Category Archives: housing market

2012 Housing Recovery Fuelled by Affordability

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Housing prices needs one more year to begin to recover, according to several pundits and economists, including Barron’s Magazine and Professor Karl Case, co-creator of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index. And that mostly depends on two … Continue reading →

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HARP 2.0 Loan Modifications Begin This Week

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The revamped HARP 2.0 loan modification program for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans kicks off this week, which allows unlimited loan-to-values for existing 30 or 15-year fixed rate mortgages owned by Fannie and Freddie, and maximum … Continue reading →

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Where is the Housing Bottom?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The housing bottom is really a function of incomes, jobs, and inventory of houses for sale. All three indicators are favorable for housing sales to pick up this year. But prices have to bottom first. The main … Continue reading →

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Such Pessimism is Unwarranted—Who Should Rescue Housing?

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Popular Economics Weekly Why is it so many pundits—and some economists—continue to be pessimistic about 2012 growth? Business and Wall Street economists in particular are predicting just 2 percent GDP growth for all of 2012, according to a recent … Continue reading →

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Mortgage Applications-Builder Optimism Rising

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Are homebuyers and borrowers finally realizing that mortgage rates might not fall much further? We are seeing a huge jump in both mortgage and builder activity, and much of the most recent interest rate drop has been … Continue reading →

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More Jobs Key to 2012 Growth

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly How do we know what to look for in 2012? We should not be looking at the headlines, which tend to trumpet totally conflicting news. But more accurate information is available—usually several months later. For instance, jobs’ … Continue reading →

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Can the Fed Rescue Real Estate?

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner How can we thank Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke for keeping our economy afloat? Not only has the Fed kept interest rates low enough to prevent actual deflation, as happened to Japan over the past 20 years and … Continue reading →

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Will Real Estate Recover in 2012?

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The recovery road may remain bumpy for real estate in 2012 but construction spending continues to increase from low levels of activity, and so housing starts. Much of it is multi-family apartments going to both new households … Continue reading →

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Will Younger Generation Rescue Real Estate?

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Privately-owned housing starts in November rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, which combined with increasing builder sentiment is a sign that children of the baby boomers—the so-called Boomerang or echo boomer generation—may finally be … Continue reading →

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Housing Picture is Better Than We Know

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner There have been some developments that tell us housing prices could stabilize and new home construction pick up in the New Year. This is even thought the continuing fall in housing prices has stymied any growth prospects, … Continue reading →

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