The MReport Webcast: Monday 2/9/2015

The busy spring homebuying season is already starting to bloom in some parts of the country, according to a report from Trulia. The company’s look at the U.S. housing market shows homebuyer interest in January and February is up 2 percent from the annual average since 2011, a trend that has paved the way for robust buying interest in spring and summer.

Along Florida's west coast and in the Phoenix/Tucson area, pre-March home searches are already in full swing, according to Trulia. Home search activity around Cape Coral is 22 percent higher than the national average in the first two months of the year, and activity in the Northport metro is 17 percent higher. Tucson, West Palm Beach, and the Daytona Beach area also are more than 10 percent above national averages.

Employers nationwide added 257,000 new jobs last month, according to the latest from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists projected a payroll increase of 230,000. Adding to January's good news, payroll numbers for November and December were revised upward to 423,000 and 329,000, respectively, making November the best month for employment growth since May 2010. The unemployment rate, which is measured from a separate household survey, ticked up slightly to 5.7 percent, reflecting an increase in the number of Americans looking for work.