Housing Market
Pending Homes Sales Go Up Again
October 6, 2009 by jberman · Leave a Comment
Buoyed by a generous tax credit, affordable homes, and low mortgage rates, the Pending Home Sales Index posted its seventh consecutive monthly gain in August. It’s the longest winning streak in the index’s history and the highest reading in 2-1/2 years. It’s also another signal that the housing market is in recovery. “Pending home sales” are [...]
Case-Shiller Index Shows Home Values Still Rising
September 30, 2009 by jberman · Leave a Comment
For the second month in a row, 18 of the 20 Case-Shiller real estate markets posted higher home values. It’s the 6th consecutive strong showing for the benchmark private-sector housing index. Combined with falling home supplies and rising sales figures, this month’s Case-Shiller Index suggests that housing may have bottomed sometime earlier this year. It’s cause [...]
Fannie Mae Passes Tougher Mortgage Guidelines
September 29, 2009 by jberman · Leave a Comment
Getting approved for a mortgage is about to get harder. For the second time in less than 3 months, Fannie Mae announced changes to its mortgage guidelines. In its official announcement, Fannie Mae details the updates, meant to reduce the mortgage firm’s overall risk. The first major change is with respect to credit scoring. All Fannie Mae [...]
Existing Home Supply Falls By Nearly A Year
September 25, 2009 by jberman · Leave a Comment
As reported by the National Association of REALTORS®, the number of Existing Home Sales dipped last month, ending the metric’s 5-month winning streak. Newspaper headlines today are overwhelmingly negative on housing. You’d almost believe this year’s housing recovery had ended. That’s hardly the case. See, the other side of the Existing Home Sales story is that — while the [...]
Housing Starts Slip, But Don’t Think The Recovery’s Been Halted
September 18, 2009 by jberman · Leave a Comment
Housing Starts on single-family homes took a step backwards last month, falling month-over-month for the first time since January. A “housing start” is new home on which construction has started. Don’t let the slowdown fool you, however – the housing market’s recovery is still very much underway. Sales volume is up in most cities Home values are up in most places [...]
