Housing Analysis

04

Nov

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – November 4, 2013

Last week's economic news came from a variety of sources. Most significant was the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee statement after its meeting ended Wednesday. The statement indicated that the Fed saw moderate economic growth. FOMC did not taper its purchase of MBS and Treasury securities. The FOMC statement announced the committee's intention to closely monitor economic and financial developments "in the coming months," which suggested that the FOMC is taking a wait-and-see position on reducing its $85 billion monthly asset purchases. Mortgage Rates, Jobless Claims Fall The Fed's asset purchase program, also known as quantitative easing, was implanted in 2012 with a…

29

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What You Should Know About Pending Home Sales This Month

Pending home sales fell in September by -5.60 percent, and were 1.20 percent lower year-over-year. This is the first time in more than two years that pending home sales have fallen below year-earlier readings. September's reading was below August's reading of -1.60 percent. The National Association of REALTORS®, which released the report, expects lower home sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 and flat sales into 2014. NAR provided good news in its forecast of 10 percent growth in existing home sales in 2013 as compared to 2012. A spike in mortgage rates in August coupled with rapidly rising home…

28

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 28, 2013

Federal government agencies issued reports that were delayed by the government shutdown; and Freddie Mac reported that average mortgage rates fell for all types of loans it reports. The National Association of REALTORS issued its Existing Home Sales report on Monday. While 5.30 million home sales were expected an annual basis, September's reading fell short at 5.29 million sales. August's reading was adjusted from an original reading of 5.48 million, which equaled July's reading. Higher mortgage rates and home prices were cited as contributing to the slip in September's sales. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the Nonfarm Payrolls report…

22

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

The Government Shutdown And Its Effect On Existing Home Sales

Existing home sales for September fell by 1.90 percent from August's revised reading of 5.39 million sales to 5.29 million sales. Economists had expected 5.30 million sales for September, so a slow-down in existing home sales had been anticipated. The National Association of REALTORS cited higher home prices and mortgage rates as factors contributing to fewer sales of previously owned homes. Home Prices Easily Outpaced Income Growth According to Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, home prices "easily outpaced income growth." Consequently, affordability has fallen to a five-year low. Mr. Yun also indicated that a government shutdown was expected to affect home sales…

21

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 21, 2013

Many of the economic and housing reports typically scheduled were delayed by the federal government shutdown. The National Association of Homebuilders Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for October was released Wednesday with a reading of 55, lower than the projected 58 and previous month's revised reading of 57. The original reading for September was 58, which was the highest measure of builder confidence since 2005. NAHB cited concerns over mortgage rates and the federal government shutdown and its consequences as reasons for homebuilder confidence slipping. While the NAHB HMI reading was lower than last month, it remains in positive territory…

17

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

Housing Market Index Shows Builders Continue To Have A Positive Outlook

The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped two points to 55 from September's revised reading of 57. Builder concerns over labor costs and availability and economic uncertainty related to the federal government shutdown were noted as factors contributing to the lower reading for October. Key Points Noted In October's HMI included: Builder confidence remains above 50, which indicates that more builders have a positive outlook on housing market conditions than those with negative sentiment. The October HMI cites pent-up buyer demand in markets throughout the US as a positive influence on October's reading. A spike in mortgage…

07

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 7, 2013

This week's economic news commentary has been dominated by the "what ifs" of a government shutdown; opinions of potential consequences are limited only by the number of commentators sharing their opinions. Unfortunately, more concrete examples of the shutdown were evident last Tuesday and Friday. The Department of Commerce delayed release of August's Construction Spending report that were due last Tuesday and The Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed the release of September's Non-farm Payroll and Unemployment that were due last Friday. The ADP Employment report for September posted a reading of 166,000 private sector jobs added against expectations of 180,000 new…

30

Sep

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week-September 30, 2013

Last week brought a variety of housing related news. Highlights included the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for July, which showed a 12.40 percent year-over-year increase in national home prices. This was up from 12.10 percent in June. The FHFA Housing Price Index reading traces home prices on properties securing mortgages owned or backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The year-over-year reading for July showed an increase of 8.80 percent as compared to a year-over-year reading of 7.80 percent in June. Rising mortgage rates and rising home prices have caused some buyers to leave the market, while others are jumping…

25

Sep

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

Case Shiller Price Index Shows An Annual Growth Rate Of Home Prices

Home prices were still gaining in July, but for 15 of 20 cities included the S&P Case-Shiller 10 and 20-city Home Price Indices, the pace of increasing home prices is slowing down. National home prices rose by 1.80 percent in July as compared to 2.20 percent in June. Home prices grew by 0.60 percent from June to July on a seasonally-adjusted basis. This was the lowest month-to-month gain since September 2012. David Blitzer, index committee chairman of S&P Dow Jones Indices, said that higher mortgage rates are hitting the housing market. Mr. Blitzer noted that mortgage rates rose by more…

24

Sep

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

Highest Existing Home Sales Since February 2007

Sales of existing homes reached their highest volume in almost six years in August. The National Association of REALTORS reported Thursday that sales of existing homes rose 1.70 percent in August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million existing homes sold. This was the highest number of existing home sales since February of 2007. August's results exceeded estimates of 5.20 existing homes sold, which was based on July's unrevised reading of 5.39 million existing homes sold. The NAR also reported that the national median home price increased to $212,100 in August. This represents a year-over-year increase of 14.70 percent…