Morning Briefing: California home sales return to growth despite tight supply

California home sales return to growth despite tight supply… NY City administration could require 1 million square feet… Ellie Mae announces Encompass upgrade…

California home sales return to growth despite tight supply
Single-family home sales in California have recorded a year-over-year increase despite being constrained by tight inventory.

The September increase recorded by the California Association of Realtors was only nominal (0.8 per cent) but was the first in seven months. There was a 1.3 per cent increase in the month from August to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 425,680 homes.

“While higher sales both on a monthly and an annual basis is a glimmer of good news, with most of the home-buying season behind us for 2016, it’s not enough to tip the scales for an increase above 2015’s sales pace,” said C.A.R. President Pat “Ziggy” Zicarelli. “With listings continuing to decline and demand still strong, especially at the lower end of the market, affordability will remain a challenge for would-be buyers.”

The median price statewide was up 6.1 per cent year-over-year to $514,320 but that was down 2.3 per cent from August.
Condo and townhome sales were up 1.4 per cent year-over-year but dropped 8.5 per cent from August.
 
NY City administration could require 1 million square feet
The city administration in New York is planning to hire more workers and one real estate broker says it could “eat up 1 million square feet” of office space.

City Hall is planning to relocate many staff to new locations and the broker, who did not want to be named, told the New York Post that with some of the City’s buildings being vacated there would be a net increase of around 250,000 square feet.
 
Ellie Mae announces Encompass upgrade
Mortgage software firm Ellie Mae has announced an upgrade to its Encompass mortgage management product including a new reporting feature.

“The latest major release of our Encompass all-in-one mortgage management solution offers enhancements to our integrations with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and more customer choice when ordering TQL services with leading providers like First American Mortgage Solutions and DataVerify,” said Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae.

The firm also plans to enhance the ability of lenders to customize pricing programs with a further update in the fall.