Though Radar Logic's home price index continued to see strong gains in March, the firm says there are several signs that the trend won't last, the main one being the issue of limited supply. According to Radar Logic, the three supply constraints that will ease with rising prices are low and negative equity, seller psychology, and building activity, all of which are just temporary factors that will fade as the market continues to pick up steam. Once these "unorthodox" market forces fade, demand will also cease, the report says.
Read More »CoreLogic Case-Shiller Predicts Slowdown in Price Growth
According to the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, some markets experiencing rapid gains may soon see a slowdown or even reversal of recent trends. As homeowners looking to sell are encouraged by rising prices and as new construction picks up, increased inventory will dampen these rapid increases, according to CoreLogic. Also, rising prices will eventually ward off investors, and "it is not clear if demand from first-time and trade-up buyers will immediately fill the void," said David Stiff, chief economist for CoreLogic Case-Shiller.
Read More »Ally Reaches Settlement with ResCap Creditors
Ally Financial Inc. announced an agreement that settles any existing and potential claims from Residential Capital--its bankrupt mortgage subsidiary--and ResCap creditors, according to an announcement Tuesday.
Read More »Trulia: Job Recovery Boosting Asking Prices in Some Markets
In a recent report, Jed Kolko, Trulia's chief economist, provided two reasons to explain the link between employment growth and housing.
Read More »Survey: CRE Executives Bullish on Sector’s Recovery
The slow pace of the economic recovery has done little to temper optimism among executives in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector, according to DLA Piper's 2013 State of the Market Survey. Eighty-five percent of executives surveyed described themselves as having a bullish outlook, the survey shows. That's a massive turnaround from the 2011 survey (the most recent previous report), when only 30 percent of respondents characterized themselves as bullish.
Read More »AREAA Global Summit Points to Momentum in U.S., Global Markets
The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) wrapped up its annual Global Summit this week with greater confidence in the U.S. housing market and in opportunities to facilitate global real estate business.
Read More »First-Quarter Commercial/Multifamily Originations Up 9% Yearly
First-quarter commercial and multifamily loan originations decreased 36 percent quarter-over-quarter but climbed 9 percent over the same period last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. According to MBA, the overall increase in commercial/multifamily lending volume was driven largely by increases in originations for hotel and multifamily properties, which rose 35 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Compared to last quarter, numbers were down, following the traditional seasonal pattern.
Read More »Survey: Non-Investors Establishing Presence in Marketplace
In March, investors accounted for 13.3 percent of the market share for non-distressed properties, while current homeowners represented 50 percent of the market.
Read More »First-Quarter GDP Shows Sharp Gain Over Q4
The nation's economy rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter, slightly slower than economists had expected but more than six times the growth rate in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.
Read More »Mortgage Fraud Risk Rises, Spreads East in 2012
Mortgage fraud risk saw a slight increase last year, with the largest concentration located in the eastern half of the country, Interthinx revealed in its annual Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. According to the yearly report--based on analysis of loan applications processed throughout 2012 by Interthinx's FraudGUARD system--the 2012 Annual Mortgage Fraud Index was 150, a 3.4 percent rise from 2011's index reading of 145. The firm also observed a notable shift in fraud risk from west to east.
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