Market Studies

Single family starts increased 28,000 in August to 535,000, the highest level since April 2010, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday. Despite the increase total, housing starts improved just 17,000 as multi-family starts fell.

Home prices skimmed close to the bottom during July this year but climbed 6.3 percent year-over-year by August, according to RE/MAX. The real estate company revealed in its latest National Housing Report that median home prices ticked up from last year over the last seven straight months. Forty-six of the 53 metro areas covered by the RE/MAX report saw prices tick up from over last year, with 15 observing double-digit increases.

The risk of default for loans originated in the third quarter of this year is slightly higher compared to the previous quarter, according to the University Financial Associates (UFA) Default Risk Index. The index rose to 113 from the previous quarter's revised 111. The index measures the risk of default on newly originated prime and nonprime mortgages.

According to the GSE's most recent Economic Outlook report, downside risks such as the European debt crisis, the fast-approaching fiscal cliff, and the recent slowdown in hiring have created a drag on the second quarter's modest economic growth. In addition, the summer drought is expected to compound the current slump, with food and agricultural prices rising. With gas prices also on the rise, headline inflation is expected to pick up, stifling consumer spending and possibly affecting consumer attitudes for the rest of the year.

Beating summer expectations, home prices ticked up 5 percent across 19 major U.S. markets in what real estate broker Redfin called an indicator of a housing market getting stronger. According to the broker, home sales went up 1.4 percent year-over-year, eclipsing a 2.5 percent decline in July. Home sales increased from 26.7 percent to 27.6 percent last month.

The bank's Economics Group issued a special commentary in its Housing Data Wrap-Up for August 2012, examining the potential effects (or lack thereof) the Fed's new plan may have on housing and updating its forecast for the market. The Fed's influence should put downward pressure on long-term interest rates, but Wells Fargo says the benefits from such a move will be modest at best, citing already-low mortgage rates. The bigger issue at hand is the ""fiscal cliff,"" which has led to a slowdown in hiring and turned back gains in consumer confidence.

If Realtors have anything to say about tight lending standards, the observation would be such standards are preventing more home sales and holding back job creation. The Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Realtors recently reached their conclusions in a survey conducted with real estate agents. The findings? Lenders take too long with approving applications, requiring excessive information and preferring only interested homebuyers with high credit scores.

July saw a drop in foreclosure activity in the Bay State, The Warren Group reported Monday. The group released its July 2012 Foreclosure Data for the state, showing that a total of 1,198 foreclosures were initiated in July the lowest monthly level recorded so far in 2012.

The number of improving housing markets in September climbed to 99 from 80 in August, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).

Appraisals may assign a home with one exact specific value, but in reality, a home's value tends to fall into a price range due to a number of different factors, according to a Home Value Forecast report released by Pro Teck Valuation Services and Collateral Analytics. To address this issue, Home Value Forecast suggests establishing a range of value in addition to an appraisal and improving data to support market condition conclusions.