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DS News Webcast: Tuesday 2/10/2015

Foreclosure, REO, News, Webcast

After suffering a setback in December, American attitudes toward the housing market recovered last month, with more consumers saying it is a good time to get off the sidelines. Sixty-seven percent of American adults responding to Fannie Mae's January National Housing Survey said now is a good time to buy a home, the company reported Monday, while 44 percent said now is a good time to sell. Both figures are up from December.

That optimism spurred 66 percent of those surveyed to say they would buy a home if they had to move, a jump from 61 percent at the end of 2014. The share of respondents in the survey who said their household income is significantly higher than it was a year ago climbed 4 percentage points to a survey high of 29 percent. Looking ahead, 48 percent said they expect their finances to improve in the next year, also a survey high.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, February 11. This will be the first time Castro has testified before Congress since being named HUD Secretary in July 2014. In recent public appearances, such as a speech at the National Press Club and in a fireside chat-style meeting last month, Castro has touted 2015 as "a year of housing opportunity."