Market Studies

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.

Commercial banks eased standards for residential mortgage loans to meet a sharp increase in demand in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Monday in its quarterly survey of bank lending standards. According to the survey results, a net 52.5 percent of bank officers responding to the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey reported increased demand for traditional mortgage loans in the second quarter compared with a net 30.2 percent reporting stronger demand in the first quarter.

Eighty metropolitan statistical areas made it onto the National Association of Home Builders' Improving Markets Index for August. This is the same number of markets that made it onto the index in June but four short of the July number. Nine markets dropped off the list this month, unable to maintain their improving status after breaking at least a six-month run of improvement in employment growth, house appreciation, and single-family housing permit growth.

Shrinking inventory and shifts in sales composition have provided a foothold for housing prices to start climbing, according to Fiserv, Inc. The company released its Case-Shiller Home Price Insights Monday, showing that after six years of decline, home prices are finally starting to stabilize. Prices increased in 40 percent of the surveyed 384 metro areas in the first quarter of 2012, and the report showed that it's actually cheaper to buy than rent in many U.S. markets.

HUD and Treasury Department released the latest scorecard Friday, providing a look at a market in recovery but threatened by an expected increase in foreclosure activity. According to the report, foreclosure starts and completions both declined in June, painting a picture of continued recovery. However, officials expect foreclosure activity to pick up in coming months as firms lift delays in foreclosure processing.

Lender Processing Services (LPS) released Friday its latest Home Price Index (HPI) report, showing that prices increased both month-over-month and year-over-year. The report, based on residential real estate transaction data as of the end of May, revealed that the home price index for the month was $202,000, a 0.9 percent month-over-month increase and a 3.2 percent increase from the start of the year.

In a study to examine what factors would drive a person to rent or own in their next move, Fannie Mae found that a mix of demographics and attitudinal drivers were key, while negative housing events appears to do little to thwart would-be buyers. The study categorized respondents into three groups: renters, those with a mortgage, and outright homeowners. The study found that renters tended to be younger and fall into the low income category.

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.

A new analysis released by real estate marketplace Zillow revealed that for most buyers who intend to spend at least three years in a home, buying is a better option than renting. An analysis of the ""breakeven horizon"" in more than 200 metros and 7,500 cities showed that in more than 75 percent of metros examined, a homeowner would break even after owning a home for three years or less.

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.