USAA Federal Passes Wells Fargo in VA Market

USAA Federal has passed Wells Fargo to become the leading lender of VA Home Purchase Loans through August 2011. See the chart below to see how they did it and click on the chart to view a larger image:

USAA saw a large increase in their monthly originations in May and June to push ahead of Wells Fargo. Will they continue to have the staying power through the end of the year? Check back to our blog in a couple of months.

Update on Arlington County, VA Home Prices

Last year, I wrote about the increasing home prices and resulting increase in sales in Arlington County, VA. Below is an updated chart that shows from June 2010 through August 2011:

This chart shows a slight increase in median home price in August 2011 from June 2010 but no real increase in home sales (we see the usual seasonal peaks and valleys) over that period. There is no bad news as there is in many other areas of the country. I will follow up on this area again with a blog article sometime next year to see if things are changing for the better.

Miami Metro Median Home Price Is Stable?

Below is a chart that shows the trends for median home price and home sales for the Miami Metro area from January 2007 through August 2011.

It appears since the beginning of 2009 that the median home price has stablized. That is some good news, unfortunately though home sales are flat. So it definitely seems to be a good news - bad news situation. Things don't seem to be getting any worse but we don't see rapid improvement either. Stay tuned for more updates on this blog.

Fairfax County Median Home Price Update

Last December, I reported how both the Median Home Price and Sales were trending downward in Fairfax County, VA. Below is a chart that shows what has been taking place since that time. This chart shows the median home price and sales for the period of September 2010 through August 2011:

It appears the news over the last twelve months is a little better. The median home price is about $30,ooo higher than a year and sales seem to be trending upward. I will keep an eye on this positive trend to see if it continues. Check our blog in the future to see if there is more good news for Fairfax County.

Las Vegas Sales Improve

Last December I wrote a blog post about the continuing bad news on home sales in the Las Vegas market from 2008 through 2010. There is finally some good news to report - take a look at the chart below for the twelve months of September 2010 through August 2011:

The number and dollar amounts for purchase mortgages have been trending upward for the last 12 months. Click on the image above for a larger view.

Palm Beach Sales Dip Despite Price Stabilization

Despite a nice stabilization of median home prices in recent months, home sales are continuing to drop in Palm Beach County, Florida. The chart below shows the trend for median home prices and homes sales from December 2009 through November 2010.

This will be a good geographic to monitor over the next six months to see what happens in the Spring 2011. Check back with our blog over the next few months to see if things improve for this area.