Market Studies

Construction spending rose for the month of February, realizing a .1 percent increase after a downward revision to January’s figures. This analysis was presented by the Wells Fargo Economics Group, who found monthly non-residential construction spending rose .6 percent, while residential construction fell .7 percent month-over-month.

CoreLogic released its Home Price Index (HPI) for February, which found that home prices increased by 12.2 percent from the previous year. The CoreLogic figure includes home prices of distressed sales, and represents 24 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally.

In the Trulia’s latest quarterly Bubble Watch report, Jed Kolko estimates national home prices are still around 5 percent undervalued when examining long-term fundamentals like historical prices, incomes, and rents. While ongoing improvements in prices have brought the market close to a tipping point, he notes that it’s far cry from the 39 percent overvaluation in the first quarter of 2006.

Texas employment grew in the month of February, particularly in the oil and gas industry, according to a new report from the Wells Fargo Economics Group. The group from Wells found that Texas added 37,600 workers to nonfarm payrolls throughout the month.

Clear Capital, a provider of data and solutions for real estate asset valuation and collateral risk assessment, released its Home Data Index Market Report with data through March, 2014. The report noted that the frosty winter left home prices mostly flat, while saturation of distressed homes remained stable at 21.8 percent.

In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac reported an increase of 8 basis points in the 30-year fixed average rate, bringing up to 4.40 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending March 27. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.57 percent.

Recovery in the housing market is stumbling back to solid ground, thanks to a rise in home prices and existing home sales, as well as a drop in foreclosures, according to the latest Housing Barometer report released Wednesday by Trulia.

After losing 32,000 jobs in January, nonfarm employment rebounded in February, adding 58,800 jobs in February, according to the Wells Fargo Economics Group. February's increase reflected a 2.3 percent growth over the past year, creating a net gain of 345,600 jobs.

Housing markets in half of all states and 35 of the top 50 metros are improving, according to a new report from Freddie Mac. However, only 11 states and four of the top 50 metros are "stable" compared to each market’s individual historical norms, Freddie Mac reported.

U.S. residential sale volume decreased in February, with distressed sales and investor purchases also pulling back for the month. RealtyTrac's February 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report found that U.S. residential properties slid .2 percent from January, but remain up 7 percent from the same time period a year ago.