The number of job openings fell in April for the fourth time in the last five months as the number of people leaving their jobs jumped to the highest level since August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday. The number of persons unemployed for each job opening rose to 3.10, the first increase in that measure since February. At the same time, the JOLTS data showed hiring in the first four months of the year was up--albeit just 0.2 percent--from the same period in 2012.
Read More »Tennessee Bank Collapses Over Weekend
The weekend saw more bad news from FDIC: the closure of a Tennessee bank, bringing the nation's year-to-date total to 16.
Read More »Monthly Increase in Inventory Eases Competition for Homes in May
Competition for homes eased in May due to a monthly increase in inventory, according to Redfin's latest bidding war report. Although 69.5 percent of offers that came from Redfin agents faced competition last month, the share is down from 73.3 percent in April. Competition was the most heated in California markets. In San Francisco, 87.9 percent of offers faced multiple bids in May, the most out of the 21 major markets tracked.
Read More »Report: Secondary Market Key to Promoting Housing Affordability
The key to a viable, accessible mortgage market lays in the structure of the secondary market, according to opinions expressed by the Center for American Progress, a policy think tank, and the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group. In a report, the two groups propose ways the secondary market can accomplish the goals of accessibility and affordability.
Read More »Fannie Mae: Confidence in Home Price Gains Reaches Record Levels
Reports of strong home price gains drove confidence in the housing market up to record levels in May, Fannie Mae reported. According to the GSE's May 2013 National Housing Survey, Americans expressed record confidence in price gains, with 55 percent--a survey high--saying they believe prices will go up in the next year. In addition, the average 12-month home price change expectation was 3.9 percent, the highest level in the survey's history and a leap over April's 2.7 percent forecast.
Read More »Firm Forecasts 8% Increase in Prices, Decrease in Mortgage Rates
The pace at which home prices are rising should moderate later this year, with home prices forecast to rise by 8 percent this year then increase by another 4 percent in 2014, according to an analysis from Capital Economics. Although the research firm agrees with analysts who have warned recent home price gains are not sustainable, housing bubble concerns were described as ""premature."" Unlike other projections, the firm also doesn't expect to see a swift increase in mortgage rates over the next year.
Read More »Florida Passes Expedited Foreclosure Bill
Florida Gov. Rick Scott passed a bill Friday he said will help the state's housing market and in turn the state's overall economy. ""This bill expedites an existing voluntary alternative court process for defaulted home loans in uncontested cases when the borrower and the bank both seek a more speedy finality,"" Scott said. Florida H.B. 87 was introduced in January by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) and passed both state legislatures in May with bipartisan support.
Read More »Commentary: Does Homeownership Cause Unemployment?
Can the drop in homeownership be good news? When President George W. Bush followed his predecessor Bill Clinton in pushing homeownership, one loud dissenter was British economist Andrew Oswald who argued that far from improving the economy, as Bush (and Clinton before him) said it would, homeownership hurts the economy in the long run. Oswald produced data to show that every five percent rise in homeownership results in a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate.
Read More »Las Vegas Bank Falls, Raising Tally to 15
FDIC's failed bank tally rose to 15 as an institution in Las Vegas shut down, the agency announced.
Read More »Freddie Mac: 28% of Refinancers Shortened Loan Term in Q1
Freddie Mac released the results of its first-quarter 2013 refinance analysis, showing more refinancers are interested in shortening their loans. Of borrowers who refinanced during Q1, 28 percent shortened their loan term, Freddie Mac reported--up from 27 percent in Q4 2012. The majority (68 percent) elected to keep the same term as the loan they had paid off, while 3 percent chose to lengthen their loan term.
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