Data

Despite a disappointing first quarter and a mediocre second quarter, Freddie Mac still expects the economy to improve throughout the second half of 2014. The company is, however, tempering its New Year's optimism. In its June U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook, released Thursday, Freddie offers a mid-year assessment that sees more humble growth across most sectors.

A year ago, interest rates were on their way up on speculation that the Fed may soon start tapering its bond stimulus. Now that the central bank is on track to potentially end its stimulus purchases by the end of the year, rates have actually shown little movement, defying expectations. While the first quarter's economic contraction is partly responsible for rates staying put, analysts at Bankrate.com say developments overseas are also having an effect.

California home sales and prices were both on the rise in May, but the year as a whole still looks pretty grim for the Golden State. Compared to April, May home sales statewide increased 3.5 percent, according to real estate site PropertyRadar.com. Year-to-date, however, PropertyRadar reports sales are the lowest they've been since the start of the recession.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent decline in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 13. On an unadjusted basis, the group's application index was down 10 percent over the week. The drop reverses an adjusted 10.3 percent increase reported the week prior and accompanies a slight rise in average 30-year fixed rates to 4.36 percent.

Examining multiple listing service data in 37 cities across the United States, real estate site Movoto.com reported 104,157 listings available on the market, a 15.4 percent jump from 90,264 a year prior. "By comparison, the total inventory index actually decreased by 22.9 percent between May 2012 and May 2013," wrote Randy Nelson, content manager at Movoto, in the company's blog.

According to figures released by the Census Bureau and HUD, privately owned housing starts last month were at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of just more than 1 million, down 6.5 percent from April's slightly revised estimate of 1.07 million. The government's report presented mixed news on the single-family front: While starts were down nearly 6 percent to a rate of 625,000, April construction was stronger than originally reported.

A lot of first-time homebuyers overestimate the amount of money they need for a down payment, and that might be holding them back, says Freddie Mac VP Christina Boyle. In a blog post, Boyle cites a Zelman & Associates research study that found respondents, on average, believe lenders require a down payment of at least 11 to 15 percent, including a large population of people who are in their "prime homebuying years."

The latest Residential Price Index (RPI) report from FNC, Inc., shows home price appreciation continued in April at a monthly pace of 0.6 percent nationally, matching March's month-over-month increase. Though monthly increases picked up momentum in April, yearly returns continued to moderate for the second straight month—"a sign that the annual rate of home price appreciation has peaked," FNC said.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI), released Monday in collaboration with Wells Fargo, registered 49 this month, up from 45 in May. A value below 50 indicates more builders view market conditions as "poor" rather than "good." Despite falling one point short of the benchmark, the moderate uptick in sentiment "is a welcome sign and shows some renewed confidence in the industry," said NAHB chairman Kevin Kelly.

The University of Michigan's measure of consumer sentiment dropped from 81.9 to 81.2 in June with the decline entirely spurred by a decline in the expectations index. While expectations turned slightly sour in June, the current conditions index experienced an increase from 94.5 to 95.4.