Last week's housing related news was lean, with no scheduled reports released other than Freddie Mac's primary mortgage market survey. We'll start with some good news...
Last week's economic reports contained mixed reports indicating that the economy continues to recover with occasional "blips" in its progress. Construction spending was lower than expected. A Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers indicated that credit standards remain strict for mortgages and other types of lending.
Last week's economic news brought mixed developments as pending home sales moved to their second highest level of 2014. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced the expected end of asset purchases under its quantitative easing program.
Home prices rose by 0.20 percent in August. Three of the 20 cities tracked saw home prices drop, while Detroit, Michigan posted the highest price growth. The seasonally adjusted growth rate for cities tracked declined by 0.10 percent as compared to a decline of 0.10 percent in July.
After months of reports of slowing home price momentum and forecasts of a lagging housing market, we are pleased to report an increase in volume for existing home sales.
Last week's economic highlights included the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index for October. The Commerce Department also released Housing Starts for September. Freddie Mac reported that the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped below four percent. The Fed released its Beige Book report, and Weekly jobless claims came in lower than expected.
Last week's economic news included multiple reports on housing and the labor sector. The good news is that job markets appear to be stronger, with new jobless claims and the national unemployment rate lower.
Last week's economic news included several housing-related reports that provided mixed results with lower than expected sales of previously owned homes and higher than expected sales of new homes.
Sales of previously owned homes fell in August according to the National Association of REALTORS. This was the first decline in sales in five months. Although not welcome news to homeowners and real estate pros, there is good news...