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On paper, the market for newly-built, single-family homes looks healthy.

Last month, the number of new homes sold on an annualized, seasonally-adjusted basis tallied 319,000. The May reading is the second-highest of the year, and 6 percent above the current 12-month average.

These are strong numbers in isolation. However, after accounting for the dwindling supply of new homes for sale as well, the figures look even stronger.

In May, at the current pace of sales, the complete, national inventory of new homes for sale would have been sold in just 6.2 months. 

That’s the quickest pace in a year and a 3-month improvement from a year ago.

To hear it from homebuilders, though, you’d think that sales were crashing.

Homebuilder confidence slipped to a 9-month low this month; builders report slowing foot traffic; and the prospects for the next 6 months appear weak. This is not the portrait painted by HUD’s May New Home Sales report.

As a home buyer in Elkins Park , this dichotomy may work to your advantage.

Falling supplies and rising demand correlate to higher home prices. Yet, builders are pessimistic for their market. Therefore, despite the economics, psychology may help buyers experience more favorable negotiations, including complimentary upgrades and other builder concessions.

If you’re a buyer in today’s market, it’s a reason to consider the new home market. There may be good value once you know where to look.

Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.

The vote was 10-0 — the fourth straight unanimous vote for the nation’s Central Bank.

In its press release, the FOMC said that the economy is recovering, although “somewhat more slowly” than what was expected. Labor markets have been weaker than anticipated and the Fed believes that is, in part, a result of higher food and energy costs, and supply chain disruptions as a result of “tragic events in Japan”.

Some economic bright spots identified by the Fed include expanding household spending, and increased business investment.

These comments were in-line with what Wall Street expected from Chairman Ben Bernanke and the members of the Federal Open Market Committee.

The Fed stayed on message with respect to inflation, too. It acknowledged inflationary pressures on the economy, but attributed them to rising commodity costs and the aforementioned supply-chain disruption. The Fed expects long-term inflation to be stable. 

And, lastly, the Federal Reserve re-affirmed its plan to end its $600 billion pledge to bond markets June 30, and to hold the Fed Funds Rate near zero percent “for an extended period” of time. 

Again, no surprise.

Mortgage market reaction to the FOMC statement has been even this afternoon. Mortgage rates in Philadelphia are unchanged and leaning lower. Note that sentiment can shift quickly, however. If today’s mortgage rates fit your budget, consider locking in your rate.

The FOMC’s next scheduled meeting is August 9, 2011.

Home resales slipped 4 percent in May, falling below the 5,000,000-unit mark on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis for the first time since February.

April’s resales were revised lower, too.

Analysts were surprised by the figures because it runs counter to the National Association of REALTORS® monthly Pending Home Sales reports.

The association’s Pending Home Sales Index is purported to be a forward-looking indicator for the housing market because 80% of homes under contract close within 60 days and recent Pending Home Sales readings show an increase in “pending” homes.

This month’s Existing Home Sales, however, fell flat.

May’s drop in home resales wasn’t limited to a particular region or price point, either. All 4 geographic regions lag last May’s results. Five of the 6 valuation ranges fell, too.

• $0-$100,000 : +6.7 percent annual change
• $100,000-$250,000 : -21.6 percent annual change
• $250,000-$500,000 : -16.0 percent annual change
• $500,000-$750,000 : -11.0 percent annual change
• $750,000-$1,000,000 : -20.7 percent annual change
• $1,000,000 or more : -11.0 percent annual change

The Existing Home Sales report wasn’t all bad, however.

Although the months of housing stock rose to 9.3 in May, the number of homes for sale nationwide fell 1%. This suggests that there weren’t as many buyers in May as compared to April — a function of weather, jobs and the economy. Since April, the jobs market and the economy have shown steady, slow improvement and Mother Nature has been less destructive.

Home resales should rebound in June and July, therefore.

If you’re a buyer in today’s market, home supplies are higher and mortgage rates are lower. The combination makes for ample bargain-hunting. There’s excellent “deals” to be found in Philadelphia. Ask your real estate agent for help in finding them.

Despite rising new home sales and an increase in building permits nationwide, home builder confidence slipped to a 9-month low in June. The monthly Housing Market Index from the National Association of Homebuilders registered 13 this month — three ticks lower than last month, and its lowest level since September 2010.

June’s 3-point drop from May is the biggest one-month move since May 2010, the month after the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit. The retreat could signal favorable pricing for new home buyers in Philadelphia in the months ahead.

When builders get less bullish on housing, they may be more willing to negotiate for upgrades and discounts. Ultimately, this can help new home buyers buy homes at better, lower prices.

A closer look at the Housing Market Index shows why this may be true.

The Housing Market Index is not a single-reading statistic. It’s a composite; the result of 3 separate surveys, each meant to measure a specific facet of a home builder’s business. The survey questions are:

1. How are market conditions for the sale of new homes today?
2. How are market conditions for the sale of new homes in 6 months?
3. How is prospective buyer foot traffic?

When builders reply, their responses are tallied and mapped to a scale of 1-100. Readings over 50 are considered favorable. Readings under 50 are considered unfavorable. The HMI has not been higher than 50 in more than 5 years.

In June, the HMI composite reading of 13 was anchored by falling foot traffic and reduced expectations for “future sales”. Homebuilders expect new home sales to be down through the New Year.

Therefore, if you’re a home buyer in Pennsylvania and have considered “buying new”, the time may be right for making an offer. Financing is cheap, home values are low, and builders are pessimistic — a terrific combination for today’s home buyer.

This week marks the official start of Summer in Elkins Park. If your home’s outdoor area has furniture in it, you’ll want to make sure that your furniture is clean.

In this 4-minute video from Lowe’s, you’ll learn tricks to keep your outdoor furniture clean, and protected from the elements. All types of outdoor furniture are covered in the lesson including metal, resin-based, and wooden.

The offered tips include:

• Why you should never remove the “care tags” from a furniture pillow
• Choosing the proper pressure-washer tip for the job at-hand
• How to use car wax as a rust-preventative

Furthermore, the instructional video includes tips for cleaning fabrics and canopies; and for shampooing an outdoor rug.

There’s lot of reasons to keep your outdoor furniture clean — health reasons among them — but it shouldn’t be lost that clean furniture will have a longer useful life than furniture that’s been neglected or ignored.

Clean your outdoor pieces at least twice annually and they’ll give you years of good looks and comfort.

The housing market received a jolt of good news Thursday. The Commerce Department reports that Single-Family Housing Starts improved in May.

As compared to April, last month’s Single-Family Housing Starts rose 4 percent to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate of 419,000 units, a figure slightly better than the 6-month average and the highest tally since January.

A “housing start” is defined as a home on which new construction has started.

In addition, Building Permits saw a boost in May, too, climbing nearly 9 percent overall. Building Permits are a gauge of future construction activity with 89 percent of permits leading to new construction within 60 days.

For several reasons, the May data surprised Wall Street analysts. 

First, more homes being built suggests a healthier housing market, yet, earlier this week, the June homebuilder confidence report posted its lowest reading since September 2010.

Second, new home sales are only slightly higher than their all-time lowest annualized readings. Sales volume remains low in Bensalem and nationwide.

And, lastly, home prices have yet to recover in full. By adding additional inventory, builders may suppress price growth through the remaining portions of 2011.

For home buyers in New Jersey , though, the Housing Starts data may be a signal that the market is turning. The data can be used to your advantage.

Home prices are a function of supply and demand and — based on the Housing Starts data plus the number of newly-issued Building Permits — home supply is likely to rise. Demand, on the other hand, despite low mortgage rates, may not. At least not in the short run.

As a buyer, you can use this information to your advantage. If you’re looking to buy new construction, ask your real estate agent about the current new homes supply. There are bargains to be found and May’s Housing Starts data should support low prices for at least the next few weeks.

Foreclosure rates are falling.

According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, monthly foreclosure filings fell 2 percent in May to just under 215,000 filings nationwide. A foreclosure filing is defined as any one of the following: a default notice, a scheduled auction, or a bank repossession.

On an annual basis, foreclosure counts have dropped over 16 consecutive months, dating back to January 2010.

Like all things in real estate, though, foreclosures are local. 6 states accounted for more than half of the country’s foreclosure filings in May. Those six states — California, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas — represent just 34% of the U.S. population.

But even on a per household basis, the figures remain disproportionate.

• Top 10 Foreclosure States : 1 foreclosure per 357 households, on average
• Bottom 10 Foreclosure States : 1 foreclosure per 8,764 households, on average

The nationwide foreclosure rate was 1 foreclosure per 605 households.

As a home buyer in Elkins Park , foreclosures matter. Distressed homes account for close to 40% of home resales and that’s because distressed properties often sell at steep discounts; in some markets, up to 20 percent less than a comparable, non-distressed home. Foreclosed homes can be a great “deal”, therefore, but only if you’ve done your homework. 

Buying a bank-repossessed home is different from buying from “people”. The contracts and negotiation process are different, and homes are sometimes sold with defects.

If you plan to purchase a New Jersey foreclosure, therefore, speak with a real estate professional first. With foreclosures, there’s a lot you can learn online, but when it comes time to submit an actual bid, you’ll want an experienced agent on your side.

The jobs market is recovering slower than expected, and so is housing. But neither condition has slowed U.S. consumers.

According to the Census Bureau, Retail Sales rose for the 11th straight month in May. Excluding cars and auto parts, sales receipts climbed to $322 billion last month. It’s an all-time high and another example of the U.S. economy’s resiliency.

Wall Street didn’t expect such results. As a result, mortgage rates worsened Tuesday.

By a lot.

The connection between Retail Sales and mortgage rates can be fairly tight in a recovering economy. Retail Sales accounts for almost half of all U.S. consumer spending, and nearly one-third of the economy overall. The May report, therefore, showed the economy may be on more solid footing than economists expect.

Plus, lately, as the economy goes, so go mortgage rates in Philadelphia and nationwide. 

When the economy has shown signs of life, mortgage rates have increased. When the economy has shown signs of a slowdown, mortgage rates have dropped.

It’s why mortgage markets reacted the way they did Tuesday; May’s Retail Sales data was strong. The resultant surge in conforming mortgage rates — from market open to market close — turned into one of the year’s fiercest, raising average mortgage rates well off their 7-month lows established earlier this week.

At today’s rates, each 0.125 percent change in rates yields a payment difference of $7.50 per $100,000 borrowed. Yesterday, some product rates rose by as much as 0.250 percent. It put a dent in home affordability and household budgets.

With Retail Sales are up 8 percent from last year, therefore, and showing few signs of a slowdown, today may be a prudent date to lock a rate with your lender. As the economy continues to grow, rates are expected to rise.

Mortgage rates are falling, falling, falling.

On a wave of uncertainty about Greece and its debt; and weaker-than-expected economic data at home, conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates have fallen to levels not seen since December 2, 2010.

Mortgage rates have dropped 8 weeks in a row. Not even last year’s Refi Boom produced an 8-week winning streak. This season’s streak is historic.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage now averages 4.49% nationally, down 42 basis points, or 0.42%, since early-April. For every $100,000 borrowed, that equates to a monthly savings of $25.24.

Adjustable-rate mortgages have shed even more, giving back 50 basis points since the streak began.

Because of low rates, it’s an excellent time to buy or refinance a home relative to just a few weeks ago. Note, though, that depending on where you live, you may find your quoted interest rates to be slightly higher or lower than what Freddie Mac reports in its survey. This is because the Freddie Mac figure is a national average.

Mortgage rates and fees vary by region:

• Northeast : 4.49 with 0.6 points
• Southeast : 4.52 with 0.8 points
• North Central : 4.52 with 0.6 points
• Southeast : 4.52 with 0.6 points
• West : 4.45 with 0.8 points

You’ll notice that, in the West Region, rates tend to be low and fees tend to be high; in the North Central Region, the opposite is true. You should expect New Jersey to have its own pricing norm within this region, too.

Is there a particular rate-and-fee setup that suits you best? The good news is that you can ask for it — no matter where you live.

If having the absolute lowest mortgage rate is more important to you than having the absolute lowest fees, ask your loan officer to structure your loan in the “West” style. Or, if low costs are more your style, ask for them.

Mortgage rates appears as if they’re headed lower but don’t forget how quickly markets can change. Once they do, mortgage rates in Elkins Park should spike. Exploit today’s market while you still can.

If you have a flair for home decoration projects, Better Homes & Garden has some terrific ideas for you on its website.

Titled “Fast and Fabulous Decorating Projects”, the lifestyle company offers inspiration for 20 do-it-yourself art projects that can breathe life into old furniture, and add pop to your home.

Published in thumbnail format, the guide is quick-to-browse and long on ideas.

In addition, because many of the highlighted projects involve the re-purposing and/or the recycling of existing furniture and other home goods, not only do costs stay low, but it’s likely that you have the required project materials in your home already:

A sampling of the projects includes:

• Making bathrooms more private using stenciled window patterns
• Creating slip-covered, upholstered headboards
• Disguising less-than-perfect cabinet/cupboard doors with prints
• Transforming old mirrors and windows into functional message boards
• Decoupaging retro posters to revitalize old furniture

The projects range in difficulty from basic to advanced. Some require nothing more than scissors and glue; others require advanced skills in woodworking and sewing. There’s something for everyone.