Category Archives: Housing

New Home Sales Surging—First-timers Being Priced Out?

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs New-home sales are surging, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. But who is buying them with interest rates up 1 percent since Chairman Bernanke made his infamous remark that QE3 bond buying could begin to slow in September? The … Continue reading →

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Are Home Prices Rising Too Fast?

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner No, they are just catching up to 4 years of weak household formation and even weaker income growth. Home prices have been held down from a combination of government austerity policies and private sector hoarding since the … Continue reading →

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Builder Confidence Soaring

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The National Association of Home Builders just announced that home builder confidence soared to the highest level since 2006, the height of the housing bubble.  This can only mean more new-home construction to fill the pent up … Continue reading →

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Shadow Inventory of Bad Loans Still Too High

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs The shadow inventory of troubled homes fell to about 2 million in April, down 18 percent from the same period in the prior year, and down 34 percent from a peak of 3 million in early 2010. But … Continue reading →

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Mortgage Delinquencies Continue Decline

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continue to decline. According to Lender Processing Services (LPS), 6.08 percent of mortgages were delinquent in May, down from 6.21 percent in April, while 3.05 percent of mortgages were in the foreclosure process, … Continue reading →

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Pending Home Sales Soaring As Well

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Watch out, homebuyers! There may be few homes left on the market if the National Association of Realtors’ May Pending Home Sales Index is any predictor of future sales. This is even though mortgage rates have risen … Continue reading →

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New-Home Sales Up, Delinquencies Down

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Lots of news today. New-home sales are surging, while mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continue to drop. Consumer sentiment is also up sharply, maybe because housing prices are soaring according to both the S&P Case-Shiller and FHFA (for … Continue reading →

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Did Bernanke Change His Tune?

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs As we all know by now, Fed Chairman Bernanke seems to have abruptly switched sides in the stimulus debate. He said the purchases of $85 billion in bonds and mortgage securities could begin to be ‘tapered’ by the … Continue reading →

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Housing Construction Key to Economic Recovery

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Any doubts that housing is leading the economic recovery should be dispelled by now. Existing-home sales are projected to top 5 million units per year, as the so-called shadow inventory of distressed homes continues to fall due … Continue reading →

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Housing Recovery Is For Real

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Those who doubt the real estate recovery aren’t paying attention to the latest sales’ data. We reported last week the Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 0.3 percent to 106.0 in … Continue reading →

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