Housing will see gradual improvements this year, establishing momentum for stronger gains in 2012, said economists at the National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show recently. “This year’s spring selling season will be better than last year’s,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, with job growth providing a stronger stimulus in the housing market […]
Housing Recovery Increasingly Tied to Job Growth
Steps to limit price declines may have helped, but economic growth is now critical. Home prices in twenty major metropolitan markets dropped 1.3% from September to October, the third straight month-over-month drop, according to the December S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index released in late December. The decline erases a significant share of the modest gain in home […]
Predictions: Last Year’s Wall St vs Main St
At the beginning of every year, Wall St experts predict how it will end, but is Wall St any smarter than Main St? Did you have a prediction last year as to how 2010 would fare? How’d you do? Any predictions for 2011? We’d love to hear from you. Click the ‘comment’ link below to […]
Home Sales Post Another Gain
Sales of previously owned homes edged up in November, the third increase in four months after a dismal summer for home-buying. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyers bought homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million. Even with the rise, this year is shaping up to be the worst for […]
Housing Inventory Drops in November
A new report from ZipRealty shows the supply of homes for sale in November declined by an average of 3.78 percent in 26 major metropolitan areas that the company researched. The report measures inventory from month to month and also compiles quarterly results of the information and covers single family homes, condos, and townhomes. Declines […]
Housing Affordability Remains Very High
Low home prices and mortgage rates combined to bring housing affordability to its second-highest level ever, according to a new report from the National Association of Home Builders. For the third quarter of the year, the association’s Housing Opportunity Index rose to 72.1, indicating the percentage of homes sold that were affordable for those earning […]
Housing Starts Hit 18-Month Low
New home construction fell to an 18-month low in October, according to a recent government report. Housing starts, or the number of new homes being built, fell 11.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 519,000 in October, down from a revised 588,000 in September. The annual rate is the lowest since the 477,000 starts […]
Relationship Issues: What to Know Before Moving In
‘Tis the season for young couples taking the plunge and either moving in together or getting engaged. It’s an exciting time for couples as well as their friends and families. People look for the perfect home to share and begin the merging (and purging) of possessions. But there’s an aspect of moving in together that […]
Fed’s Cash Injection Likely to Keep Mortgage Rates Favorable
Along with the election results, the big news recently was the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will attempt to jumpstart the economy by purchasing another $600 billion in long-term Treasury bonds through mid-2011. While this announcement was not unexpected, it has been widely debated whether the plan will actually bandage the economy and raise employment […]
Beige Book Shows Modest Growth But Weak Real Estate Conditions
The Federal Reserve’s popular Beige Book report released this week suggests economic activity across most of the nation is showing signs of “modest” growth, but it’s not enough to improve the country’s anemic jobs picture with the unemployment rate holding at or above 9.5 percent for more than a year. Beige Book findings are based […]