Tag Archives: Mark Lieberman

Home prices posted their strongest yearly gain in almost seven years in January, according to the Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Home prices rose year-over-year in all 20 of the cities in the Case-Shiller survey. Prices rose in nine cities in January over December while falling in eight. Prices were unchanged in the remaining three. December data were revised, showing prices rose month-over-month in 10 cities compared with nine in the original report. The report showed a steady improvement in prices in the West.

One of the most interesting results of poring through economic data reports is that the details often tell a different story than the headline. Coverage of the recent report on housing permits and starts, for example, was dominated by the increases in both metrics, suggesting a revival of the housing sector, a response some analysts suggested is due to tight inventories of existing-single family homes on the market. However, a closer look revealed a more important phenomenon.

Existing-home sales rose 0.8 percent in February to 4.98 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economists had expected the sales pace to climb to 5.01 million from January├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós originally reported 4.92 million. January sales were revised up to 4.94 million.

With an upbeat assessment of the economy, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 11-1 Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged and to continue its program of purchasing agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and longer-term Treasury securities to "maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rates, support mortgage markets, and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative." Kansas City Fed President Esther George, who opposed a similar action in January, cast the lone dissenting vote.

Housing permits rose a sharp 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000 in February, to the highest level since June 2008, while housing starts edged up 0.8 percent to 917,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Tuesday. Most--almost 62 percent├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ôof the increase in permits came in applications to build multifamily units. While the comparisons are favorable, the June 2008 activity came in the midst of a steady decline in residential construction.

Builder confidence slipped in March to 44, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Monday. Economists had expected the Housing Market Index to improve to 47 from February's reading of 46. Tighter inventories had been expected to improve confidence, but builder attitudes have also been weighed down by prices of new single-family homes. With the March report, the total index remained below 50 for the 83rd straight month.

It's been two weeks since the dreaded sequester took effect, and so far, the only casualty has been the White House tour. There actually have been some positives, with both parties presenting budgets. However, both the GOP budget and the Democratic plan have one major similarity: Each is dead on arrival and destined to at best be a one-house budget, which leaves the country back where it was. Setting a target for practical balance would bring us closer to reducing the deficit and with less pain.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 10,000 to 332,000 for the week ending March 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 350,000 initial unemployment claims. The drop in filings the third in the last four weeks resumed a downward trend in layoffs.

Led by a surge in gasoline prices, retail sales rose 1.1 percent in February, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Economists had expected an increase of 0.5 percent. In January, retails sales rose 0.2 percent.

The number of layoffs fell 4.0 percent to 1,507,000 in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) release. The layoff total was the smallest since the JOLTS reports began in December 2000.