Data

According to the Real Estate Roundtable, the latest survey continues the "basically flat" trajectory of the past several quarters, with the Current Conditions index staying at 71 and the Overall and Future Conditions index each rising a single point to 70 and 68, respectively. Respondents also noted increased planning and construction in asset classes outside the multifamily segment and greater investor interest outside of "red hot" metros such as New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston.

Are indices incorrectly misleading the market regarding the rise of house prices? "Yes" is what the market appears to be saying when it comes to rising house prices.

Beginning August 2, Ginnie Mae will release loan-level data for newly issued single-family mortgage-backed securities (MBS), the company announced.

"Beauty," Lew Wallace, the author of Ben Hur, once wrote, "is altogether in the eye of the beholder." So, it seems, is "disappointing" when describing the employment report for July.

The latest Home Index Survey (PGHI) from PulteGroup shows current homeowners may accelerate their timeline to "move up." With home values on the rise, 43 percent of move-up buyers in the survey said they plan to purchase a new home in the next five years. "One of the most intriguing findings from this PGHI survey is the optimism and the willingness of homeowners to 'pull the trigger' on buying a new home, even if they may not have an immediate need to move," said Deborah Wahl, SVP and chief marketing officer for PulteGroup.

DataQuick unveiled Market Intelligence TitleShare, an analytics engine offering insight into title transaction and lending trends from the company's property, sale, and mortgage information database.

Personal spending in June grew 0.5 percent, its fastest pace February while personal income rose 0.3 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. Economists had expected income and spending each to grow 0.4 percent. With spending exceeding income, personal savings fell $21.7 billion in June, and the personal savings rate dropped to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in May.

Carrington Holding Company selected Christopher Whalen to head communications. As EVP, Whalen will take responsibility for media relations and communications for the group. He will also continue to lead industry research and support Carrington's corporate finance activities.

The nation's economy added 162,000 jobs in July as the unemployment rate fell to 7.4.percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 175,000 and that the unemployment rate would dip to 7.5 percent. The financial sector added 15,000 jobs in July, up from the average of 10,000 for May and June. New financial jobs included 3,600 underwriters and 3,000 new real estate jobs, reflecting the uptick in home sales.

In its first-quarter report, the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes experienced a double-digit national price gain for the first time since the housing bubble that took place seven years ago. Prices increased an average of 10.2 percent from the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year across the 380 metro markets tracked. However, gains are expected to slow over the next year, falling to 6.5 percent from Q1 2013 to Q1 2014.