Tag Archives: existing-home sales

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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2013 Home Sales Highest Since 2006

The Mortgage Corner The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just reported that for all of 2013, there were 5.09 million sales, which is 9.1 percent higher than 2012. It was the strongest performance since 2006 when sales reached an unsustainably … 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 Recovery Is For Real

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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Existing-Home Sales, Inventories Climbing

The Mortgage Corner Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in April, reports the National Association of Realtors. This could … Continue reading

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California Foreclosures Plunging, Sales Rising

The Mortgage Corner The number of California homeowners entering the foreclosure process plunged to the lowest level in more than seven years last quarter, reports DataQuick. The unusually sharp drop in the number of mortgage default notices filed by lenders … Continue reading

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2013 Home Prices Soaring

The Mortgage Corner Housing prices are soaring, with both the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index 3-month average (for November, December and January) and FHFA conforming loan indexes accelerating. Mortgage delinquencies also continue to decline, which should help depleted inventories. The … Continue reading

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