Tag Archives: Home Sales

According to the GSE's most recent Economic Outlook report, downside risks such as the European debt crisis, the fast-approaching fiscal cliff, and the recent slowdown in hiring have created a drag on the second quarter's modest economic growth. In addition, the summer drought is expected to compound the current slump, with food and agricultural prices rising. With gas prices also on the rise, headline inflation is expected to pick up, stifling consumer spending and possibly affecting consumer attitudes for the rest of the year.

Beating summer expectations, home prices ticked up 5 percent across 19 major U.S. markets in what real estate broker Redfin called an indicator of a housing market getting stronger. According to the broker, home sales went up 1.4 percent year-over-year, eclipsing a 2.5 percent decline in July. Home sales increased from 26.7 percent to 27.6 percent last month.

The bank's Economics Group issued a special commentary in its Housing Data Wrap-Up for August 2012, examining the potential effects (or lack thereof) the Fed's new plan may have on housing and updating its forecast for the market. The Fed's influence should put downward pressure on long-term interest rates, but Wells Fargo says the benefits from such a move will be modest at best, citing already-low mortgage rates. The bigger issue at hand is the ""fiscal cliff,"" which has led to a slowdown in hiring and turned back gains in consumer confidence.

The number of improving housing markets in September climbed to 99 from 80 in August, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).

The continuation of improvements in the housing sector and servicer performance were a key focus in the Obama Administration's housing scorecard and Making Home Affordable Program report. Maintaining its tone from previous months, the Obama administration's housing scorecard said data on the housing market continues to show the market is strengthening, but still fragile. Larger servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program were also described as continuing to show improvement.

The housing markets in 13 counties tracked by West Penn Multi-List, Inc. are seeing higher home sale prices and an increase in homes under agreement.

According to CoreLogic's most recent MarketPulse release, the strongest real estate markets in the country right now have one thing in common: Black gold. The company released its September issue of MarketPulse Thursday, revealing interesting findings from its Real Estate Strength Index (RESi). Based on an analysis of RESi state rankings, advances in oil and gas extraction seem to have provided a substantial boost to states with an abundance of the natural resources.

Florida Realtors has made available new Residential Price Index reports that offer a look at the state's housing market over a 17-year period.

The housing market is seeing signs of recovery, and this recovery may be bolstered by the new representation and warranty framework the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday, according to Fitch. Relying on signing offers and home tours as a future indicator of home sales, Redfin, a technology-driven real estate broker, predicts the market improvement seen this summer will continue into the fall.

In the GSE's most recent U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist Frank Nothaft looked at energy costs and their potential effects on the economic recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that gas prices averaged $3.84 per gallon on September 3, up about $0.50 over the past two months. While rising energy costs can divert spending away from consumer goods, Nothaft said he isn't especially worried.