Based on transaction data throughout the month, Black Knight Financial Services' Home Price Index (HPI) recorded a 0.01 percent month-over-month decline, keeping it nearly flat at $241,000. The drop follows meager increases of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent in July and August, respectively.
Read More »Fannie Mae Projects Modest Growth Forecast for 2015
Despite slower economic growth in recent months following a strong showing in mid-2014, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group says that it still expects 2015 to be a slightly better year overall economically in the United States.
Read More »Inventory Improves in October, but Affordable Homes Still Scarce
In its latest market update, Zillow reported that the number of for-sale homes nationwide rose 15.8 percent year-over-year in October. While the increase may be welcome news for home shoppers in some of the country's most supply-starved metros, the number comes with a catch: The biggest gains were seen in the highest price tier of homes.
Read More »Fannie, Freddie Tweak Mortgage Repurchase Reqs
At the direction of their conservator, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced on Thursday updates to their life-of-loan representation and warranty framework in order to provide clarity for lenders regarding the potential risk for repurchase.
Read More »CFPB Proposes to Expand Foreclosure Protections
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed on Thursday an additional set of measures designed to expand foreclosure protections for mortgage borrowers.
Read More »Refinance Share Rises to Seven-Month High on Lower Interest Rates
In its latest Origination Insight Report, released Thursday, mortgage technology provider Ellie Mae reported that refinancing activity accounted for 40 percent of overall mortgage volume in October, marking the highest level since March. Despite the increase in demand, lenders were able to improve their closing time on refinance loans.
Read More »Existing-Home Sales Hit 13-Month High
Total existing-home sales in October, including single-family houses, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.26 million, up 1.5 percent from an upwardly revised estimate of 5.18 million in September, according to transaction data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Read More »U.S. Home Flipping Drops to Five-Year Low
Home flipping sales, or those in which a home is purchased and sold within 12 months, represented 4 percent of all single-family home sales in the United States in the third quarter, a decline from 4.6 percent in Q2 2014 and from 5.6 percent in the third quarter of 2013, according to RealtyTrac.
Read More »Risk Index Forecasts Low Odds of Price Declines in Coming Years
Looking at economic and housing market indicators in the second quarter, Arch Mortgage Insurance Company (Arch MI) says the odds of a decline in home prices in the next two years on the national level are 13 percent, down from 15 percent in the company's summer estimate.
Read More »Housing Starts Fall in October as Permits Hit Six-Year High
According to a report released by the Commerce Department, groundbreaking on new housing projects was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.01 million last month, a drop of 2.8 percent from September's upwardly revised estimate of 1.04 million. Meanwhile, permit issuance for new housing units was at a rate of 1.08 million, a six-year high for that figure.
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