Data

Home "flips" accounted for 3.7 percent of all home sales in the first quarter, RealtyTrac reported Thursday—indicating investors are cooling as the market continues to change shape. "Slowing home price appreciation early this year in many of the most popular flipping markets put some investors in danger of flying too close to the sun," said Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac.

According to Freddie Mac's latest report, 39 percent of refinancers last quarter chose to shorten their term, up slightly over the prior quarter and the highest share since 1992. Meanwhile, the share of borrowers extracting home equity stayed relatively low. Together, the two stats suggest borrowers are seeking to strengthen their own equity positions as home values continue to rise, the company says.

According to numbers put out by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Wednesday, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent in Q1, a plunge from the final 2.6 percent growth rate reported for Q4 2013. The sudden slowdown reflects in part the toll this year’s winter season took on economic expansion, though not all changes were weather-related.

Homes continue to fly off the market at a quick pace, according to March data released by Redfin. In March, across the 20 metros measured by Redfin, median days on the market fell by more than a week to 32 days, dropping from 40 days in February. Compared to last year's figure of 35, homes are selling three days faster on average. The company's analysis found that 29.8 percent of homes went under contract within two weeks of being listed.

In a survey of more than 800 recent homebuyers, Chase found approximately nine out of every 10 said that overall, they “felt prepared” when they purchased their home. Still, looking back, a combined 56 percent said they wish they were armed with more knowledge about making an offer and negotiating, the financing aspects of purchasing a house, and the actual details on closing the transaction.

According to figures released by the Census Bureau Tuesday, homeownership dropped last quarter to a rate of 64.8 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than Q4 2013 and the lowest rate since the third quarter of 1995. Quarter-to-quarter, homeownership was down in all regions except the West, though at 59.4 percent, it remains lower in that region than in any other.

One way the federal government has accounted for local market differences is through the conforming loan limit: the maximum amount of a home loan that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can guarantee. However, according to Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko, this current system falls far short of reflecting the actual differences in local home prices and ends up favoring borrowers in lower-cost markets.

Home prices as measured by S&P Dow Jones performed more or less as expected in February, with annual growth rates continuing to slow. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices shows prices among 20 of the nation’s biggest markets grew 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, matching January’s rate of growth. Unadjusted, the index was unchanged month-over-month.

A late-month measure of consumer confidence shows sentiment rebounded to a near post-recession high in April, though questions remain as to whether or not that optimism will hold out. The latest Index of Consumer Sentiment, released jointly by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan, came to a final reading of 84.1 for April, resting one index point below its post-recession peak recorded last July.

Black Knight Financial Services released its Home Price Index (HPI), noting that home prices in the U.S. rose 0.7 percent for the month of February to an average of $233,000. Black Knight's report falls between last week's FHFA House Price Index and the S&P Case-Shiller index(slated for release Tuesday), offering a more well-rounded view of market trends for the spring and upcoming summer months.