Tag Archives: Jobs

The real estate giant released its National Housing Report for August 2012 (covering July), showing that both sales and prices have posted year-over-year increases for most of 2012. Home sales appear to have peaked year-to-date in June, with July's sales falling 9.4 percent month-over-month. However, sales were up 10.3 percent from July 2011, marking the 13th consecutive month for year-over-year sales gains.

First time claims for unemployment insurance edged up 2,000 for the week ended Aug. 11 to 366,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 365,000 initial claims. The prior week's total was revised up to 364,000 from the originally reported 361,000.

The latest National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed that delinquencies increased in the second quarter of 2012, a shift anticipated by the association. The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.58 percent as of the end of Q2, an increase from 7.40 in Q1. The second quarter's increased rate was still down from 8.44 percent at the same time in 2011.

Strong employment reports boosted mortgage rates back up for the second week in a row, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The GSE's Primary Mortgage Market Survey show the 30-year fixed averaging 3.59 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending August 9, an increase from 3.55 percent the previous week. The 15-year fixed also posted gains, averaging 2.84 percent (0.6 point) for the week, up from 2.83 percent a week ago.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 6,000 for the week ended August 4 to 361,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 367,000 initial claims. The prior week's total was revised up to 367,000 from the originally reported 365,000.

A new report suggests that Sacramento, California may follow Phoenix as the next hard-hit metro to rise out of the ashes. Pro Teck Valuation Services released its August Home Value Forecast Update, putting a focus on which of the hardest hit metros might bounce back and become investment or home purchasing opportunities. According to the report, market-based indicators suggest that Sacramento might be ""the next Phoenix,"" referring to the hard-hit Arizona metro that has seen dramatic improvement this year.

Fannie Mae released its July 2012 National Housing Survey Tuesday, showing that consumer optimism regarding the slowly recovering housing market remained strong during the month. Survey respondents said they expect home prices to increase 1.7 percent in the next year, slightly down from the 2.0 percent survey high recorded in June. Eleven percent of respondents believe home prices will drop, the lowest level recorded since the survey began in June 2010.

The nation added a surprising 163,000 jobs in July but the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3 percent as the number of people working actually declined, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. At the same time, June's paltry job gains originally reported at 80,000 were reduced to 64,000 while May's job numbers edged up to 87,000 from 77,000.

IHS' US Regional Economic Group released a report on Florida's economy as part of a series cataloguing the economic issues most important to swing states in November's presidential election. According to the report, the Sunshine State's payrolls averaged a 0.1 percent annualized decline during the first half of the year, with weaknesses showing up in the construction sector, as well as in state and local government employment.

Freddie Mac announced Thursday that after more than three months of record-low drops, mortgage rates slid up this week. The GSE's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.55 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 2, up from 3.49 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM also slid up, averaging 2.83 percent (0.6 point) from 2.80 percent last week.