CNNMoney tells MHProNews the unemployment rate not only hurts those looking for work, it also hurts those with jobs. Why? Employers have no incentive to give raises because they know workers have few options. Hourly wages dropped by one cent in August, which indicates workers have little or no bargaining …
HousingWire reports Ann Fulmer, with fraud analytics firm Interthinx, said the nation’s housing meltdown, with all the mortgage-backed securities litigation, bailouts, lost home equity, and lawsuits cost $13 trillion, almost as much as the $15 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) for 2011. Speaking at a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) gathering, …
BloombergBusinessWeek says while Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has vowed to repeal Dodd-Frank, it’s more likely he would water down some of the restrictions on the most lucrative and profitable investments while providing sufficient oversight to protect the banks. Specifically, banks would toss restrictions on investments in private equity and …
BloombergBusinessWeek says just two months before the presidential election, the U.S. economy added only 96,000 jobs in August, indicating recovery from the recession still has a lot of ground to cover. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, due to 368,000 leaving the work force, as the labor-force participation rate …
CNNMoney reports the $25 billion settlement between the country’s five largest banks and the state attorneys general and federal government has led to JPMorgan Chase offering mortgage relief for thousands of its customers. The settlement gives banks the most credit for loan modifications completed in the first year, so Chase …
IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport, talking to nationalmortgagenews, says, “The trend is still away from homeownership. You still have a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline and people who lose their homes will mostly end up renting.” Rental rates have risen from 2.2% in 2011 to 4.1% in 2012, …
DallasNews tells MHProNews with 29 new multi-family projects beginning and 27 new staff members at Dallas City Hall in the building services department, which is funded solely by permitting and building fees, construction is steadily returning. The high end of single-family construction is improving, as is private sector commercial construction. …
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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) says the number of improving housing markets increased from 81 in August to 99 in Sept., further indication that the housing market is recovering. Based on employment growth, house price appreciation, and single-family housing permit growth for six …
connecttristates reports a collaborative effort between the North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC) of Bowling Green, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky-based Next Step will put low income people in modular homes in the NECAC area. The non-profit works with a variety of other non-profits, businesses, and governmental entities to deliver social …
nationalmortgagenews says according to John Burns Real Estate, before the housing downturn new home sales accounted for 16 percent of sales transactions, falling to five percent as the bottom dropped out. The new-to-existing home sales ratio fell from five to one to 17 to one, but has since climbed back …
In advance of the government’s jobs report, CNNMoney tells MHProNews paycheck processing firm ADP says private employers added 201,000 jobs in Aug., an increase from 173,000 in July. Adding more than 150,000 jobs in a month decreases the unemployment rate. ADP says the service sector added 185,000 new jobs, while …
According to information from Freddie Mac, as originationnews says, the average for a fixed rate 30-year mortgage fell four points during the week ending Sept. 6 to 3.55%, compared to 4.12% a year ago. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) tells MHProNews mortgage applications have fallen recently but lenders report the …
KTICRadio in Nebraska informs MHProNews the Nebraska Public Service Commission it will lower seal fees it charges manufactured and modular homes. Mark Lutich, Department of Housing and Recreational Vehicles director, says several years ago in the throes of the housing downturn when production was low, the department had to let …
Notching the highest mark since the second quarter of 2005, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Multifamily Production Index (MPI) rose for the eighth consecutive quarter, from 51 in Q1 2012 to 54 this most recent quarter. Measuring builder and developer sentiment about conditions in the apartment and condominium …
originationnews says while home values are expected to rise around four percent this year, the increase is driven more by low inventory than by rising demand. The rise in some markets is due to investors buying especially lower-priced homes, and flipping them in six months to a year as prices …
CNNMoney tells MHProNews first time jobless claims held steady last week at 374,000, the first time in three weeks the rate did not increase, according to the Labor Dept. Approximately 3.3 million people received their continuing unemployment benefits during the week. Paul Dales of Capital Economics predicts the jobs report …
In an indication that home values are rising and that home purchase transactions are slowly increasing, nationalmortgagenews tells MHProNews the two year slide of mortgage debt— mortgage servicing rights, or MSRs— triggered by the housing crisis, has come to an end. Residential consumer debt rose from $8.9 trillion Q1 2012 …
CNNMoney tells MHProNews while Las Vegas has the record for the worst foreclosure rate in the country, the following cities had the fastest-growing rate in 2010. Spartanburg, South Carolina had a foreclosure rate of one in 60 homes, a 228% increase in 2010, due to questionable mortgages and unemployment that …
From Q1 2010 to Q1 2012 low-wage occupations grew at a rate 2.7 times faster than those in the middle to higher-wage categories, HousingWire tells MHProNews. According to the advocacy group the National Employment Law Project, 1.7 million of the jobs added the last two years were in the services, …
According to nationalmortgagenews all 12 Federal Reserve banks reported improvements in residential real estate in their districts, as noted in the Beige Book. Compiled on Aug. 20, the snapshot says the housing market is “positive with continued increases in activity expected.” While the Philadelphia and Kansas City banks remain cautious …
Federal Reserve District Banks upbeat on Housing Market Read More
