News

The winter season has not stopped home prices from posting both monthly and yearly gains, according to recent reports, and the Federal Finance Housing Agency's (FHFA) October home price report was no different. According to the agency's Home Price Index (HPI), home prices in October rose 0.5 percent from September and 5.6 percent from October 2011. The index current sits 15.7 percent below the April 2007 peak.

Existing-home sales rose 5.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economist had expected the sales pace to improve to 4.9 million. The median price of an existing single-family home rose to $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent from November 2011. November was the ninth consecutive month to see year-over-year price gains, maintaining the longest streak for yearly improvements since mid-2006.

Real GDP growth for the third quarter was revised up again, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday, reaching a 3.1 percent annualized growth rate. It was only the third time in the last five years the quarterly growth rate topped 3.0 percent. Economists had forecast a 2.8 percent growth.

First time claims for unemployment insurance increased 17,000 to 361,000 for the week ended December 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 359,000. The previous week’s report was revised upward to 344,000 from the originally reported 343,000, an unexpected sharp drop of 27,000 initial filings.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Acting Commissioner Carol Galante may have earned a new ally on Capitol Hill. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) announced he feels comfortable supporting Galante's bid to become FHA commissioner after receiving a letter detailing her commitment to reforming FHA's underwriting requirements and restoring its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund to health.

Freddie Mac CFO Ross J. Kari is making plans to retire in the second half of 2013, the GSE announced. While Kari has not yet selected an official date to depart from Freddie Mac, he informed the company he intends to retire in the latter half of the year following his 55th birthday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has assembled a GSE Single Family Task Force to revisit the association's 2009 proposal for the future of the secondary market and to further discourse on this topic. The task force will work in two phases. First, they will review the 2009 position and determine potential issues during a transition. Next, they will put together a ""roadmap"" for the transition. MBA's 2009 proposal supports government participation in the mortgage market, but a limited one. The announcement of the new GSE Single Family Task Force comes on the heels of a white paper published by ""MBA's Multifamily Task Force.

The largest counties in the country displayed strong home price growth in November, but sales were weak, according DataQuick's most recent Property Intelligence Report (PIR). The company's PIR tracks valuation, REO inventory, and sales trends in the 42 largest counties on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. Among the findings, DataQuick reported prices grew in 41 of the 42 counties month-over-month in November, and all 42 counties showed quarterly and yearly home price growth. Sales were dismal for the most part, with sales increasing in only 13 of the 42 reported counties month-over-month.

Home values still rose into November, marking more than a year of monthly price gains, while national rents fell flat, according to data from Zillow. On a monthly basis, home values inched up by 0.6 percent from October, with the Zillow Home Value Index at $156,200 for November. For 13 straight months now, prices have displayed monthly gains. As home values rose, national rents averaged a slight 0.1 percent month-over-month drop, falling to a value of $1,278 in November, according to the Zillow Rent Index. Over a one-year period, rents still increased by 4.5 percent.

Short sales continued to increase in October, while foreclosure starts fell, according to data from HOPE NOW. Completed short sales reached 38,518 in October, representing a 13 percent increase from September. Meanwhile, HOPE NOW also reported nearly 6 million struggling homeowners have received a permanent modification since 2007. Among the modifications, 4.8 million were proprietary loan modifications, while 1.1 million mods were through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).