Market Studies

California single-family home and condominium sales fell 1.4 percent in February from January, and declined 16.1 percent from February, 2013. According to the Real Property Report from PropertyRadar, last month marked the lowest sales for the month of February since 2008.

Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.32 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending March 20, down from last week, when it averaged 4.37 percent. A year ago, the 30-year FRM average was 3.54 percent.

According to the latest market analysis report released Thursday by Zillow, whether a buyer or a seller has the upper hand in home sales this spring will depend largely on which part of the country their deal takes place.

Ellie Mae released its Origination Insight Report, which noted falling mortgage rates, shrinking refinances, and loosening of credit restrictions in the month of February. Ellie Mae's report, culled from 57 percent of Ellie Mae's mortgage application data, found that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell to 4.65 percent.

Bank credit and money growth both exhibit typical patterns in the post-Great Recession era; however, the change over the time period is consistent with the pace of a subpar recovery. This revelation was reported by the Wells Fargo Economics Group in a release Monday, highlighting the two factors as reasons for caution among both businesses and bank lenders.

RE/MAX released its National Housing report for February, which showed that weather and a lack of inventory continued to push homes sales lower and prices higher. Home prices rose 11.6 percent compared to February, 2013. The median price for a home was $180,450, a 4.3 percent increase from the previous month, and continues a streak of 25 months of monthly price increases.

According to the latest Home Index Survey released by PulteGroup, Inc., out of more than 1,000 consumers surveyed in February, a combined 74 percent feel the economy is either better off (41 percent) or the same (33 percent) as it was this time last year.

Florida is adding jobs at a pace well ahead of the nation, and one sector in particular is spurring the surprising rate of job growth—homebuilding. Florida's unemployment rate fell .2 percentage points in January to 6.1, according to a report from the Wells Fargo Economics Group.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) revealed in its latest Housing Market Index (HMI) that after falling in February to the lowest level in nearly a year, builder confidence barely moved in March. The index nudged up one point this month, landing on a reading of 47—still a few points shy of the 50 benchmark that separates a market largely perceived as "bad" from one perceived as "good."

A study by the Urban Institute calls for "expanding the credit box" in order to promote not only a housing recovery, but an overall economic recovery. The report estimated, "1.22 million fewer purchase mortgages were made in 2012 than would have been the case had credit availability remained at 2001 levels."