July 2014

AMERICA IS OFFICIALLY 'BACK ON TRACK'

It looks like the upturn in Americas real estate recovery is actually here as several reports this week show signs of improvement in US property markets across the country.

This good news began with the National Association of Home Builders, who revealed that confidence climbed by 5 points to reach 29 on the NAHB Housing Market Index. Any number under 50 indicates that sales conditions are considered poor, but the latest report marks the strongest index reading since May in 2007, suggesting that a boom is starting to kick in.

"Buyer traffic and sales have picked back up after a pause this April," commented NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg. "It seems we have resumed the gradual upward trend in confidence that started at the beginning of this year."

It soon emerged that this growing confidence has started to inspire home builders to do what they do best: build homes. Total housing starts hit 717,000 last month, up 2.6 per cent, which itself had its figures revised upwards from initial predictions.

As construction and confidence both increase, so too do prices. CoreLogic found last week that house prices had risen for the third month in a row, placing them just 1 per cent below 2011 levels.

Also, Trulia has seen that improve further: "Not only are rising prices starting to look like a real trend: they're also coming to a market near you - if they haven't already," added the report, with Miami and Phoenix leading the charge.

Housing inventory in Miami is being swallowed up by overseas investors looking for bargains, prices for condos were pushed up by 38 per cent compared to last year. But while real estate values are starting to rise again, the official line on US housing is that is has never been more affordable.

Therefore, the question is not how long the market will take to recover but how many buyers will rush across the Atlantic to take advantage of the current conditions.

Are you ready to join the recovery rush?