Improving Housing Market Likely to Continue Into 2013,
Latest HousingPulse Tracking Survey Results Show

WASHINGTON, DC (December 21) – This year’s gains in the housing market are likely to continue into 2013, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey results released today.  A combination of factors, including declining time-on-market, a drop in distressed properties and rising average home prices, are all pointing to a strengthening housing market in the months ahead.

Separately, real estate agents are expressing mixed opinions on the impact of a possible reduction or elimination of the mortgage interest deduction in 2013. Most warn that a change would “devastate” the housing market, while others predict only a modest impact on home sales.

The November HousingPulse findings show homes are selling at a relatively brisk pace. Time-on-market for non-distressed homes averaged 12.2 weeks last month, down from 14.5 weeks a year earlier.

One big factor having a positive impact on the housing market, particularly home prices, is a continuing decline in distressed properties. The HousingPulse Distressed Property Index dropped to its lowest level in three years in November. Just 33.7% of the home purchase transactions tracked last month involved distressed properties. This was down from 41.4% a year earlier and from a record-high of 45.6% in March 2011.

For non-distressed properties, the HousingPulse survey recorded an average (based on three months) home price of $271,700 in November. That was up a healthy 4.9% from the average non-distressed home price of $258,900 recorded a year earlier.

Current homeowners are continuing to drive the recovery of the housing market, the latest HousingPulse results show. In November, current homeowners accounted for 46.3% of the total home purchase transactions tracked. This was the highest level ever recorded in the HousingPulse survey and was up from 44.8% a year earlier.

Responding to a special “bonus” question in the November HousingPulse survey, a number of real estate agents expressed strong concerns about a possible move by Congress to trim back or eliminate the popular mortgage interest deduction. They predicted that reducing the value of the deduction could significantly reduce home sales going forward.

A smaller share of respondents were adamant that reducing or even eliminating the deduction would have only a minor impact on the housing market in 2013 and beyond.

The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey involves approximately 2,500 real estate agents nationwide each month and provides up-to-date intelligence on home sales and mortgage usage patterns.

For more information on the survey, contact John Campbell at Campbell Surveys at (202) 363-2069 or jcampbell@housingpulse.com.

* * *

12/21/2012