Among three buyer types--current homeowner, first-time homebuyer, and investor--current homeowners were the only group to see activity rise in June, according to data from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. As rising home prices discourage investment activity, HousePulse found home purchases from investors slipped to 19.7 percent, down significantly from 23.1 percent from February. June was the fourth straight month to see investor traffic decline.
Read More »Beige Book Again Sees Modest to Moderate Growth
Citing improvements in manufacturing, tourism, commercial and residential real estate and in the financial sector, the Federal Reserve said the nation's economy continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace from late May through early July.
Read More »Fannie Mae Multifamily Issuance Remains Even in Q2
Fannie Mae's issuance of multifamily mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the second quarter was relatively even at $7.6 billion, the GSE announced.
Read More »Experts: Foreign Buyers Not Bolstering Recovery
Following a report from Truliathat foreign interest in U.S. housing is on the decline, Capital Economics reported foreign investment is peripheral to the housing market recovery.
Read More »Analyst: Bubble Risk Minimal, Economy Safe from Impact
With headlines announcing rapid gains in home prices--some even detailing double-digit gains--Moody's Analytics says "there is little wonder that many fear a new housing bubble is developing despite the hard lessons of the Great Recession." However, Celia Chen, senior director of economic research at Moody's, dispenses these fears in her article, "Popping Housing Bubble Fears," published in the firm's most recent report. Even if prices do decline, Chen says the result would be "less damaging to the broader economy" than the market burst in 2008.
Read More »First-Quarter GDP Growth Scaled Back
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) put GDP growth a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, a drop from the previous estimate of 2.4 percent. The downward revision to GDP came amidst positive news about the economy. Home prices, according to the Case-Shiller Index released Tuesday, rose at their fastest pace ever in April and consumer confidence, as reported by the Conference Board, increased for the third straight month. Residential fixed investment was reported as $399 billion, up slightly from the second report.
Read More »Analysts: Slowdown in Price Gains Doesn’t Spell End to Recovery
While the current pace of price appreciation may not sustain itself for much longer, Capital Economics maintains a deceleration in price gains does not mean an end to the housing recovery.
Read More »Shareholders Sue Government for Losses on GSE Stocks
Two law firms have joined to file a class action lawsuit against the United States government, alleging it violated the Fifth Amendment when it took the GSEs into conservatorship.
Read More »Analysts: GSE Liquidation Bill Unlikely to Pass Unscathed
While a new bill proposing the liquidation of the GSEs might have investors unsure about their future, analysts at Barclays insist there is little to worry about for the time being. The bill, authored by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and titled the "Secondary Mortgage Market Reform Act of 2013," represents a major bipartisan step for housing finance reform. However, the team at Barclays believes the legislation may not go anywhere in its current form.
Read More »Report: Rising Prices Do Not Preclude Investor Income
As home prices rise across the nation with some markets charting double-digit increases, many markets still offer attractive opportunities for investors in single-family homes.
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