Data

In its November Home Price Index (HPI) report, property data firm CoreLogic recorded a 0.1 percent month-over-month increase in U.S. home prices for November. The minor gain, which includes data from distressed home sales, follows a 0.5 percent increase originally reported for October.

Total construction spending for November fell 0.3 percent from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $975 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Economists polled by Econoday predicted a 0.5 percent pickup.

With the Federal Reserve recently ending its monthly asset purchases and turning toward the possibility of bringing short-term interest rates up in 2015, analysts (including economists at Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and other housing groups and companies) are calling for the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to rise to nearly 4.5 percent, with some calling for an average closer to 5 percent.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a 0.8 percent month-over-month increase in its Pending Home Sales Index to a reading of 104.8 in November. With the most recent increase, the index has now posted annual gains for three straight months, lining up with recent improvements in existing-home sales activity.

Reports from economists at CoreLogic and Wells Fargo released in December indicated they believe housing will rebound in 2015 after a disappointing 2014, and they cited improvements in the U.S. labor market as a main reason why.

Employment grew at a rate higher than the national average (3 percent, as opposed to 2 percent) for the 25 to 29 age group, which is good news for housing, because this age group is the key first-time homebuyer segment. Steadily falling oil prices, which are down 45 percent since June, provide more economic growth tailwind going into next year. The drop in oil prices reduces energy-related expenses not just for driving, but for residential real estate also, according to Khater.

November's reading had been a disappointment for the Consumer Confidence Index following a post-recession high of 94.5 for October. The Present Situation Index jumped up to 98.6 in the latest reading from its November level of 93.7, while the Expectations Index fell slightly from 89.3 down to 88.5.

Mortgage interest rates nationwide experienced declines from October to November, according to an index released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The average interest rate for all mortgage loans in the U.S. was 4.01 percent in November, a decline of 10 basis points from 4.11 percent in October; for conventional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less, the average interest rate of 4.24 percent for November represented a decline of eight basis points from 4.32 in October.

Home prices in the U.S. increased at a slower pace in October than in September, although eight cities experienced growth at a faster rate, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released by S&P/Dow Jones Indices on Tuesday.

From the start of QM to the end of quantitative easing, the past year saw plenty of big news in the mortgage and financial markets. As the new year rolls in, MReport is taking a look at some of the biggest data headlines of 2014.