Monthly Archive: January 2012

Jan 12

Leading Economic Indicators for Des Moines, Iowa

Leading economic indicators for the state fell for the 4th straight month, to 104.29, down 1.07% on an annualized rate.  Remember, and negative reading at or over 2% would indicate an oncoming recession in the state.  While we are pretty far away from that point, we are at the same reading we had in June of 2008, right before Iowa’s economy started turning down.  This will be one of the more important data points to pay attention to over the next couple months.  Especially if you are thinking of buying or selling your home!

We are living in unknown times.  For a headlight to steer through the fog, give me a call.  Maybe I can shine some light on the current situation and give you a clear direction for your home buying or selling decisions.

Leave comment

Jan 09

Foreclosure Rate in Des Moines

The foreclosure & 90+ day delinquency rates remained elevated in October.  Data just released shows a slight rise in each measure.

I’m in contact with a lot of investors, and they seem to be the main buyer of these properties in Des Moines.  They are finding some great deals, fixing them up, and reselling them for a nice profit.  If you need help finding an investment home, please contact me at 344-1068.

Leave comment

Jan 06

Housing Prices in Des Moines

I was very interested in the December housing number.  Due to the unseasonably warm temperatures, I thought maybe we’d have some support or perhaps even a move upwards from November.  But, to my chagrin, the seasonal forces are too strong.  Prices dropped about $2,000, from $138,687 in November to $136,354 in December.  No reason for alarm though, since this is an every year occurrence, and our yearly growth rate has accelerated to almost 1% as measured on a yearly basis!  Hip hip… hooray!

Months of supply also dropped to 6.9 months, which is at the top range of a neutral market, close to the 7 months supply of a buyers market and still indicative of slight downward pressure on prices.

Leave comment

Jan 04

Interest Rates, Employment, & Building Permits in Des Moines

Here are a couple real estate related data points I like to track on a monthly basis.

The most important of these is employment, which rose 0.6% from last year.  This number, while not great, is encouraging since it is the only the second month of positive growth we have seen in the last year.  We are finally gaining jobs instead of losing them.  Let’s hope this growth continues!

While employment is the BEST leading indicator of the housing market, another one is housing permits.  The number of permits issued grew at a 9% annual pace last month.  We haven’t see the seasonal drop in permits this year, which is very interesting.  Either we’ve hit a bottom, or the bottom will fall out over the coming months.  Looking forward to finding out.

Finally, interest rates continued their decline in December, down from 3.99% in November to 3.96%.

Think looking at data and leading indicators is beneficial to your house buying endeavor?  Me too.  Call or e-mail me to set up an appointment and we can discuss all the information available to make a great housing decision!

Leave comment