Data

With investment activity diminishing and mortgage-dependent buyers returning, economists at Capital Economics say the housing market can look forward to a more moderate pace of price increases.

Lender Processing Services' (LPS) monthly Home Price Index--released a day before the Case-Shiller figures--climbed to $232,000 in October, putting prices about 8.2 percent higher than they were at the start of 2013. Annually, LPS' index was up approximately 8.8 percent, a minor increase compared to the annual improvement in the Case-Shiller index. Monthly, gains came to about 0.1 percent, also down relative to the Case-Shiller report.

Mortgage rates began 2014 with a round of increases, kicking off a trend many experts believe will continue through the rest of the year. Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.53 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending January 2, up from the last week of 2013, when it averaged 4.48 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate.com reported the 30-year fixed at 4.69 percent, a gain of 6 basis points.

Trulia, an online marketplace for homebuyers, sellers, and real estate professionals, announced it has forged a partnership with the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), a nonprofit dedicated to standardizing real estate data in order to promote accuracy and consistency in the industry. In addition to the partnership, Trulia announced that its own VP of industry services, Alon Chaver, will join RESO's board of directors effective January 1.

Consumer confidence saw a boost in December on heightened optimism for the job market, the Conference Board reported.

Home prices rose annually for the 17th straight month in October, achieving their highest yearly gain in nearly eight years, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Both the 10- and 20-city composite indices saw annual increases of 13.6 percent in October--the largest year-over-year growth since February 2006. As of the end of the month, average home prices nationwide had recovered to mid-2004 levels; compared to their mid-2006 peaks, both composites were still down about 20 percent.

Pending home sales remained essentially flat in November, with regional shifts more or less offsetting each other, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. The group's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), used as an indicator for expected home sales, bumped up slightly to 101.7 in November from October's downwardly revised 101.5. Compared to last November, the latest index was down 1.6 percent. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the data indicates a flattening market.

According to Redfin's most recent Real-Time Fastest Markets report, 27.2 percent of homes in 23 metros all over the United States went under contract within two weeks of listing in November.

Effective January 1, Ken P. Wilson, MAI, SRA, will take over as president of the Appraisal Institute, the group announced.

Zillow's Home Value Index (HVI) stood at $168,900 in November, an increase of 0.6 percent month-over-month. On a yearly basis, the index was up 7.1 percent, reflecting a slight slowdown from the 7.3 percent peak recorded in the summer. For the next 12-month period, Zillow anticipates "moderating influences" will lead to a fairly significant leveling off in appreciation rates, with values rising an estimated 4.6 percent to a national average of $176,731.