The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices show an average price growth year-over-year in August of 12.8 percent for the 10-and 20-city composites, according to HousingWire. On a monthly basis, the composites rose 1.3 percent in August, with Las Vegas hitting 2.9 percent, its highest rate since August 2004. Detroit and …
Large Metro Areas see Home Prices Rise, says S&P Case Shiller Read More
According to nationalmortgagenews, the National Association of Realtors pending sales index (PSI) dropped more than expected in September, minus six percent, following a two percent drop in August, 2013. The PSI tracks sales contract signings, and is now 1.2 percent below the level of signings last Sept. NAR Chief Economist …
Mark Wilson of non-profit affordable housing developer Community Frameworks in Spokane, Washington, noting that multi-generational living is coming back, is seeking a family to purchase an elder cottage as a model for the organization. He says, “An elder cottage is a small, energy-efficient, self-contained home designed to be placed adjacent …
U. S. consumer sentiment dropped to its lowest level in nearly a year, likely fueled by the government shutdown and one-time up-in-the-air debt limit dispute, according to a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey. Falling from 77.5 in September to 73.2 in October, as RVBusiness informs MHProNews, the figure was lower …
While unemployment fell to a five-year low in September, hitting 7.2 percent, down .01 percent from August, non-farm payrolls rose by only 148,000 jobs. Says Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics, “The unemployment rate keeps edging lower, but the Fed seems to be more focused on the drop-off in the pace …
Employment for Young Renters and Homebuyers Remains Sluggish Read More
The national foreclosure inventory continues to fall, decreasing 32 percent since Sept 2012, according to what Lender Processing Services (LPS) tells nationalmortgagenews, with 1.3 million housing units in the foreclosure pre-sale inventory. LPS’ loan-level database covers approximately 70 percent of the market total, MHProNews has learned. While delinquencies have fallen …
Time magazine reports a former Austin, Texas developer of high end houses now blogs about his small homes built from salvaged materials. Brad Kittel, owner of Tiny Texas Houses, who has built around 75 tiny homes of 400 square feet, ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, now plans on building a …
Home prices and sales dropped in September, according to what the National Association of Realtors (NAR) tells nationalmortgagenews. As mortgage rates hovered around 4.5 percent and inventories remained low, sales of existing single-family homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 5.3 million, down from 5.4 million in …
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports last year 2,083 multifamily housing lenders provided $146.1 billion in new loans to apartment buildings with five or more units, representing a 33 percent gain from 2011. The mortgages went to a variety of investors, the biggest dollar volume share, 40 percent, going to …
Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, says the recent turmoil in the nation’s capital may impact consumer confidence but he does not anticipate it will have a lasting impact on the housing recovery. While Duncan sees consumer spending as being more modest in the third quarter, he says interest rates …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reports builder confidence dropped two points to 55 in October due in part to continuing challenges in the marketplace coupled with rising interest rates and uncertainty in Washington. However, any score above 50 indicates builders see the market …
Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP has entered the manufactured housing community (MHC) business in acquiring two communities in Florida from Shamrock Holdings LLC of Arizona for $30.8 million. While this is the company’s first foray into the MH industry, analysts say investors are betting this aspect of the housing …
Single-family home real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a new player in the real estate market, with the outcome yet to be realized. One of them, Silver Bay Realty Trust says there are 41 million rental units in the U. S., equal to 30 percent of the housing market. Roughly …
Yield on Investment in Single-family Homes Unknown Read More
Economists at Wells Fargo Securities indicate that 857,420 new households were formed in the U. S. during 2012, but the number of homeowners dropped by 237,750, the fifth straight year that figure has dropped, while the number of renters increased by 1.1 million. In 2012 single-family homes accounted for 28.5 …
Despite the government shutdown and looming debt ceiling debate, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) forecasts growth of the housing industry will continue through 2015 although at a slightly slower pace, according to economists gathered for the NAHB’s Fall 2013 Construction Forecast Webinar. Noting the formation of households dropped …
CoreLogic reports house prices rose +0.9 percent in August, which was half of the July pace. Attributing the slowdown to seasonality and the recent rise in mortgage rates, CEO Anand Nallathambi says, “We anticipate moderate gains in home prices over the balance of this year, supported by the recent downward …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is replacing its Improving Markets Index (IMI) with the Leading Markets Index, shifting the focus from improving markets to those that are exceeding their normal levels of housing market progress. The new index will measure the same three components—single-family building permits, home prices …
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says 30 percent of homeowners over 70 have mortgages to pay off. A study for 2001 reports eight percent of owners over 75 were carrying mortgage debt. More homeowners over 65 continue to pay on their homes into their retirement years, and that may …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports August sales of new, single-family homes rose 7.9 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 421,000 units, offsetting a slight decline in July resulting from a rise in mortgage rates. Says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, “We are only about halfway …
Following on the heels of Miss South Carolina’s line in the Miss America Beauty Pageant about factory-built homes in her home state, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) asks rather rhetorically why so many Americans live in these dwellings. Based on U. S. Census figures, 20 million Americans occupy 8.5 million …
