Come visit us in San Francisco on October 22!  Click here for more information.  With the foreclosure debacle continuing, it’s still unclear how big this snowball is going to become; from what we can tell it is still headed down a pretty steep slope.  If there is any short-term upshot for the new home industry in this grim situation, perhaps prospective home buyers will consider new construction with a clean title to be worth something extra in terms of peace of mind and spur some sales activity.  Long term, however, we still will have to eventually move through these distressed properties before we can get to a period of sustainable recovery, and the current woes only serve to elongate the painful process.
 

Bank of America halting foreclosures in all 50 states is the latest shoe to drop in a growing debacle which calls in to question whether large financial institutions have adequately documented all the vital details surrounding repossessed properties.  The already-fragile housing market certainly didn’t need any more problems, and the full ramifications of this situation are not clear.  What is clear, however, is that many areas still have a substantial backlog of foreclosed properties that will at some point be unloaded onto the marketplace.  Since these distressed properties tend to be priced well under the going market rate for regular resales and new homes, understanding the scope of that pipeline is key in determining how deep of a hole a particular market is in.

 Ignorance is NOT bliss when it comes to housing markets.  On October 6 in San Diego, you have an opportunity to get a leg up on the market at our regional Executive Housing Seminar, and we strongly urge you take advantage of the opportunity.  Our two speakers that day will be presenting concise and powerful information about the housing market that you literally can’t find anywhere else, information that is vital to know for anyone in the home building industry as we struggle through the most challenging conditions in a generation.  Think of it as a survival guide for the next several years.  For those not nearby, over the next few months we’ll also be coming to San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, so hopefully you get a chance to hear this vital info. Click here to Register.

Builders’ piece of the housing market pie is the subject of our data feature of the week, courtesy of Housing IntelligencePro.  New homes used to enjoy a 20% share of all home sales in 2006.  In a post housing-bubble world, that share has been falling, and during the first half of 2010 dropped to 10%.  With July’s inglorious home sales figures, that share slipped into single digits, offset by REO sales.  The distressed properties still being dumped onto the market, at prices well below that of traditional resales or new homes, represent an albatross around the neck of the residential construction industry.
 

While most housing markets nationwide are still struggling this year, forecast data for 2011-2013 suggests Raleigh, NC has some positive things to look forward to.  We bring you this insight courtesy of our forecast reports available through Housing IntelligencePro.

Why Raleigh?  The underlying employment and demographic data tell the story.  Raleigh enjoys steady growth in population and households at a rate just over 3%, and in our forecast window of 2011-2013 non-farm employment should increase on average of 3.5% a year and median household income should increase 5% a year.