2011 vs. 2006 New Single Family Home Statistics

It seems my post have centered around real estate statistics, but in the market every day we are looking for signs of recovery. Have any of you heard of Steve Harney and Keeping Current Matters. He provides a wealth of statistics for the real estate professional and generally offers simplistic interpretations of the data. Today his blog, kcmblog, put out data from the U.S. Census Bureau regarding new single family construction built in 2011 vs. 2006. Most of the data was on the type of financing used. While Conventional financing had dropped from 90% in 2006 to 62% in 2011, FHA and VA financing had increased, as well as those paying cash. While no real surprise here, the stats did cofirm, in my mind, what I see in my real estate practice. First time home buyers are taking advantage of these historic low rates and getting out of the rental pool. I find that they are most interested in the foreclosures and short sales. The increase in cash buyers would account for the investors who also are looking for the deals from the foreclosures and short sales and adding to their portfolios. Lynne Jakobowski, Associate Broker