The Federal Open Market Committee stated in its July meeting that more labor market growth is needed before the Fed decides to raise the federal target funds rate, which has been near zero for years. With the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting job gains of 215,000 for July in their report released Friday, economists are debating if that will be enough growth to convince the FOMC to raise the rates in its September meeting.
Job gains for May and June were revised upward for a combined total of 14,000 more jobs than were originally reported. Realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said the job growth in the last year has been a key reason for stronger housing demand this year. Trulia economist Selma Hepp said Friday's job numbers will probably cause the Fed to postpone raising interest rates in September, which is good news for homebuyers who want to purchase a home before the rates increase.
Bank of America is offering five pools of residential mortgage loans for sale totaling $1.2 billion that range in status from current to modified to non-performing. The loans being offered for sale by Bank of America are the latest in a series of sales lenders have offered this year in an attempt to remove non-performing loans from their portfolios and at the same time meet investor demand for distressed real estate as foreclosure inventory continues to shrink.