Daily Dose

Lockhart said before a monetary policy liftoff decision is made, he would like to see data that the desired outcomes are being achieved – but he said support for a monetary policy liftoff decision will be a judgment call. But in the big overall economic picture, he said, strength in one aspect of the economy may offset ambiguity in another area.

But these declining numbers are nothing new. The numbers of renters making the transition to homeownership has dropped consistently over the past couple of years, and rates have remained below 17 percent mark (the historical average) since 2008.

Tuesday’s passage of proposed amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act in the House has reheated the debate over whether the changes really serve lower-income Americans who purchase manufactured homes or opens them up to predatory lenders on a large scale.

Though the gains in starts and permits are modest‒‒not to mention multi-faceted‒‒the upturn is certainly more welcome news to industry pundits than the numbers that came from February. That month, the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that privately-owned housing starts had hit their lowest rate in years. Housing starts were down 17 percent from January and 3.3 percent below the February prior.

The decline can be attributed to a reduction of $757 in equity investment income and $211 million related to additional market-related adjustments on the bank's debt securities portfolio, due to long-term lower interest rates' impact.

Most Fed districts reported improvement in residential real estate, namely Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. The remaining districts reported steady residential real estate activity, except for New York, which said conditions were softening. Construction activity slowed in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Dallas due to harsh winter weather conditions.

But improved builder confidence isn’t the only thing the HMI survey found. The report also shows jumps in other measurables as well. Builders’ expected buyer traffic increased four points, current sales conditions rose three points, and future sales expectations saw an increase, too, jumping from 59 to 64 points in the last month. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, these sales expectations numbers are at the highest level they’ve been all year–a good omen for the months to come.

Compared to a year ago, the overall pace of sales nationally has sped up. Last spring, about 62 percent of all homes Trulia track nationwide were still on the market at the 60-day mark. Wednesday’s report showed that number is now down to 60 percent.

The first measure, which passed 263-162, would alter the meaning of “high cost" mortgages for manufactured housing by exempting mortgages from the classification if the transaction is less than $75,000, the annual percentage rate is 10 percent or lower, and if the mortgage points and fees don’t exceed $3,000.

Auction.com today released its latest look at the top 49 markets for single-family homes and found that Denver, San Antonio, Nashville, Fort Lauderdale, and Dallas lead the pack in terms of rising home prices, affordability, demand, and economic and demographic conditions that pave the way for future demand.