Category Archives: housing market

The End of Easy Money?

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly The Fed just completed its July FOMC meeting and said the sale of some of its $4.5 trillion in securities would begin this year. CNBC has predicted the first installment of $300B in sales could begin anytime. … Continue reading →

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Home Sales Disappoint

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Existing-home sales were at a 5.52 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in June, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That was 0.7 percent above the year-ago rate, but 1.8 percent lower than in May and marked … Continue reading →

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Housing Starts Rebound, For How Long?

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Indicators that predicts future growth says it is being boosted by a rebound in housing starts, which means more badly needed new homes being built. Its June report posted a 0.6 … Continue reading →

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Housing Shortage Continues

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner It was very good news that new-home sales rose nearly 3 percent in May to a 610,000 annualized rate. The report, always volatile, included a big upward revision to April which however, at 593,000, is still the … Continue reading →

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Why Home Sales Rising Fast, Construction Lagging?

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner We are once again in a housing conundrum. May Existing-home sales just surged 1.1 percent to 5.62 million units, after falling for several months. And housing starts fell for the third straight month an unexpected 5.5 percent … Continue reading →

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Builder Optimism + Affordability Higher

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Some good news is that rising wages and moderating home prices offset a rise in mortgage interest rates to give housing affordability a slight boost in the first quarter of 2017, said the National Association of Home … Continue reading →

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Housing Recovery Still Uneven

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Fresh data from real-estate website Trulia show that just 34.2 percent of homes have returned to the peak levels registered before the onset of the recession in 2008, reports Marketwatch’s Andrea Requier. What’s more, Trulia estimates it could … Continue reading →

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Why Is Mortgage Lending Still Restricted?

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner We can thank the Great Recession for most of it. Banks have become much more conservative, and builders are building approximately 50 percent fewer residences vs. the 2 million housing units at the height of the housing … Continue reading →

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Low Inflation Boosts Housing Sales

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Existing-home sales are now accelerating to new expansion highs, says the NAR. Sales rose a very sharp 4.4 percent to a higher-than-expected annualized rate of 5.710 million. This is the best rate since February 2007. Both components show … Continue reading →

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Return To Low Interest Rates Boosts Housing

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now 3.50 percent and the so-called Hi-Balance conforming 30-year fixed rate is 3.75 percent these days for a 1 percent origination fee. And this is what has kept the demand … Continue reading →

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