Market Studies

According to the Colorado Division of Housing, the number of home loans paid off in Colorado fell 49 percent from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014. The report found that approximately 50,000 deeds of trust were released during Q1 2014, the lowest quarterly total recorded in any quarter since the division began collecting data in 2008.

Per Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) this week averaged a rate of 4.27 percent (0.7 point), down from 4.34 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year FRM sat at 3.41 percent. At the same time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.33 percent (0.6 point), down from an average 3.38 percent.

Ellie Mae's latest Origination Insight Report, released this week, shows that out of a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior to March, 58 percent closed last month. That rate is up from 55.3 percent in February and from the 2013 average of 54 percent.

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) reported 367,000 closed escrow sales of existing single-family detached homes, seasonally adjusted at an annualized rate. March marked the fifth straight month with sales below the 400,000 level, and the eighth month of declining sales on a year-over-year basis.

PNC Financial Services Group released its quarterly earnings, reporting a net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.82 per diluted common share. While net income was positive, it didn't reach as high as the fourth quarter of 2013, when net income was $1.1 billion or $1.87 per diluted common share.

Southern California home sales quickened slightly in March compared to February but are far below average, according to a new report issued by DataQuick. The company reported that home sales were at the lowest levels for a March in six years.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported a one-point increase in its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI), a measure of builders’ confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes. Registering 47 as of the latest release, the index has now spent three straight months below 50, the threshold between a market viewed largely as “good” and one viewed as “bad.”

It would appear that the Silver State is slowly making a comeback, according to a new report from the Wells Fargo Economics Group. Nevada, which posted the fastest year-to-year growth of any state, is battling back from the housing slump and severe recession.

A new survey put out by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that consumer expectations rose slightly in March, and home price change expectations declined slightly. The bank's findings from the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) found that consumer expectations both rose at the one-year and three-year horizon by 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

On Monday, Pro Teck released its March Home Value Forecast, which ranks the hottest and coolest metro markets in the country. California claimed nine of the top 10 slots (Nassau County-Suffolk County, New York, was the other), while Florida claimed seven of the bottom 10 areas for home value appreciation.