Indianapolis #4 for Most Affordable USA Homes

#4. Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. Median housing price: $114,000, The metropolitan area of Indiana’s state capital has an HOI of 91.7, finding most homes on the market affordable for families earning the median income of $66,900.

WSJ: The U.S. Housing Bust Is Over

The housing market has turned—at last…. Nearly 10% more existing homes were sold in May than in the same month a year earlier, many purchased by investors who plan to rent them for now and sell them later, an important sign of an inflection point. In something of a surprise, the inventory of existing homes for sale has fallen close to the normal level of six months’ worth despite all the foreclosed homes that lenders own.

US New Home Sales rose 3.3 percent in April

Americans bought more new homes last month, the latest evidence that the U.S. housing market could be starting to recover.
New-home sales increased 3.3 percent in April from March… Sales rose sharply in every region of the country but the South. The gain pushed the annual sales pace to its second-highest level in two years.

FHFA: House Price Index Shows First Yearly Gain Since 2007

“Consistent with other housing market indicators, the FHFA HPI showed stronger house prices in the first quarter, most notably in March,” said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis. “Increased affordability and a somewhat smaller inventory of homes for sale are positively impacting house prices.”

JPMorgan CEO: Improving Housing Market

I believe we’re very close to the inflection point (on housing). People look at prices that are still coming down but all the other signs are flashing green,” [CEO Jamie Dimon] said… “the shadow inventory everyone talks about is lower today than it was 12 months ago. It will be a lot lower 12 months from now,” he said. Distressed inventory “is actually coming down, not going up. Homes for sale are about half what they were four years ago. You could come up with a pretty bullish case.

Las Vegas Home sales up 13% in February, Inventory off sharply

Sales in 2011 were at record levels, more than during the bubble, and it looks like 2012 will be an even stronger year – even with some new rules that slow the foreclosure process. The total number of local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in February was 3,794. That’s up from 3,591 in January, and up from 3,371 total sales in February 2011. An important component is the decline in inventory. Total single family inventory was down 15.4% and excluding contingent listings, it was down 45.6% year over year!

Southern California Home Sales Jump in Feb, Prices Down Yr/Yr

The Southland housing market posted the highest number of February home sales in five years as record levels of investor and cash buyers helped spur robust activity under $300,000. The median price paid for homes across the six-county region inched up from January but dropped below the year-earlier level for the 12th consecutive month, a real estate information service reported. The increase in sales between January and February was larger than usual. On average, sales have risen 1.1 percent between those two months since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Southland sales have increased year-over-year for two consecutive months and for six out of the last seven months.

Warren Buffet on the USA Housing Market

Warren Buffett makes several key USA housing points in the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder meeting: Housing completions have been at record lows; there are currently more households being formed than new housing units completed, and this is decreasing the excess supply; the excess supply will be “sopped up” at different rates across the country; housing is a key reason for the sluggish economy (not the only reason).

US Housing Among Most Attractive Assets In The World

The housing market in the south of the United States is among the most attractive asset classes in the world, Marc Faber, the editor of the Gloom Boom & Doom Report, told CNBC on Friday, because while homebuilder stocks had rallied, property prices hadn’t moved much. “If you look at the supply of homes, new construction, and you compare it to immigration into the United States, to the growth of the population, then these markets are very attractive from a longer term perspective,” Faber told Bernie Lo on CNBC’s Straight Talk.

California November Home Sales

Indicators of market distress in Calirornia continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is high, but not increasing. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, cash and non-owner occupied buying is flat at a high level, DataQuick reported.