money.cnn.com/2005/09/13/real_estate/buying_selling/real_estate_fall_trends/index.htm?cnn=yes
Latest home prices for 149 markets NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The red-hot US housing market, after a typical s ummer slowdown, has taken off again and Hurricane Katrina contributed to up-ticks in several localities. According to the National Association of Realtors, with inventory of home s available for sale across the country so tight anyway, rebuilding the Gulf Coast will place additional pressure on all home prices. "New home prices will be immediately impacted because of increased constr uction costs," says NAR economist Lawrence Yun, "and that will filter do wn to existing home prices as well." That's because as new house prices rise, more homebuyers will consider existing homes, increasing the deman d (and prices) for them. Home sales have already spiked, as has rental demand, in regions surround ing the disaster zone in the Gulf Coast, according to NAR. Michael Carliner, economist with the National Association of Home Builder s, points to increased housing demand in Baton Rouge and Houston, which pre-Katrina, had a large inventory of vacant rental housing. In Baton Rouge, evacuees have bid up property values by up to 30 percent in just the last week or two.
With home prices having gained so muc h in the past few years, skeptics have been waiting for what they consid er to be an inevitable slowdown, and were quick to point to sluggish act ivity over the summer. Those skeptics are still worried, but for the time being, there already a re signs that the rally is picking up where it left off. Florida remains strong Katrina has had little effect on neighboring Florida markets, except for a trickle of hurricane evacuees in the panhandle area. Some businesses h ave also temporarily relocated to Tampa and other Florida towns, putting a little more pressure on markets. Overall though, Sunshine State markets have continued strong and high pri ces are transforming landscapes. As single-family home costs have exceed ed affordability for many Floridians, condo sales have boomed. That has, in turn, affected the rental market -- investors are snapping u p apartment buildings for condo conversion and sending their prices clim bing. Said Matthew Martinez, who owns rental properties in Boston and Florida: "I've looked at 22 apartment buildings in Miami in the past two weeks an d bought none. Elena Felipa, vice p resident of the Corcoron Group in West Palm, said "Lots of apartments ar e being converted to condos," she says. Felipa says many recently constructed rental buildings some just a year o r two old are already undergoing condo conversion. Area prices have hit $350 a square foot off the water and $1,000 a square foot or more for waterfront property, according to Felipa. That has driven bargain seekers three hours north to the Daytona area, wh ere condos on the Intercoastal Waterway can still be had for $400,000 or $500,000. Northern perspective Manhattan is about as far removed from the disaster in the Delta as one c an get in the United States. But the market revitalized during late summ er as well, after it paused to catch its breath in July, according to Co rcoron's CEO Pam Liebman. "What we're seeing is that fall is off to a running start, a sprint reall y," said Liebman. She credits talk of interest rates stabilizing (a poss ible Katrina effect) for triggering the new "burst of buying, especially in entry level apartments," which in Gotham often means million-dollar, one-bedroom co-ops. Manhattan's other consistently strong suit this year has been high-end pr operties. "We have seen very strong buys from the superwealthy, especial ly hedge fund operators. This year we had more transactions above $10 mi llion than ever," said Liebman. The wealthy are also out in force on Long Island beach communities, accor ding to Liebman. "In the Hamptons," she says, "the biggest problem is a lack of inventory. The most expensive homes there, of course, are on the oceanfront. "Near o r on the ocean, you're practically setting your own price," she says. Freddie Mac is suspending mortgage payment collections for hurricane vict ims.
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