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Mortgage Rates Hover Near Record Lows
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, mortgage rates increased a percentage point but remained near all-time survey lows. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances rose to...
Shadow Inventory Falls To October 2008 Levels
CoreLogic reports that the current shadow inventory has fallen by 14.8 percent since April 2011 and now stands at 1.5 million units, or a four-month supply. Shadow inventory, also known as pending supply, refers to the number of distressed properties that are...
New Home Sales Climb 7.6 Percent In May
Estimates released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce show sales of newly built single-family homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 in May. That is 7.6 percent above the revised April rate and...
Existing Home Sales Up Nearly 10 Percent From Last Year
According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes fell 1.5 percent in May but remain 9.6 percent above last year's pace. Existing-home sales include single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said...
Improving Markets Index Adds 28 Metros In June
According to the National Association of Home Builders Improving Markets Index, 28 new entrants made the list in June and 31 states now have at least one metropolitan area represented. Despite the gains in regional diversity, however, the total number of improved...
Mortgage Demand Flat After Previous Week’s Surge
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, total mortgage application volume fell 0.8 percent last week after surging 18.0 percent the week before. The Refinance Index was up 1.0 percent from a week earlier while the Purchase Index...
Housing Starts Nearly 30 Percent Above May 2011
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released their new residential construction report for May 2012. According to the data, housing starts are up 28.5 percent above last year's level but down 4.8 percent from April's revised...
Builder Confidence Climbs To Highest Level Since 2007
Though builder confidence rose just one point in June, it is now at its highest level since May of 2007. The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index measures builders' perceptions of the market for newly built, single-family homes on a scale where...
Confidence In Economy Reaches Survey High In May
Gallup's Economic Confidence Index, which began daily tracking in January of 2008, measures Americans' confidence in current economic conditions and their expectations for the economy's performance going forward. In May, the index recorded its highest monthly average...
Home Price Index Finds Monthly, Annual Gains
Adding to a number of recent home price reports showing increasing values, CoreLogic's April Home Price Index finds national values on the rise. Including distressed sales, prices were up 2.2 percent in April over March and, compared to April 2011, prices increased...