First time claims for unemployment insurance were unchanged at 351,000 for the week ended February 18, following upward adjustments for numbers recorded the previous week which represented a four-year record low. The U.S. Department of Labor also reported that continuing claims fell 52,000 – the fourth drop observed during the first six weeks of the year. View the original here: Initial … [Read more...]
Initial Claims Flat While Continuing Claims Fall Lower
February 23, 2012 by
First time claims for unemployment insurance were unchanged at 351,000 for the week ended February 18, following upward adjustments for numbers recorded the previous week which represented a four-year record low. See the article here: Initial Claims Flat While Continuing Claims Fall Lower … [Read more...]
Continuing, Initial Unemployment Claims Fall Again
February 16, 2012 by
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 13,000 for the week ending February 11 to 348,000 to the lowest level since March 2008, the Labor Department said Thursday. Continuing claims, reported on a one-week lag, fell as well, dropping 100,000 to 3,426,000, the lowest level since August 2008. The drop in initial claims was the third consecutive weekly decline; in that period first-time … [Read more...]
Housing Plays Small Part as Economy Adds 243K Jobs
February 3, 2012 by
A still-brittle economic recovery picked up steam in January as the private sector added 243,000 jobs, driving unemployment figures to lows not seen in three years. The Labor Department said that the national unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, also signaling a fifth straight month for declines in the number of jobless Americans. Read More: Housing Plays Small Part as Economy Adds 243K Jobs … [Read more...]
New-Home Sales Hit All-Time Lows in 2011
January 26, 2012 by
New-home sales crawled to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 in December despite modest signs of recovery. The Commerce Department said Thursady that new-home sales fell 2.2 percent below expectations from November, which held that homebuyers would pick up a seasonally adjusted 314,000 homes annually. New homes from last month carried a median sales price around $210,300, with the … [Read more...]
FOMC to Maintain Low Interest Rates Until 2014
January 26, 2012 by
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee decided Wednesday to keep interest rates between 0 percent and .25 percent until 2014, even while the economy steadily improves. All but one of the Fed’s governors voted to extend the policy enacted last fall for another two years, where originally the central bank had determined to delay higher interest rates until 2013. The Fed said that it … [Read more...]
Obama Proposes New Lending Oversight, Refi Modifications
January 25, 2012 by
President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address Wednesday to tout his accomplishments and propose several new housing ventures, including possible expansions to refinance programs, consumer financial protection, and new federal initiatives to combat abusive lending practices. The speech weighed in on risky lending practices in particular and went after Republicans for their opposition … [Read more...]
Economy, Housing Market a Mixed Bag in 2012: Forecast
January 20, 2012 by
The economy and housing market enter the New Year with mixed results, and will likely remain that way for at least the first part of 2012, Freddie Mac forecasted in a report Thursday. Citing numerous indices in his outlook, Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist with Freddie Mac, predicted that economic growth will likely hit 2.1 percent in the first quarter, up from the doldrums during the … [Read more...]
Home Sales, Housing Markets Will Lift in 2012: Fannie Mae
January 13, 2012 by
The economy will drift upward in 2012 as incremental changes take place in the housing market, with a divisive and uncertain policy environment the darkest cloud on the horizon, Fannie Mae said in an economic outlook Friday. Doug Duncan, VP and chief economist with Fannie, offered up the outlook from the GSE's Economics and Mortgage Analysis Group. Fannie Mae said that new home sales could hit 4.7 … [Read more...]
Rates Remain Below Four Percent Mark for Sixth Consecutive Week
January 12, 2012 by
Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending Jan. 12, 2012, showing mortgage rates easing to new all-time record lows for all products. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.89 for the week, marking the sixth consecutive week the FRM has come in below the four percent mark. View post: Rates Remain Below Four Percent Mark for … [Read more...]
Duke: Tight Credit May Be to Blame for Slow Recovery
January 7, 2012 by
Still-tight credit supply is at fault for anemic demand in the housing market, preventing a full-fledged recovery from exerting itself in home sales, prices, and other indicators, according to one governor on the Federal Reserve Board. Delivering a presentation before trade groups in Virginia earlier Friday, Fed governor Elizabeth Duke faulted underwriting and lending standards, among other market … [Read more...]
New CFPB Director Promotes Deputy Directors
January 6, 2012 by
Not two days after his recess appointment, newly minted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray named de facto leader Raj Date his second-in-command. Date has led the CFPB since it went live in July, serving as day-to-day operations chief and testifying before Congress on its behalf Continue Reading: New CFPB Director Promotes Deputy Directors … [Read more...]
Freddie Mac to Grant 12-Month Forbearance for Unemployed Borrowers
January 6, 2012 by
Freddie Mac has announced that it is giving mortgage servicers expanded authority to provide six months of forbearance to unemployed borrowers without Freddie Mac's prior approval and up to an additional six months with prior approval. Visit site: Freddie Mac to Grant 12-Month Forbearance for Unemployed Borrowers … [Read more...]
FOMC’s November Minutes Reflect Euro Crisis Concerns
January 3, 2012 by
With the euro zone crisis deepening, members of the Federal Open Market Committee elected to stay the course in November by keeping interest rates historically low and pooling investments from agency debt into agency mortgage-backed securities. Minutes framed discussions around concerns about weakening confidence in the markets as a result of any potential default by euro zone nations, even while … [Read more...]
Construction Spending Climbed 1.2% in November
January 3, 2012 by
Homebuilders spent more on construction in November last year than in any month before August, with figures for new residences climbing by 1.2 percent above October estimates. Fielding the numbers Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that construction spending overall hovered at around $807.1 billion. Single-family home construction moved forward at a steady clip by rising 1.5 percent, with … [Read more...]
The Mortgage Battlefield of 2012: A View From the Frontlines
December 27, 2011 by
For the past thtree-and-a-half years, it is very accurate to say that the mortgage industry has undergone a battle for its very survival. One of the deepest recessions in our nation’s history, the sharpest decline in single-family housing values since the Great Depressions, and the highest unemployment rates since the 1970s have all combined to make the past few years the most difficult ever … [Read more...]
Home Values Decline 0.3% in October: Zillow
December 22, 2011 by
Home values continued on a downward-facing slope by declining 0.3 percent in October, with more to come over 2012, according to real estate Web site Zillow. See more here: Home Values Decline 0.3% in October: Zillow … [Read more...]
American Homebuyers Feel Now is the Time to Buy While Potential Seller Sentiment Remains Negative
December 21, 2011 by
According to a newly-published report, "The Great Recession and Attitudes Toward Homebuying," prospective homebuyers believe now is a good time to buy, given today's low home prices and low mortgage interest rates, but potential sellers are nearly unanimous in reporting that it is not a good time to sell a home, citing difficulty in finding buyers at desired sales prices. The report, published by … [Read more...]
Freddie Mac Releases 2012 Economic Outlook
December 14, 2011 by
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac revealed its December outlook Wednesday, forecasting that U.S. economic growth would likely climb to 2.5 percent over 2012 and that mortgage rates would stay at record lows. The GSE also pitched ideas that housing activity will scale upward but fail to reach “robustâ€� levels seen in years prior. Read More: Freddie Mac Releases 2012 Economic Outlook … [Read more...]
Home Prices See Near 25 Percent Depreciation Since May 2007
December 13, 2011 by
Home values continued to decline nationwide in October 2011, falling 0.3 percent from September's totals, according to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. However, the rate of monthly depreciation has stabilized as the housing market heads towards the bottom. Taken from: Home Prices See Near 25 Percent Depreciation Since May 2007 … [Read more...]
Home Prices Rise 0.3% Quarterly Amid Market Changes
December 10, 2011 by
Home prices dithered quarter-over-quarter, rising only by 0.3 percent as events in the broader economy, nationally and globally, helped shape housing markets. Clear Capital released the Home Data Index Thursday, tracking movement in home prices on both a regional and national basis. Nationally, home prices fluctuated year-over-year by falling 2.2 percent, a marginal improvement over 2.8-percent … [Read more...]
Unemployment Hits 8.6% as November Payrolls Add 120K
December 2, 2011 by
In good news for the economy, payrolls picked up 120,000 jobs over November, helping shrink employment to 8.6 percent – the lowest in more than two years. Excerpt from: Unemployment Hits 8.6% as November Payrolls Add 120K … [Read more...]
