Despite soaring builder confidence, new housing permits and starts fell in June, with new construction falling to the lowest level in 10 months, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new housing permits tumbled 7.5 percent--the largest month-over-month decline since January 2011--while starts fell 9.9 percent, the second-largest drop since February 2011. Builders completed homes at an annual adjusted pace of 755,000 in June, 6.3 percent more than May.
Read More »Recovery Chugs Along in Dallas-Fort Worth Despite Setbacks
The new home market in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex continued to see rapid growth in the second quarter, according to a report from Metrostudy, a Hanley Wood company.
Read More »Will ‘Taper Talk’ Take Over the Recovery?
Market participants reacting to speculation that the Federal Reserve may taper its bond purchases later this year should refrain from acting too hastily, Freddie Mac says in its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July. According to Freddie Mac's metrics, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has jumped a full percentage point since mid-May as "taper talk" rules the day. Rates are expected to gradually move higher, closing out 2013 in the range of 4.6 to 4.7 percent.
Read More »Mortgage Veteran Wade Hamby Honored with Brown L. Whatley Award
The StoneHill Group's Wade Hamby received an honor from Mortgage Bankers Association of Florida for his contributions to the association and the mortgage industry.
Read More »Builder Confidence Surges Again in July
After surging in June, the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI)--a measure of builder confidence--shot up again in July, climbing six points to 57, its highest reading since January 2006, the group reported Tuesday. The two-month 13-point gain was the strongest two-month increase since January-February 1992, when the index improved 14 points. All three of the HMI components increased for the third month in a row.
Read More »Analysts Anticipate Drop in Mortgage Banking Profits
As major lenders start releasing their second-quarter earnings reports, Fitch Ratings anticipates future filings will show the impact of higher interest rates on banks' mortgage earnings.
Read More »Home Price Growth Levels to Moderate Pace in May
FNC's Residential Price Index (RPI) continued to show gains in May, though the company noted the pace of growth has started to slow to a more sustainable level. According to FNC, the index climbed 0.5 percent in May, striking a balance between April's 0.7 percent growth and March's 0.3 percent improvement. From December through May, FNC reported an average monthly price growth of 0.4 percent, which annual appreciation rates (4.0 percent in May compared to May 2012) similarly leveling out.
Read More »Dykema Appoints Director for Financial Industry Group
Dykema, a leading law firm with more than a dozen offices across the United States, named Haydn J. Richards as director of its Financial Industry Group.
Read More »WFG National Title Enters Michigan Market
WFG National Title Insurance Company announced it is now authorized to issue title insurance in the state of Michigan.
Read More »Consumer Sentiment Ticks Down Slightly in Early Report
The Index of Consumer Sentiment, published by the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters twice each month (one preliminary reading and one final reading), dropped to 83.9 from June's final value of 84.1. The median forecast among economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 84.7. Amna Asaf, economist at analytics firm Capital Economics, said the drop "was probably a reaction to the decline in equity prices in late-June and early-July. The expectations index, meanwhile, fell from 77.8 to a three-month low of 73.8.
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