Tag Archives: Jobs

A recently released Home Value Forecast from Pro Teck and Collateral Analytics posits that consumer expectations of price trends can actually keep them going and even add to their momentum. Pro Teck CEO Tom O'Grady says that as home buyers perceive prices are rising or falling, they behave in a way that actually encourages the trend. For example, rising prices "also increase net worth and encourage those buyers who have been sitting on the fence to purchase," increasing turnover rates and reinforcing more price gains.

The number of new improving markets observed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) skyrocketed in December.

Superstorm Sandy blew a hole not in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós labor market, but in economists├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó crystal balls as the economy added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent--the lowest level since December 2008--the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Continuing to show the recovery from Superstorm Sandy, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 25,000 to 370,000 for the week ended December 1, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 380,000 initial claims filings. The previous week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós report was revised upward to 395,000 from the originally reported 393,000.

Amid an improving commercial real estate market, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicts declining vacancy rates in all sectors of commercial real estate in the coming year. The greatest vacancy decline is expected among office properties. Office vacancies should fall about one percentage point over the year, dropping from 16.7 percent to 15.7 percent. While the smallest vacancy decline is expected in the multifamily sector, NAR states there is "a full recovery already in the multifamily market."

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 23,000 to 393,000 for the week ending November 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 390,000 initial claims filings. First-time unemployment claims are gradually returning to pre-Sandy levels but remain elevated. In the four weeks prior to the storm that ravaged the East Coast, initial claims averaged about 369,000. Claims spiked to 451,000 in the week immediately following and have averaged 405,000 in the two weeks following.

Consumer sentiment regarding personal finances was down in November, indicating Americans foster a more negative perception about their own finances than they did last year, according to Bankrate's Financial Security Index. Bankrate measures financial security in five categories: debt, net worth, savings, job security, and overall financial situation. Net worth was the one category in which Americans seem to feel somewhat better than they did last year.

After reaching a year-to-date high in October, consumer confidence continued to climb in November, according to The Conference Board.

Hiring in the mortgage industry increased in Q3 for the fifth straight quarter, according to Mortgage Daily's Mortgage Employment Index. The index shows 8,711 hires were made in the year's third quarter, up more than 3,000 from the last quarter and nearly 3,500 from Q3 2011. Even with an estimated 5,785 layoffs, the industry saw a net increase of nearly 3,000 jobs--more than double the gain in Q2. For 2012's first three quarters, mortgage and real estate finance companies recruited 7,230 more people than they've laid off.

Consumer confidence hit the wall in November as Americans sweat the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff, according to a survey.