Tag Archives: Forecast

In the company’s second-ever Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi), analysts at Freddie Mac reported a national index value of -3.11, putting the U.S. market just on the “weak” side of a stable market (ranging from index values of -2 to 2). “Despite a slowdown over the winter months, the housing market continues to show improvement in most states, although at a somewhat slower pace,” said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

A weaker-than-expected first quarter has researchers at Fannie Mae amending their forecast for growth in 2014, but they still project acceleration as the year progresses. “The April economic forecast is similar to February and March, where slow growth has been the common denominator, but we expect to see a slight pickup beginning this quarter,” explained Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae.

With all of its ups and downs in recent months, the housing market is looking "noisy" heading into spring, Freddie Mac says. "We're getting mixed signals as we start the spring home buying season. Tight inventory may pose a significant challenge for home buyers in many markets across the country, which may result in higher home prices and sales being lower than expected," said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist.

However, according to an economic forecast report released Wednesday by UCLA Anderson, analysts expect the national GDP to growth by roughly 3 percent now that warmer and wetter spring weather is on the way. Moreover, as the GDP rises, increased housing and business investments and consumer spending should keep that growth rate steady through 2016.

Following a slowdown in activity over the previous two quarters, Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group expects economic activity to pick up in the second quarter of this year, bolstered by increases in the housing sector, consumer spending, and business investment. The housing market is expected to show a relatively strong performance, with housing starts increasing almost 20 percent to 1.1 million over the year.