Housing in Texas heated up in the final quarter of 2014, capping off the second-best year for the market in the state's history, according to data released by a local Realtor group.
Read More »Freddie Mac: Indicators Show More Stability in Housing Market
The index tracks current gauges of purchase applications, payment-to-income ratios, on-time mortgages, and employment and measures them against their long-term stable ranges. A reading between 80 and 120 is considered to be a sign of a stable market.
Read More »Fannie Mae Expects Economy to ‘Drag’ Housing Toward Recovery in 2015
While that prediction is still modest, Fannie Mae says it's strong enough to "drag last year's unspectacular housing activity upward," according to the report. Fannie Mae credits projections for continued low gasoline prices, firming labor market conditions, rising household net worth, improving consumer and business confidence, and reduced fiscal headwinds to usher in a year of steady, if "not yet robust" economic improvement that should lead to a higher rate of household formation in 2015.
Read More »Home Sales Reverse November Decline, Jump 14.4 Percent in December
December home sales topped the previous month by a double-digit percentage, defying the usual slowdown brought on by seasonal influences, according to a survey of metros nationwide.
Read More »Freddie Mac: Households, Businesses Should Take Advantage of Positive Housing Opportunities While They Last
Freddie Mac cited a number of positive opportunities for housing to start 2015, but households and businesses should take advantage of them because those opportunities may be limited, according to the GSE's January 2015 U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook released on Tuesday.
Read More »Housing Barometer Indicates Market is Moving Closer to ‘Back to Normal’ Levels
While housing recovery has generally been uneven for the last few years, the housing market experienced substantial growth in the fourth quarter of 2014 for all five indicators of Trulia's Q4 2014 Housing Barometer, which was released on Thursday. Three of the five indicators – existing home sales, excluding distressed sales; home price level; and delinquency plus foreclosure rate – are all more than three-quarters of the way "back to normal" as of the end of 2014, according to the barometer.
Read More »Did Obama Overestimate Progress of Housing Market Recovery?
One of the main points in President Barack Obama's speech about housing in Phoenix on Thursday was how far the housing industry has come since the bust of 2008 and particularly since he took office in January 2009. The president admitted that the housing market has not come all the way back yet and there is still work to be done. But did he overestimate just how far the housing market has come and the role his administration's policies have played in the recovery? It's possible, according to one analyst.
Read More »Fannie Mae Economist Says Latest Job Data Might Not Be Good News For Housing
The U.S. labor market reported a strong gain of 252,000 jobs on the payrolls for December in data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday. December's job gain was close to 2014's average monthly increase and 2014 was the best year of job growth in the U.S. since 1999. According to Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan, the underlying data may not be so encouraging for the housing market, however.
Read More »Obama Lauds Housing Market Progress In Phoenix Speech
In a 30-minute speech Thursday morning at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona, President Barack Obama spoke of the progress the housing market has made since 2009 and measures his administration is taking to help everyone achieve homeownership.
Read More »Obama to Speak About Housing on Thursday in Phoenix
President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak about the U.S. housing market at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona, according to multiple reports. Neither the president nor the White House has publicly announced exactly what he will speak about with regards to the housing market on Thursday.
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