Nationwide housing starts rose 14.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 596,000 units in January, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department Wednesday. The gain was entirely due to a 77.7 percent increase in the multifamily sector, where significant month-to-month swings in activity are not unusual …
Multifamily Construction Boosts Housing Starts in January Read More
According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Small Business Administration faces a 45 percent cut in funding under the President’s budget request. Bloomberg reports that while the budget would back $27 billion in loan guarantees for small business, administrative spending and funds for Small Business Development Centers would be cut.
Housingwire reports that thanks to the falling dollar, the recently formed State of Texas Real Estate Fund LP announced plans Tuesday to raise $150 million from international investors for the purpose of acquiring distressed office and industrial properties, as well as land. The fund is hunting for high-quality distressed properties …
Falling Dollar Helps Drive International Investments in Lone Star State Read More
Special interests may or may not prevail in the fight to end or limit the mortgage interest deduction, but it seems clear they’re ready for a good fight. In a recent article on CNNMoney, Jerry Howard, chief executive of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) called the effort an …
Nixing the Mortgage Interest Deduction Faces Strong Opposition Read More
HousingWire reports that 30-year, fixed rate mortgages hit 5.05 percent last week, the highest they’ve been since April of 2010. The rate one year ago was 4.97 percent. According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, rates for a 15-year FRM increased from last week to 4.29 percent, up from …
According to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI)’s Monthly Economic Report, just under 2,800 new single and double section HUD code homes were shipped in December 2010, down 22.2 percent from the previous December. On the year, total shipments numbered 50,046 as compared to 49,789 for 2009. Total floors shipped in …
Home values in the United States posted their largest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2009, falling 2.6 percent as the temporary stimulus of the home buyer tax credits wore off, according to Zillow’s fourth quarter Real Estate Market Reports. The Zillow Home Value Index declined 5.9 percent year-over-year …
According to the Texas Quarterly Housing Report released by the Texas Association of Realtors, Texans bought and sold fewer homes in 2010 than in 2009, but the median price of those homes remained stable from year to year. “Specifically, in 2010, 202,916 homes were sold in Texas, which is five …
Bloomberg News cited Commerce Department figures Tuesday indicating construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly fell 2.5 percent in December to the lowest level in a decade. Bloomberg reports its estimate of surveyed economists called for a 0.1 percent gain. Construction spending decreased 10 percent in 2010, after dropping 15 percent …
Fiserv, Inc. released an analysis of home price trends in more than 375 U.S. markets based on the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes. The company finds that in the third quarter of 2010, U.S. single-family home prices saw an average decrease of just 1.5 percent over the year-ago quarter, as a growing …
Housingwire reports that RealtyTrac Senior Vice President Rick Sharga conveyed that major banks currently hold roughly 1 million homes repossessed through foreclosure, but only 30 percent have made it onto the market. The report also indicates foreclosure filings reached a new high in 2010 and should climb even higher this …
Business relocation coach Joseph Vranich says a record number of companies left California in 2010, including Fleetwood Enterprises. 204 companies left the Golden State in 2010, four times the 2009 level. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. had been headquartered in Riverside, went bankrupt, has been partially revived as Fleetwood RV Inc. and …
The latest National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) report says remodelers are starting to see an uptick in interest from consumers who are considering future remodeling projects. Remodeling Market Index (RMI) edged up to 41.5 in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to 40.8 in the third quarter. An RMI …
Pending home sales improved further in December, marking the fifth gain in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) increased 2.0 percent to 93.7 based on contracts signed in December from a downwardly revised 91.9 in November. The index is …
Analysts are calling Obama’s State of the Union “business focused,” including proposals to aid small business and keep America competitive. The president proposed taking $30 billion repaid by Wall Street banks and using it to provide credit to community banks and small businesses. The president also proposed a new small …
Unlike the manufactured housing industry in the United States, the market for manufactured homes in Canada remains rather prosperous by comparison. A Canadian Manufactured Housing Institute (CMHI) report for the 3rd quarter of 2010 shows some 3,608 factory-built single-family homes were started in the third quarter, representing a 17 percent …
Data through November, 2010 released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show a deceleration in the annual growth rates in 17 of the 20 MSAs and the 10- and 20-City Composites compared to what was reported for October 2010. …
From the Calgary Herald comes news that an Arizona manufactured home community is trying to lure Canadians with sunshine and sweet deals. The article notes for the past few weeks, the Canadian dollar has been at, just below or just above its American counterpart. The last time that happened, snowbirds …
Arizona Community Looking to Lure Canadian Snowbirds Read More
Forex reports there were a record low number of housing completions in 2010, breaking the record set in 2009. The company says the total for single family, multi-family and manufactured homes (estimated) was 703 thousand units in 2010. That is about 17 percent below the 844 units completed in 2009 …
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Thursday that existing home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months. Existing home sales rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 …
