Daily Dose

According to a third reading released Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualized rate of 5.0 percent in Q3, up from an earlier estimate of 3.9 percent and an estimate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter.

In its latest Nowcast projections, online real estate auction company Auction.com calls for pre-owned home sales to fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 4.79 and 5.18 million for December, with a targeted number of 4.98 million.

Sales of newly built single-family properties fell 1.6 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000 in November, according to a report from the Commerce Department. October's sales rate was revised down to 445,000, meaning the month actually saw a decrease as opposed to the slight increase that was originally recorded.

The latest data from OCC shows that out of a portfolio totaling 23.6 million loans with a combined unpaid principal balance of about $4.0 billion (about 46 percent of residential mortgages in the U.S.), the percentage of current and performing mortgages increased both quarter-over-quarter (from 92.9 percent to 93.0 percent) and year-over-year (from 91.4 percent to 93.0 percent) in Q3.

According to Freddie's monthly volume summary, released Monday, the company's total portfolio ended November at an estimated $1.9 trillion, up an annualized 0.4 percent. Year-to-date, the portfolio's growth rate is an average -0.7 percent, the result of six straight months of declines through the year's first half and an additional month of contraction in August.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.6 percent in November to 105.5, the group reported. The increase matched October's improvement and was slightly weaker than September's 0.8 percent growth.

The bank, which is Minnesota's first to close in 2014, was shuttered on Friday by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which appointed FDIC as receiver. In a statement, the agency cited lack of capital, continuing operating losses, and a large volume of problem assets as reasons for the forced closing.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday that existing-home sales fell 6.1 percent from October to November, landing at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million. Despite the stumble, home resales in November were still up 2.1 percent from year-ago levels, making it just the second month in 2014 to see sales rise year-over-year.

Home sales last month were down 5.2 percent year-over-year in 53 of the country's biggest markets, RE/MAX said this week in its latest National Housing Report. The drop, which the company said is normal for this time of the year, followed gains of 0.9 percent in September and 2.6 percent in October—the only two months so far this year to have seen year-over-year improvements.

Out of all the investors surveyed by Auction.com in November, 50.5 percent said they're going to rent out their properties, while 46.6 percent plan to flip them to another buyer. The preference toward renting was more evident among one-time purchasers, 72.2 percent of whom said they plan to rent out the auctioned home.