by Jim Crowder | Aug 18, 2011 | HOUSING MARKET
Sales of previously owned homes were 21 percent higher than last year’s levels in July. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales were down 3.5 percent from June’s upwardly revised estimates but the 4.67 million annual rate was...
by Jim Crowder | Aug 17, 2011 | HOUSING MARKET
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.32 percent last week from 4.37 the week before. It was the third consecutive drop in mortgage rates and...
by Jim Crowder | Aug 16, 2011 | HOUSING MARKET
In July, privately-owned housing starts were up 9.8 percent over last year, according to residential construction estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Building permits, an indicator of future construction, also saw...
by Jim Crowder | Aug 12, 2011 | HOUSING MARKET
Foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were reported on 212,764 properties in July, a 4.0 percent decrease from June and 35 percent below last year. According to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report,...
by Jim Crowder | Aug 11, 2011 | HOUSING MARKET
The National Association of Realtors’ Housing Affordability Index for the second quarter of this year reached 176.6, the third highest level since record keeping began in 1970. The previous high came during the first quarter of 2011. The affordability index...
by Jim Crowder | Aug 10, 2011 | HOUSING MARKET
According to The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.37 percent last week from 4.45 percent the week before. The drop brought rates to their lowest level of the...
