Just as it reported for December's national index, Freddie Mac reported that January's national MiMi value of 74.6 indicated a weak housing market and even declined slightly (0.20 percent) month-over-month despite a year-over-year increase of 3.39 percent
Read More »Report: Weak Inventory, Lower Affordability, Tight Credit Hindering Housing Recovery
March's Real Estate Nowcast predicted that existing home sales for March would fall between 4.83 and 5.12 million on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. The target number for existing home sales of 4.97 million is an increase of 1.9 percent month-over-month and 5.8 percent from March 2014.
Read More »Freddie Mac Economist Expects Best Year for Housing Since ’07
Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer, who will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Five Star Government Forum in Washington, D.C., on March 18, predicted in Freddie Mac's March 2015 Economic and Housing Market Outlook that the coming year would be the best for housing since 2007, immediately prior to the crash.
Read More »Economist: Job Gains Solid, But Muted Wage Gains Hindering Housing
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped down to 5.5 percent in February, its lowest figure since May 2008, as 295,000 jobs were added, according to the February 2015 Employment Situation released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
Read More »Lack of Credit Availability, Low Inventory Challenging Housing Market
Two challenges facing the U.S. housing market is currently facing are a dearth of credit creation and a lack of available inventory, according to a report released Wednesday by the Kroll Bond Ratings Agency (KBRA) that is scheduled to be presented Thursday by KBRA Senior Managing Director and Head of Research Christopher Whalen at the 2nd Annual Real Estate Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Read More »Market Conditions Mixed in Fed’s Latest Beige Book
Weather conditions slowed home construction in New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland and caused Boston to have low levels of inventory. The report notes that lack of desirable lots and low inventory levels continue to slow the market.
Read More »Housing Market Continues Slow Climb Toward Stable Levels
While 38 states and 40 out of 50 metro areas showed an improving three-month trend in MiMi value for December, those numbers are down from December 2013. For that month, 47 states plus the District of Columbia and 47 of 50 metro areas showed an improving three-month trend.
Read More »Economists Predicting Good News for Job Market, Housing
A survey conducted among economists by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on economic growth in the United States released on Friday revealed that predictions have been revised upward for the labor market – which means good news for the economy and for housing recovery.
Read More »Economic Momentum Drives Consumers’ Optimism Toward Housing Market
The share of respondents in Fannie Mae's 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, the company reported. Looking ahead, 48 percent said they expect their finances to improve in the next year, also a survey high. Overall, 44 percent of Americans said they believe the economy is on the right track, an increase of 3 percentage points and only a few points less than those saying the economy is headed the wrong way (49 percent). 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.
Read More »Index Reports Modest Gains for Housing Markets in Q4
The latest National Association of Homebuilders/First American Leading Markets Index (NAHB/LMI) released Thursday found that markets in 63 out of 351 metropolitan areas nationwide (about 18 percent) matched or exceeded their normal levels of economic and housing activity in Q4 2014, according to an announcement from NAHB.
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