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Housing Starts Fall in October as Permits Hit Six-Year High

According to a report released by the Commerce Department, groundbreaking on new housing projects was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.01 million last month, a drop of 2.8 percent from September's upwardly revised estimate of 1.04 million. Meanwhile, permit issuance for new housing units was at a rate of 1.08 million, a six-year high for that figure.

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Report Breaks Down Labor Force Hurdles

A report released recently by the Pew Research Center indicates that while the U.S. unemployment rate is low, the number of people who are "not in the labor force," meaning they are not counted among the unemployed in the BLS survey, is near an all-time high.

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Lenders Show ‘Tepid Optimism’ in Business Outlook

Along a one to 10 scale with one being "much worse" and 10 being "much better," 34 percent of respondents said they expected business conditions to be "a little better" in six months (a six on the scale), while 22 percent said they expected business conditions to be "a little worse" (a five on the scale), the Collingwood Group reported.

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Builder Confidence Rebounds After October Drop

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index, a closely watched gauge of builder sentiment, rose four points in the latest reading to a level of 58, the group reported. The increase followed a five-point drop in October and put the index close to its September reading of 59, a nearly nine-year high.

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Home Sales, Prices Improve in October; Inventory Worsens

RE/MAX's latest National Housing Report, which follows changes in home sales, prices, and inventory in 53 metro areas across the United States, shows October transactions came in 2.6 percent higher than a year ago. The annual increase came despite a 0.8 percent drop from September's sales total.

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Consumer Spending Indicator Drops in October

Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index, a gauge of cash flow as a measure of future spending, came in at 4.1 in the firm's October reading, down from 4.4 in September. The biggest contribution to October's decline was new home prices, which fell 9.8 percent month-over-month to a median $109,000.

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Rising Home Values Spark HELOC Activity

TD Bank reported Monday the results of its inaugural Consumer Borrowing Index, a survey of more than 1,300 U.S. HELOC borrowers created to provide insights into their motivation, usage, and perceptions of the loan. According to the bank's survey, 53 percent of homeowners polled said the value of their home has increased in the past few years, giving them more equity to pull from.

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Lenders: Increasing Mortgage Availability Not Worth Regulatory Risk

In a poll conducted by the Collingwood Group throughout October, 71 percent of mortgage lenders said the odds of them lowering credit score requirements for borrowers are between "somewhat" and "extremely unlikely," with several saying they feel their standards are already relatively low and that they generally follow the credit parameters set by agency investors.

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