Based on data from August real estate transactions, Black Knight Financial Services' Home Price Index (HPI) edged up just 0.1 percent from July, remaining nearly flat at $242,000. August's rate of appreciation was half of July's already slow 0.2 percent gain in prices. Annually, the index was up 4.9 percent from last year compared to a gain of 5.1 percent in July.
Read More »Housing Market Stability Backslides Again
Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) slipped 0.19 percent from July to a reading of 73.3 in August, the company reported. With the drop, the index's three-month measure showed a 0.47 percent decline. Despite August's headline decline, analysts at Freddie Mac say the MiMi is showing promising trends, especially at the local level.
Read More »Seller Confidence Wavers as Housing Market Finds Balance
Out of hundreds of home sellers surveyed nationwide earlier this month, only 35.1 percent said now is a good time to sell a home in their neighborhood, according to the latest Real-Time Seller Survey from Redfin. The response reflects a decline of more than 17 percentage points from the second-quarter survey, which found more than half of sellers felt they had an advantage in the market.
Read More »Regulators Close Down Illinois Bank
Only a week after the latest collapse, federal regulators announced the closure of yet another government-insured bank, bringing the year-to-date tally to 16. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced Friday the shuttering of the National Republic Bank of Chicago, appointing FDIC as receiver.
Read More »Pending Home Sales Nudge Up in September
The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking gauge of home sales based on contract signings, ticked up 0.3 percent to 105 from August's 104.7, the group reported. Compared to a year ago, the index climbed 1 percent—the first yearly increase in 11 months.
Read More »Slow but Sure Housing Growth Anticipated for 2015
Where the U.S. housing market is concerned, Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said he is anticipating weaker home sales in 2014 than in 2013—but 2015 looks better. Meanwhile, the slowdown in economic growth this year has not dimmed the outlook among Fannie Mae's economists.
Read More »Report: Housing Recovery Favors High-Income Neighborhoods
While at a national level the housing market continues to recover, a look at local markets reveals a recovery that is most prominent in high-income areas, while lower-income neighborhoods continue to struggle. ProTeck Valuation Services delves into this phenomenon in its latest Home Value Forecast, with a spotlight on the Seattle metro area.
Read More »Refinances Rise While Loan Approvals Fall
After declining for most of the year thus far, the share of refinance loans experienced a 3 percentage point boost in September, according to the latest Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae. At the same time, a lower percentage of loans made their way to closing in September compared with the month before, and the time it took to close those loans that did make their way through the approval process increased, according to Ellie Mae.
Read More »Leading Indicators Point to Moderate Economic Expansion Ahead
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, a measure of economic developments as an indicator of future trends, increased 0.8 percent last month to 104.4 following a downwardly revised August reading that showed no change. Nine of the index's ten components contributed to the latest increase.
Read More »New Home Sales Up After Major August Revision
The Commerce Department and HUD estimate that new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 467,000 in September, according to a joint report from the agencies. September's sales rate marks a 0.2 percent increase over August's revised rate and a 17 percent jump above September 2013. New home sales in August, originally reported at an annual pace of 504,000, came down dramatically in the government's revised estimate.
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