Category Archives: Housing

Consumers Healthier with Lower Household Debt

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Household debt continues to decline, which will free more disposable income for consumers, which should be a sign that consumer spending, the main driver of economic growth, will continue to grow. That has to be why Q2 … Continue reading →

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Don’t Forget the Millennials—Part II

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs We have talked before about the upcoming Millennial, or Gen Y generation that will number more than 80 million eventually, 7 percent higher than their baby boomer parents that gave us such high economic growth in the 1980s … Continue reading →

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Pending Home Sales Remain Strong

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 1.1 percent to 102.7 in June from 103.8 in May, and is 7.3 percent below June 2013 (110.8), reports the National Association of Realtors. … Continue reading →

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Restricted Credit Will Impede Housing Recovery

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs As if we need more evidence that the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau and government regulators have listened to the wrong people when drafting their Qualified Mortgage requirements (that lowers the maximum debt-to-income ratio to 43 percent for non-agency … Continue reading →

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Existing-Home Sales On Rise Again

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The NAR just reported total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, climbed 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in June from an upwardly-revised 4.91 … Continue reading →

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Why Such Low Interest Rates?

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Fixed 30-year conforming interest rates have once again dropped slightly below 4 percent for a 1 pt. origination fee in California, after being as high as 4.50 percent earlier this year. Why the drop when most economic … Continue reading →

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Where is Housing Affordable?

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Why aren’t there more home buyers? It seems that housing can’t really recover until household incomes recover, and household incomes are barely keeping up with inflation at the moment. We also know that can’t happen until we … Continue reading →

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Pending Home Sales Up—A Better 2014?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Is the housing market finally beginning to thaw from the polar winter? Pending home sales rose sharply in May, with lower mortgage rates and increased inventory accelerating the market, according to the National Association of Realtors’ Pending … Continue reading →

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Will Housing Now Lead the Recovery?

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner There is still hope that housing may help this economic recovery, as it has in past recoveries. But that is only if Fed Chairman Janet Yellen succeeds in keeping interest rates—mortgage rates in particular—at their current low, … Continue reading →

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Will Housing Starts Pick Up?

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner “An uptick in single-family permits was probably the most important feature of a May residential construction report that was otherwise somewhat softer than our forecast,” says the research firm, Wrightson ICAP. Total housing starts fell 6 percent … Continue reading →

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