Tag Archives: existing-home inventory

Pending Home Sales Remain Strong

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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Existing-Home Sales On Rise Again

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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Will Housing Now Lead the Recovery?

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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Yellen’s Federal Reserve To Keep Rates Low

The Mortgage Corner The Fed’s FOMC minutes of their last meeting were just released, and they show the Fed intends to keep interest rates low for as long as possible, until the unemployment rate drops substantially. And the Fed’s maintenance … Continue reading

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Existing-Home Sales Slow in January

The Mortgage Corner Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in January from 4.87 million in December, and are 5.1 … Continue reading

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New-Home Sales In Seasonal Decline?

The Mortgage Corner Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 414,000 units in December, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. … Continue reading

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Existing Home Sales Take Off

The Mortgage Corner Existing-home sales have finally taken off, a sign that real estate might now be leading the economic recovery. Real estate has historically led past recoveries, by employing so many construction workers and professional services, but not this … Continue reading

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Our Poor Inflation Record

Popular Economics Weekly Inflation has fallen so low that it threatens this economic recovery. Why? Producers can’t charge more for their products, therefore can’t increase profits unless they use fewer workers and greater automation to replace them.  So there is … Continue reading

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Are Home Prices Rising Too Fast?

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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Housing Construction Key to Economic Recovery

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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