Among the reasons for participating in a like-kind transactions, survey respondents and their clients noted deferral of capital gains taxes, equity to acquire additional properties, estate planning, portfolio diversification, and completion of a development project.
Read More »Witnesses at House Committee Hearing Testify of Dodd-Frank’s Adverse Effects
The hearing, titled "Dodd-Frank Five Years Later: Are We More Stable?" was the first in a series of three full Committee hearings to examine the impact Dodd-Frank has had on American consumers and the country's financial system and economy since President Obama signed it in to law in July 2010. The focus of Thursday's hearing was on how the 400 new regulations enacted in the 2,300-page law is a threat to the country's financial stability.
Read More »Job Gains Total 223,000 in June, But Wage Growth Stalls; Participation Rate Stays Low
The U6 unemployment rate, which counts both people without work seeking full-time employment and those workers "marginally attached to the labor force and those working part-time for economic reasons," dropped 0.3 percentage points month over month down to 10.5 percent and is down from 12.1 percent in June 2014.
Read More »GDP Contracts in Final Q1 Estimate, But Majority of Lenders Remain Optimistic
According to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey for May 2015 released earlier this week, the majority of mortgage lenders (61 percent) believe that the economy is on the right track, while 29 percent said they believed it was on the wrong track.
Read More »Outlook for Housing and Economy Remain Positive Despite Q1 GDP Contraction
Despite economic growth taking a step backward, the forecast for housing for the rest of the year remains positive, according to Fannie Mae SVP and chief economist Doug Duncan. New home sales increased by 6.8 percent in April up to 517,000 annualized units; the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index has risen by 14 percent in the last 12 months; existing home sales are at a nine-year high; and purchase applications recovered at the end of May from a slow first half of the month up near a two-year high.
Read More »Temporary Factors Slowed Economic Growth in Q1, Analyst Says
In his commentary, Kan mentions that refinances are expected to be $551 billion in 2015, compared to a previously estimated $510 billion. MBA now estimates a total of $1.28 trillion in mortgage originations for 2015, compared to $1.12 trillion in 2014.
Read More »Forecast Calls for Moderate Economic Growth; Housing Gaining Momentum
Leading indicators for the housing sector have shown that despite the moderate economic growth predicted, housing may experience a strong season in the spring, according to Fannie Mae. In March, existing home sales rose to their highest level in nearly two years, but for Q1 existing home sales were off slightly from the previous quarter's total. Despite a slowdown in March, new single-family home sales ended the first quarter at their strongest pace in seven years.
Read More »Slow Economic Growth in Q1 Drives Consumer Sentiment Way Down
April's Sentiment Index reading of 95.9 was the second-highest since 2007, second only to January 2015. Curtin said despite the large decline in the index for May, consumers' attitudes toward personal finances and spending habits have stayed positive.
Read More »Signs Indicate More Wage Growth is Coming, But It Can Still Be Tough to Accurately Predict
Knotek states in his report that despite recent signs pointing to an imminent increase in worker compensation, factors such as slack in the labor market, bargaining power, worker productivity, inflation, and many other variables and factors, make wage growth impossible to accurately forecast.
Read More »Employment Gains Rebound in April; March’s Disappointing Report Was An ‘Aberration’
March's already low reported job gains total of 126,000 was revised even further lower in April's report, down to 85,000. Combined with February's job gains revision from 264,000 to 266,000 in April, employment gains in February and March combined were 39,000 lower than originally reported. Job gains have averaged 191,000 per month over the past three months.
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