Home Prices Keep Soaring

A new report on CNN money today, July 30, 2013, confirms what realtors have been saying for a year now: The housing market is coming back very strong, with prices increasing every month for the past 12 months. Some cities are now seeing prices as high or higher than before the "bubble" of 2007.

At this point, the longer you wait to buy a home, or to lock in a price with a Rent to Own option, the higher the price you'll eventually pay for your next home.

Read what CNN has to say:

Home Prices Keep Soaring

By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney July 30, 2013: 9:28 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Home prices continued to gain steam in May according to a closely-watched reading, even as mortgage rates climbed.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index was up 12.2% compared to a year ago, slightly better than the 12.1% rise in April. It was the biggest year-over-year jump in prices since March 2006, near the peak of the housing bubble.

Just a year ago, the index showed a 12-month decline in prices. But they have increased every month since June 2012, and each month the increase has been greater than the month before.

Home values have been rising due to a combination of factors, including a drop in foreclosures that had been putting downward pressure on prices, and a tight supply of houses available for sale. But the record low mortgage rates of earlier this year have risen significantly since then, crimping the purchasing power of potential home buyers.

Still, at least in this May reading, the mortgage rates have not slowed the rapid increase in prices.

Related: 5 things to know about rising mortgage rates

"Home prices continue to strengthen," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. All 20 markets measured in the index have higher prices than they did in April. And two cities - Dallas and Denver -- now have prices that are even higher than they were at the height of the bubble.

Home recovery spurs renovation boom

Many of the markets with the biggest year-over-year changes in prices are those that were hit hardest by the collapse of housing. Prices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta are all up more than 20% from a year ago. New York had the most modest rise with a 3.3% increase.

But the rapid price gains over the last year are at a level that no expert thinks can be sustained. Some had even suggested it was unhealthy for the market, raising the risk of a new housing bubble, at least in some regions. The rapid rise of housing prices in the middle of the decade eventually sparked the crisis in the financial markets and the Great Recession.

Just a year ago, the index showed a 12-month decline in prices. But they have increased every month since June 2012, and each month the increase has been greater than the month before.

Home values have been rising due to a combination of factors, including a drop in foreclosures that had been putting downward pressure on prices, and a tight supply of houses available for sale. But the record low mortgage rates of earlier this year have risen significantly since then, crimping the purchasing power of potential home buyers.

Still, at least in this May reading, the mortgage rates have not slowed the rapid increase in prices.

Related: 5 things to know about rising mortgage rates

"Home prices continue to strengthen," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. All 20 markets measured in the index have higher prices than they did in April. And two cities - Dallas and Denver -- now have prices that are even higher than they were at the height of the bubble.

Home recovery spurs renovation boom

Many of the markets with the biggest year-over-year changes in prices are those that were hit hardest by the collapse of housing. Prices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta are all up more than 20% from a year ago. New York had the most modest rise with a 3.3% increase.

But the rapid price gains over the last year are at a level that no expert thinks can be sustained. Some had even suggested it was unhealthy for the market, raising the risk of a new housing bubble, at least in some regions. The rapid rise of housing prices in the middle of the decade eventually sparked the crisis in the financial markets and the Great Recession.

Buyer Benefits for Rent To Own Homes

There are many benefits to buying a home through the Rent to Own process, especially if you can't currently qualify for a mortgage, but don't want to just throw away money making the landlord rich, while you end up with nothing.

Here is what Zillow has to say about the Benefits of Buying a home through Rent to Own:

• Opportunity to Own Your Dream Home. Many people find their dream home but need time to make their purchase. The Rent To Own purchase not only allows you to have that time, but also allows you to live in your home before you decide on exercising the option to purchase.

• Make Your Rent an Investment. Both a portion of your monthly rent and your entire down payment at closing will be credited to your purchase price at the time of sale.

• Potential to Own With Any Credit. Whether you’ve had late payments, a bankruptcy or simply haven’t had enough time to build up your credit, a Rent To Own home may enable you to build equity and repair credit while renting to own your home.

• Maintain Your Flexibility. Rent To Own enables you to build your equity in a home, but also gives you the flexibility to walk away from the property at the end of your lease term, should you decide you don’t want to make the purchase.

• Profits from Appreciation. The purchase price is fixed in the beginning and is not negotiable after an agreement is signed by both the buyer and seller. Fast growth markets may enable extra equity gains for the buyer.

• Upfront Timing. The timing for moving into a Rent to Own home can be much shorter than purchasing a home, as much of the paperwork takes place at the end of your lease, should you exercise your option to purchase and be approved for a mortgage.

• Credit Improvement Specialists Available. There are credit experts that can help you build your credit to the point of making a purchase at the end of your lease.

• Preparation for Home Ownership. The Rent To Own process affords you, as the buyer, the opportunity to prepare for what is necessary when owning your own home. Typically, you will be responsible for the daily maintenance and upkeep of the home and yard depending on the terms of the Rent To Own agreement.

• Privacy. The renter is not the owner on the deed in public county records.


We have Rent to Own homes available now, and always have more coming in, week by week. Take a look at our website to see what we have available now, and if you're not already on our mailing list, join so you can find out about newer Rent to Own homes -- sometimes even before we post them on our site or begin marketing them on the Internet.

Go here to find out more: MyHappyHomeSolutions.com

June Home Sales: Woodridge Experiences Slight Increase in Prices, Sales

Posted in the Woodridge Patch by Mary Ann Lopez (Editor), July 16, 2013

Year-over-year, sales and prices increased slightly in Woodridge, while sales in DuPage County are up about 17 percent, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors.

The 28 single, detached homes sold in Woodridge during June 2013 represented a 7.7 percent increase over June 2012, when 26 homes were sold, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe). There were 30 homes sold in Woodridge during May.

As the number of homes sold increased slightly in Woodridge, the median home price also experienced some growth. The median price increased 4.3 percent to $242,500 from $232,500 in June 2012, according to the statistics.

Sales of single-family, detached homes in suburban Chicago increased 17.1 percent in June 2013 compared with the same period a year ago, MORe reported. Sales in the 200 communities MORe gathers information on in DuPage, Lake and suburban Cook counties – experienced notable sales gains last month.

Sales momentum is expected to continue in those communities, as the number of detached homes under contract in June grew by 36.5 percent in those same communities, according to MORe. The median sale price for detached homes also increased 9.5 percent from the previous June, and according to MORe this marks the fourth month in a row of year-over-year price growth.

In DuPage County, Clarendon Hills experienced the most significant increase in sales over the same period last year. Several Patch communities in DuPage County experienced a decline in the median sales price during June, but Downers Grove saw the largest decrease in price. Sales prices dropped -13.7 percent with sales prices declining from $355,000 in June 2012 to $306,500 in June 2013, according to the statistics.

Darien experienced the most significant decline in the number of homes sold, dropping -18.2 percent from June 2012.

Buyers should look to act soon if they are interested in buying so they lock in today’s low interest rates, said Tonya Corder, president of MORe and managing broker of Keller Williams Preferred Realty in Orland Park.

“A slow and steady growth in home prices, combined with more properties coming on the market, is creating ideal conditions for both buyers and sellers,” she said.