Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

The choice of the new Fed chair takes on added significance given the Fed's relationship with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Having spent the last several months bouncing around, average fixed mortgage rates were little changed over the last week as market speculation settled.

Mortgage credit availability opened up some more in July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI).

The number of job openings rose 29,000 in June to the highest level in five years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). At the same time, the number of unemployed individuals per job opening dipped below 3 (to 2.99) for the first time since October 2008. The number of unemployed per job opening fell sharply in the construction industry to 6.2 in June--the lowest level since July 2008--from a revised 8.7 in May.

According to the Real Estate Roundtable, the latest survey continues the "basically flat" trajectory of the past several quarters, with the Current Conditions index staying at 71 and the Overall and Future Conditions index each rising a single point to 70 and 68, respectively. Respondents also noted increased planning and construction in asset classes outside the multifamily segment and greater investor interest outside of "red hot" metros such as New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.39 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 1.

Mortgage rates backed down for the second consecutive week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed-rate average at 4.31 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending July 25, down from last week's 4.37 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate's weekly national survey showed the 30-year fixed falling to 4.54 percent and the 15-year fixed dropping to 3.61 percent. The downward trend may not last, however.

Existing-home sales fell 1.2 percent in June to an annual sales rate of 5.08 million as the price of a single-family home rose 13.5 percent from a year earlier--the strongest year-over-year gain since November 2005, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. The drop in sales came despite an increase in April in NAR├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks contracts for existing single-family homes. The index rose in April to 105.7 from 104.1 in March and fell in May.

Citing improvements in manufacturing, tourism, commercial and residential real estate and in the financial sector, the Federal Reserve said the nation's economy continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace from late May through early July.

Market participants reacting to speculation that the Federal Reserve may taper its bond purchases later this year should refrain from acting too hastily, Freddie Mac says in its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July. According to Freddie Mac's metrics, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has jumped a full percentage point since mid-May as "taper talk" rules the day. Rates are expected to gradually move higher, closing out 2013 in the range of 4.6 to 4.7 percent.