Washington home prices fell 7.8% in the year ended in November, by the math of S&P/Case-Shiller indexes. That's the worst depreciation rate in this database that dates to 1987, as this chart shows. (Click it to see bigger version!)
The only good news in this may be that of the 20 major U.S. markets these guys track, eight have suffered deeper one-year losses than DC/MD/VA. A 20-city composite index is off 7.7% in the same year.
S&P/Case-Shiller uses a "paired sales" index that tracks individual losses or gans on homes sold vs. following movements in overall medians or averages of all homes sold in a given period. Here's S&P index changes, for the year ended in November and each region's fall from the peak. All 20 are off their highs ...
Region | Past year | From peak |
Miami | -15.1% | -15.3% |
San Diego | -13.4% | -16.3% |
Las Vegas | -13.2% | -14.0% |
Detroit | -13.0% | -17.2% |
Phoenix | -12.9% | -14.5% |
Tampa | -12.6% | -14.5% |
LA | -11.9% | -12.2% |
San Francisco | -8.6% | -10.5% |
DC/MD/VA | -7.8% | -11.0% |
Minneapolis | -6.6% | -7.3% |
Cleveland | -5.8% | -8.3% |
New York | -4.8% | -5.5% |
Chicago | -3.9% | -4.1% |
Denver | -3.1% | -4.9% |
Boston | -3.0% | -8.2% |
Atlanta | -2.0% | -3.7% |
Dallas | -1.2% | -3.2% |
Portland | +1.3% | -1.5% |
Seattle | +1.8% | -2.7% |
Charlotte | +2.9% | -2.4% |
20-city composite | -7.7% | -8.6% |
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate another half-point, to 3%, as part of a continued effort to keep the U.S. economy from falling into a recession.Here's the Fed's thoughts on housing ...
Moreover, recent information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets.
To read the entire Fed statement, CLICK HERE!
Pimco Fed watcher Paul McCulley says ... "The right stuff - half percent, with a balance of risks statement skewed to concerns about growth, leaving the door open for more. ben is honoring the covanent he made with the markets on Jan 10: You become more risk seeking and I will back you. Yea verily, he has."
It might become a little cheaper to buy a home. Part of the government's economic stimulus package announced Thursday (DETAILS HERE) would boost the size of so-called "conforming" mortgage loans (under $417,000) bought by government-sponsored agencies. That move could allow more borrowers to find lower rates when buying a home or when refinancing an existing mortgage.
The current limit is $362,000 for Federal Housing Administration loans and $417,000 for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Interest rates are lower for "conforming" loans, and "jumbo" loans exceeding those amounts have become much harder to get since the credit crunch hit last summer.
Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports today on a mini-refinancing boom nationally. Refi applications are up 92% since November, the group said, and up 16.9% last week from the week before. Refi applications made up 66% of all apps last week. And average rates for 30-year loans, conforming of course, dropped to 5.49% from 5.62% a week earlier.
Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde will dedicate Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Gainesville, Virginia:
11 a.m., Saturday
February 2, 2008
Holy Trinity Church
8214 Linton Hall Road
Gainesville, VA 20155
"The dedication of the newly-completed Church of the Holy Trinity in Gainesville is not only a blessing for this parish family, but also for our entire diocesan Church. I pray that present and future members of this Parish of the Holy Trinity will experience within these sacred walls the living presence of Jesus Christ, who will unite them in giving praise to God our Father in the power of the Holy Spirit and strengthen them for their witness to truth and to charity in the world," said Bishop Loverde. (Catholic Herald)
Construction began in February 2006 and was funded by the parish's Founding Families capital campaign and the Rooted in Faith-Forward in Hope diocesan capital campaign. Photos of the church are available at http://www.holytrinityparish.net/
"We are very excited to finally have a home in Prince William County and we are looking forward to being in our spiritual home; to worship God as a parish and be able to provide the sacraments. Holy Trinity Church is a beautiful setting to glorify God and the Blessed Trinity," said Father Francis J. Peffley, Pastor of Holy Trinity.
The church's Irish gothic-style pillars and arches, paired in threes, symbolize the Holy Trinity. A focal point for the 80,000 square foot Church is the main stained glass window, which has three rings made out of pre-cast concrete, weighing over 12 tons. The cost for the church, with furnishings, will total approximately $18 million.
Father Peffley celebrated the parish's first Mass on July 21, 2001 at the Benedictine Monastery in Bristow, Virginia. Since the parish was established in 2001, Holy Trinity Church has grown from 200 parishioners in 2001 to 5,390 parishioners in 2007. To date, Mass for Holy Trinity parishioners has been celebrated at the Benedictine Monastery, Brentsville District High School, and at other area parishes.
Over 400,000 registered Catholics belong to the 68 parishes of the Arlington Diocese, which has opened six new parishes, three new schools, and established three new missions since 1999. Further information can be found at http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/.
Mortgage insurers PMI published their latest home-price risk study ... and guess who's near the top? PMI economists juggle price momentum, affordability, regional economics and mortgage-payment problems to come up with their index, that translates to chance of home-price declines in the next two years in the 50 top U.S. markets. Here's the dirty dozen, PMI's riskiest ...
... 17. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV - 37%
PMI says: "Are we nearing the end of the current housing downturn? We don't think so, given the magnitude of the run up in housing (with no significant housing downturn since the recession of 1991-92). That doesn't mean that the level of housing activity has to fall to 1992 levels-after all there are almost 22 million more households today than there were back then, with higher income levels and lower unemployment rates. But the unsustainable surge of 2002-05 has to be worked off, and that's what's going on in the housing market today. The famous economist Herb Stein once noted, ‘If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.' That is probably the best way to view the housing market today. We know that given the combination of demographics, job and income growth, and the level of interest rates, housing demand can't fall without bounds."
To read more, CLICK HERE
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