under the kitchen sink (which caused a lot of water damage), and never looked up the chimney (which was choked to about a pinhole opening by the creosote and soot from repeated chimney fires). When we called all over the Virginia Commonwealth government to find some way to get this guy off the street, we were told there was no license, no registration, no code of conduct, no advertizing standards - nothing for home appraisers. And this for a person who is absolutely integral and essential to the biggest single investment 90% of we regular Americans will ever make.
All we consumers would benefit immensely from some professionalization and oversight of this very hinky business.
retired-nc - another one..
What an Idiot he just called himself stupid just by being a poster.
I also believe the housing market is going to crash again, at the northeast banking meetings it was discussed that the number of houses getting ready to reset with subprime mortgages of all flavors would be more than double of the original melt down, this doesn't include the people already in foreclosure who are trying for Modifications where the banks/Lenders put a hold on the sale while doing the modification (I also believe the loan mods are a joke to be honest, there helping very few people). Hold on.. if your looking to buy a house for yourselfs.. I believe you could save 20% or more by this spring..
I can't believe as President of the United States he actually said on national TV that he didn't know Acorn was getting money.
Watch his face....yes he did Lie then and has lied about other things to push his agenda. He's just very good at it...and you know what? When you're good at something you must have been doing it a long time!
Agreed Haiden70!
bh_0562 - try reading bussani's comment again and you will see that you are the idiot. He did not say that '82 was Reagan's fault, rather Reagan helped turn the economy around...
StockScouter data provided by Gradient Analytics, Inc.
Quotes supplied by Interactive Data.
MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.
advertisement
advertisement
MSN Money Market News Video
advertisement
Readers' Choice
| Rating | Top 5 Articles |
|---|---|
| 4.16 | What's to love about Starbucks |
| 3.98 | Arrogant Fed hasn't learned a thing |
| 3.93 | Another lost decade for investors? |
| 3.92 | How much longer can gold rise? |
| 3.84 | Stop acting rich, start getting rich |
Editors' Choice
