By an overwhelming margin, American voters strongly value homeownership and believe tax incentives are appropriate and reasonable. Three-fourths of voters who took part in a new nationwide survey affirmed their belief in homeownership, saying owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make.

Survey respondents also said they object to efforts to weaken or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction or diminish a federal role to help qualified home buyers obtain affordable 30-year mortgages.

"The American electorate is sending a clear message that owning a home remains a cornerstone of the American Dream and preserving a federal commitment to homeownership is essential to maintain a thriving middle class and get housing and the economy back on track," said Neil Newhouse, a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies. His company conducted the survey in early January to gauge likely voters’ attitudes toward homeownership and housing policy issues.

The comprehensive survey of 1500 voters, conducted on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders by the Republican and Democratic polling firms of Public Opinion Strategies in Alexandria, Va., and Lake Research Partners in Washington, D.C., includes data from key political "swing areas."

The poll shows that three out of four voters (both owners and renters) believe it is appropriate and reasonable for the federal government to provide tax incentives to promote homeownership. That sentiment cuts across regional and party lines, with 84 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Independents saying they agreed with the statement.

Two-thirds of respondents said the federal government should help home buyers to afford a long-term or 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Nearly three fourths (73 percent) of voters oppose eliminating the mortgage interest deduction. These figures held firm across the political spectrum, with 77 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Independents against eliminating the mortgage interest deduction.

More than two-thirds of those polled (68 percent) would be less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who proposed to abolish the deduction, a figure that was virtually identical across all party affiliations (69 percent of Independents and 68 percent of Democrats and Republicans).

A majority of voters are also against proposals to reduce the mortgage interest deduction, eliminate the deduction for interest paid for a second home, limit the deduction for those earning more than $250,000 per year, scale back the deduction for home owners with mortgages above $500,000 and do away with the deduction for interest paid on home equity loans.

"With the 2012 election season in full swing, candidates running for the White House and Congress would be wise to heed the will of the American voters, who have expressed broad support for government policies that encourage homeownership and oppose efforts to make it more difficult to get a home loan and to tamper with the mortgage interest deduction," said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners.

Among the poll’s other key findings:

--An overwhelming number -- 96 percent -- of home owners are happy with their decision to own and 84 percent who are "underwater," or owe more on their mortgages than their home is worth, expressed the same sentiment.
--79 percent of home owners would advise a family member or close friend just starting out to buy a home, and 69 percent of those who are underwater on their mortgage would offer the same advice.
--74 percent said that despite the ups and downs in the housing market, owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make.
Homeownership and a retirement savings program are considered by voters to be their best long-term investments.
--78 percent of respondents said that owning their own home is very important to them.
--Nearly seven out of 10 voters who are not currently home owners (68 percent) said it was a goal of theirs to buy a home.
--Job uncertainty and saving for a downpayment and closing costs are the biggest barriers to buying a home.

The survey findings are consistent with the results of other public opinion surveys. In a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted in June, 89 percent said that homeownership is an important part of the American Dream and more than 90 percent indicated that it is important for the federal government to continue the mortgage interest deduction.

According to a Pew Research Study conducted last March, 81 percent of respondents agree that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make and 81 percent of renters surveyed said they would like to buy a house.

"Even in a down housing market, homeownership remains a core American value, with the vast majority of citizens who do not currently own a home saying they want to buy a home," said Bob Nielsen, president of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Reno, Nevada. "Those running for office in November need to understand that voters will not look kindly on any candidates who seek to dismantle the nation’s long-term commitment to homeownership."

The survey, which has a margin of error of ±2.5 percent, is a follow-up to a similar national poll conducted last May.

NWREporter -- Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

NWMLS KIRKLAND, WA. (Feb. 6, 2012) – Pending sales may not appear to be much higher than 2011 (up 13.7 percent in January), but the numbers are "astoundingly good," considering such factors as harsh weather and the tax credits that boosted sales at this time a year ago, said Ken Anderson, president and designated broker at Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty in Olympia.

The latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show pending sales in January outgained the same month a year ago by 739 transactions. Brokers reported 6,132 mutually accepted offers in January to start the year with a 13.7 increase over the January 2011 figure of 5,393 pending sales.

"Given that we lost a week with some of the worst weather in 16 years, the numbers are astoundingly good," remarked Anderson, a director for Northwest MLS. "This is the first January in four that we can make a reasonable year-over-year comparison," he added, noting numbers are no longer skewed by the artificial stimulus of various tax credits and incentives that date to 2009. "The improvement in the numbers show that the market is healing itself and standing on its own." Anderson commented.

Declining inventory, extremely low interest rates, and positive job growth are contributing to rising optimism among industry professionals, but Northwest MLS directors say distressed properties continue to be a drag on the market's recovery.

Inventory is down almost 20 percent from a year ago. Brokers added 6,666 new listings to inventory during January, with single family homes making up about 85 percent of those additions. At month end, MLS members reported 26,226 total active listings; a year ago, there were 32,647 active listings.

Despite the smaller selection, the price choices overall are wide ranging, from a low of $13,000 for a manufactured home in Sultan to an asking price of $26.8 million for a waterfront home on Mercer Island.

Snohomish County reported the sharpest drop in inventory, with the selection at about two-thirds of the year-ago levels (a decline of 32.6 percent). Several of the 29 MLS map areas within King County also reported declines of 30 percent or more in the total number of active listings.

"The ongoing reduction of available inventory is still impacting the market," said OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate and a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors. "We have plenty of qualified buyers who are ready to buy if they could just find a home," he noted.

The lower number of new listings coming on the market is due to a combination of factors, said J. Lennox Scott, CEO and chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate. Among them, he mentioned underwater sellers (who owe more on their homes than the current value), sellers with equity holding off for higher prices, and the lack of new construction/condominiums. "The low number of new listings combined with the increase in sales activity is creating the shortage of homes for sale in specific areas and price ranges," Scott reported.

Northwest MLS reported 3,469 closed sales last month, up nearly 8.2 percent from a year ago when members reported 3,207 completed transactions.

"A sellers' market has returned in the areas close to the job centers of Seattle and Bellevue, up to the one million dollar price point," Scott noted, adding, "We are also seeing the same situation in the more affordable price ranges in the surrounding market areas, caused by a shortage of inventory and healthy-to-strong sales activity."

Echoing that sentiment was Northwest MLS director Frank Wilson, who said, "Inventory in many price points and locations is dropping and what buyers are finding are overpriced or under staged homes." Wilson, the branch managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate in Poulsbo, also foresees upward pressure on prices as choices become narrower.

For now, however, prices are showing mixed signs --stabilizing in some areas while declining or increasing in other areas.

The median price for last month's closed sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) was $214,990, down about 11.7 percent from a year ago when the median selling price was $243,500. The price changes ranged from year-over-year increases reported in five counties (Ferry, Grant, Kittitas, Mason, and Pacific) to declines of up to 40 percent (in Clallam and Grays Harbor counties).

"Price increases are muted by short sales and foreclosures that are causing low appraisal values," observed Scott.

MLS directors Jacobi and Wilson agreed.

"We are simultaneously seeing the continued rise in pending and closed sales," Jacobi stated. "Usually pent up demand and rising sales means that prices will be going up. But, unfortunately, that isn't the case thanks to the high level of distressed properties that continue to drag down the entire market," he explained.

"What is tempering our real estate recovery in Kitsap and much of Puget Sound are the short sales and REO properties that are on the market and the way the banks are dealing with their sales process," said Wilson, while pointing to several encouraging signs.

All the pieces are in place for a more normal market in much of Kitsap, Wilson said. "With pending sales up 17 percent in Kitsap, buyers are taking advantage of the values this market is offering and the extremely low interest rates. If this trend continues we should begin seeing price appreciation as we progress into the year," he remarked.

Improving numbers show the artificial stimulus of the tax credits was not the key to the recovering market, suggested Anderson. "Instead, today's affordability has buyers in all price segments returning – and feeling more confident about the future."

Northwest MLS director Darin Stenvers believes "the perfect storm is brewing." He said the pent-up need for homes in good condition is creating shorter market times and sales close to the original asking price. "It is a great time for sellers who have been waiting," said Stenvers, the office managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate in Bellingham.

"The market is almost done with the needed correction," Stenvers stated, adding, "Distressed homes and REOs are not going away fast but have slowed and should soon level off." He also foresees a loosening of overly restrictive lending guidelines.

Reflecting on a real estate career that dates to 1990, Wilson said, "I remember at the height of the market people would say ‘I wish I would have bought some waterfront back in 2001…or I wish I would have picked up a couple of rentals a few years ago'."  For these people, "the clock has been rolled back and you now have an opportunity to purchase real estate near the bottom of the market," he suggested.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.

Copyright © 2012 Northwest Multiple Listing Service
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Home sales finished the year much stronger than they started, with pending sales for the fourth quarter outgaining the first quarter by more than 3,000 transactions for a 21 percent increase, according to new figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

A year-over-year comparison shows December's pending sales (mutually accepted offers) rose more than 20 percent from a year ago. Northwest MLS brokers reported 5,237 pending sales last month, up from the previous year when they recorded 4,359 transactions.

Last month's pending volume exceeded the number of new listings (4,604) for the second consecutive month. The last time such an imbalance occurred was November 2006.

Closed sales also outgained year-ago totals. December's completed transactions were up 7 percent from twelve months ago, rising from 4,430 closings to 4,741. Six counties registered double-digit gains (Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, and Snohomish).

Following the pattern of recent months, prices were down. The median price for December's closed sales of single family homes and condominiums declined about 11.8 percent from a year ago, dropping from $255,000 to $225,000. Brokers attribute much of the slip in prices to the number of distressed properties in the mix. In some areas, foreclosures and short sales, which tend to be sharply discounted, account for about one-third of sales.

Also trending downward is inventory. Brokers across the Northwest MLS service area, which encompasses 21 counties, added 4,604 new listings last month, down from the year-ago total of 5,460 listings. With those additions, there were 26,639 active listings in the MLS database at month end, a drop of more than 5,500 listings from a year ago (a 17.2 percent decrease).

For the Northwest map areas covering Seattle, inventory is down 30 percent compared to a year ago.

"All over we are seeing healthy marketplaces emerge as the inventory levels drop," said J. Lennox Scott, CEO and chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate. "As you get closer to the job centers of Seattle and Bellevue, the marketplace is looking strong again," he added while expressing optimism for the coming year. "The outlook for 2012 is the continuation of a strengthening marketplace, especially in the more affordable to mid range priced homes."

The combination of shrinking inventory and favorable financing is causing some areas to tilt toward a seller's market, as measured by the supply of homes. Area-wide, there is about a five month supply of homes, which is generally considered to be a balanced market favoring neither buyers nor sellers.

In Snohomish County the months' supply is pegged at 3.2 months, which means it would take approximately that much time to exhaust current inventory at the current pace of sales with no replenishment. Inventory of active listings in that county is down more than 28 percent from a year ago.

For King County overall, the supply is approximately 3.6 months, but in some sub-areas within the county the supply is less than 3 months -- including parts of South King County (notably around Renton and Federal Way), parts of North Seattle (including Ballard, Sand Point, and Lake City), and parts of Bellevue (East of I-405).

Scott anticipates a slight increase in sales activity in the higher end market (up to a million dollars) around Seattle and Bellevue. "This is mainly due to the return of higher FHA loan limits and an anticipated increase in the sales activity of the mid price ranges, which will open up opportunities for some buyers to move up in price range," he explained. Some brokers are even reporting multiple offers and escalation clauses from buyers of well priced homes, according to Scott. He noted historic low interest rates "will be a huge contributing factor too. It's not very often we get to say interest rates are in the 3s," he remarked.

OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate, believes the market has undergone a shift. "Where we've been during the past year is a place of transition. It has been a slow recovery, but the housing market has finally turned a corner, albeit a soft one with some bumps along the way," he commented.

Despite rising sales, Jacobi, a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors, noted foreclosures and short sales continue to cause downward pressure on prices. "Many would-be sellers are still wary of the market, and as a result, there are fewer homes for sale," he observed, adding, "At the same time, there are buyers who are eager to strike while the iron is hot, so in some areas, homes are selling before many buyers even have a chance to react."

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.

Copyright © 2012 Northwest Multiple Listing Service
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED