Market Studies

The index tracks current gauges of purchase applications, payment-to-income ratios, on-time mortgages, and employment and measures them against their long-term stable ranges. A reading between 80 and 120 is considered to be a sign of a stable market.

The latest improvements in regional and state employment statistics across the United States are keeping in line with the latest drop in the nation's unemployment rate (down to 5.6 percent in December) – and in line with analysts' assessments of consistently improving economic and labor conditions.

December's index, which saw about 215,000 new loans added to the pool of risk-rated mortgages, was up 0.4 percentage points from the average for the prior three months and 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier, AEI said. As ever, the largest portion of risk came from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which had a risk index of 24.33 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from the prior three-month average. Following that were the Veterans Affairs index, which was at 11.5 percent, and the Fannie/Freddie index, which was 6.2 percent, just above the 6 percent threshold AEI says is "indicative of conditions conducive to a stable market."

The survey's index measuring sentiment about present-day conditions rose more than 10 points from December, hitting 112.6, the Conference Board said. The number of respondents saying business conditions are currently good rose nearly four points to 28.1 percent, while the share of those saying jobs are plentiful climbed nearly three points to 20.5 percent.

In its latest look at resale data, NAR reported that the stock of available existing homes for sale was around 1.85 million in December, putting the national supply at 4.4 months at the current sales rate. Also challenging the housing market right now are stringent credit conditions, stagnant wages, and "lingering wariness about homeownership benefits," said Auction.com's chief economist, Peter Muoio.

Just as it did in November, Mississippi led all states with the highest percentage of non-current mortgages and serious delinquent mortgages in December, according to data released recently as part of Black Knight Financial Services' December 2014 “First Look” at mortgage data released Friday.

Despite recently seeing their strongest year in more than half a decade, housing starts are still running below their long-term average of about 1.5 million annually—and that situation isn't expected to normalize for at least another few years, if economists' forecasts are right.

While that prediction is still modest, Fannie Mae says it's strong enough to "drag last year's unspectacular housing activity upward," according to the report. Fannie Mae credits projections for continued low gasoline prices, firming labor market conditions, rising household net worth, improving consumer and business confidence, and reduced fiscal headwinds to usher in a year of steady, if "not yet robust" economic improvement that should lead to a higher rate of household formation in 2015.

December home sales topped the previous month by a double-digit percentage, defying the usual slowdown brought on by seasonal influences, according to a survey of metros nationwide.

In the wake of the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) latest confidence index, builders convened in Las Vegas this week to discuss housing trends over the last few months and what they expect to see in 2015. In a ...