Housing Stays Highly Affordable for Fifth Consecutive Quarter

Housing Stays Highly Affordable for Fifth Consecutive Quarter




RISMEDIA, May 29, 2010—Nationwide housing, bolstered by favorable interest rates and low house prices, hovered for the fifth consecutive quarter near its highest level of affordability since the series was first compiled 19 years ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).



The HOI showed that 72.2% of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $63,800, slightly higher than the previous quarter and near the record-high 72.5% set during the first quarter a year ago.



“Today’s report is very encouraging because it indicates that home ownership continues its more than year-long trend of remaining within reach of more households than it has for almost two decades,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “With interest rates still hovering at low levels, companies starting to hire new employees and the economy beginning to rebound, this should encourage more home buyers to enter the market and help further stabilize housing and the economy.”



Indianapolis-Carmel and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., shared the ranking as the most affordable major housing markets in the country. In Indianapolis, which has held this top ranking for nearly five years, almost 95% of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $68,700. In Youngstown, the same percentage of homes were affordable to households earning a median $53,500.



Also near the top of the list of the most affordable major metro housing markets were Syracuse, N.Y.; Dayton, Ohio; and Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.



Five smaller housing markets posted even higher affordability scores than Indianapolis and Youngstown. Among them, Bay City, Mich., where 98.7% of homes sold during the first quarter of 2010 were affordable to median-income earners, was the most affordable market in the country. Other smaller housing markets near the top of the index included Kokomo, Ind.; Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill.; Sandusky, Ohio; and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., respectively.



New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., continued to lead the nation as its least affordable major housing market during the first quarter of 2010. Slightly less than 21% of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable to those earning the New York area’s median income of $65,600. This was the eighth consecutive quarter that the New York metropolitan division has occupied this position.



The other major metro areas near the bottom of the affordability scale included San Francisco; Honolulu; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Redwood City, Calif.



San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. was the least affordable of the smaller metro housing markets in the country during the first quarter. Others near the bottom of the chart included Ocean City, N.J; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Napa, Calif.; and Flagstaff, Ariz.



For more information, visit www.nahb.org (http://www.nahb.org).

Point of Sale in South Carolina -- 2010 Session Begins

Point of Sale in South Carolina -- 2010 Session Begins

Changes to South Carolina's property tax structure, known as Act 388, have had a negative effect on the real estate market and the economy of SC. Act 388 included a provision allowing for point of sale reassessments. Now, property is reassessed each time there is an assessable transfer of interest (ATI), based on the sales price.

Point of sale assessment point of sale (ATI) reassessment translates into a dramatic increase in property tax and is driving real estate investors out of our state, while businesses considering locating in South Carolina are choosing our neighboring states instead. From industrial properties in the upstate to commercial facilities in the midlands to investment residential property along the coast, every market has suffered.

South Carolina REALTORS are supporting H.3272 that addresses the inequities caused by point-of-sale assessment. H.3272 extends the 15% reassessment cap applied to all properties at countywide resassement to assessable transfers of interest (ATIs) and uses that value as the baseline for the next countywide reassessment cycle. It has already passed the House and is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor.

Addressing point of sale is paramount to attracting commercial investment and job creation in South Carolina and sends the message to potential investors that SC is ready to compete. Passage of H.3272 will put South Carolina back on the path to economic growth.Tell me more
Talking Points
Prior to 2006, counties in SC assessed property every five years, though each of the forty-six counties had a different assessment method. Some counties assessed very close to market value, while others assessed at just fifty percent of market value.

In the residential market, neighboring properties now have gross differences in property tax obligations, because one property sold post 2006 property tax reform and the other has not changed hands. This inequity will only worsen over time, as longtime residents now have a disincentive to move.

In the commercial market, when a property changes hands; the additional property tax burden must be bourn by the tenants. If the leases on that property do not allow for the increase, then the actual value of the property decreases as the commercial facilities net operating income decreases.
Further, a commercial facility that has not changed hands that is located near another that has been sold recently has an unfair and inequitable market advantage – the ability to offer lower lease costs with wider income margins. This produces another disincentive to transfer.
Addressing point of sale assessment cannot wait!
Subject:Approve Point of Sale Legislation

The time to act on point of sale legislation is NOW! Please support H.3272, which has been set for Special Order and is awaiting second reading.While I am disappointed that the Senate did not vote on or even debate H.3272 last year, the start of the new session provides the opportunity to immediately address this issue and move our state forward. Correcting the inequities caused by point of sale assessment is paramount to attracting commercial investment and job creation in South Carolina.Here are the facts: Point of sale assessment results in disparate property tax burden between neighboring properties, higher office and store rental costs for South Carolina businesses, higher rents for non-homeowners, increased pricing on the goods and services South Carolinians enjoy, disincentives to transfer property, inequitable tax burdens based on whether a property has transferred, and property devaluation. All of this forces businesses looking to locate in South Carolina to take their investment and jobs elsewhere. Hundreds of millions of dollars of commercial investment in South Carolina has been lost since Act 388 took effect. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

I respectfully urge South Carolina Delegation to bring H.3272 up for consideration and vote yes for this bill. The continued economic recovery of this great state depends on it.