Most Recent in News economics

Housing starts up 3.9 percent in November to 555,000 annual units
on December 16,2010
Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000 — 3.9 percent above the revised October estimate, according to the Commerce Dept. The single-family...
Report: Mortgage modification program won’t meet goals
on December 15,2010
New congressional report says program will fall well short of original target
NAHB survey: Builder confidence remains flat
on December 15,2010
Builder confidence in new single-family homes remained flat in December, according to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The index remained at 16, the...
Negative equity drops for third straight quarter
on December 14,2010
The number of residential properties with mortgages in negative equity in the U.S. dropped in the third quarter of 2010, marking the third quarter in a row the rate has decreased. CoreLogic reported...
Increase in foreclosures expected in 2011
on December 13,2010

Foreclosures are expected to peak in 2011, but the long-term forecast is improving, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. According to Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac, an online...

Bank of America restarts nearly 16,000 foreclosures
on December 10,2010

Bank of America Corp. announced that it restarted nearly 16,000 foreclosure cases last week, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The bank’s foreclosure attorneys...

CoreLogic: ‘Shadow inventory’ of homes tops 2 million
on December 10,2010
The residential market’s “shadow inventory” is up more than 10 percent from a year ago, according to real-estate research firm CoreLogic. That puts overall inventory at more than 6.3 million unsold...
Mortgage rates rise for third week
on December 09,2010
Rates on fixed-rate home mortgages rose for the third straight week after economic data suggested the economy is getting stronger, The Wall Street Journal reported.
IHS Global forecasts flat construction spending next year
on December 09,2010

IHS Global, a firm specializing in economic and financial information, predicts that construction spending in 2011 will be flat, according to its Fourth Quarter U.S. Construction Briefing....

Survey: Half of consumers would consider buying a foreclosed home
on December 08,2010
Nearly half (49 percent) of U.S. adults are at least somewhat likely to consider purchasing a foreclosed property, up from 45 percent in May 2010, according to the latest results of an ongoing survey...
Most Americans expect housing market to recover after 2012
on December 08,2010
Americans continue to grapple with uncertainty about the housing market, with 58 percent of U.S. adults expecting recovery to take at least another two years, according to the latest results of an...
Housing inventory declines in November
on December 07,2010

Data from real-estate brokerage firm ZipRealty Inc. showed that the number of homes for sale declined by 3.8 percent in November in 26 major metropolitan areas, the Wall Street Journal ...

NARI submits letter to Senate on lead rule
on December 06,2010
The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which has called a hearing on regulatory issues...
NAR: Pending home sales rise in October, Midwest has largest gains
on December 02,2010
The Pending Home Sales Index rose to 89.3 in October, a 10.4 percent gain over the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index, which is based on contracts during...
Consumer confidence rises, but housing market remains flat
on December 01,2010
Consumer confidence in the U.S. increased in November, rising to its highest level in five months. The Conference Board’s sentiment index rose to 54.1, exceeding estimates by a Bloomberg survey of...
S&P Case-Shiller report: Rate of home price decline may be accelerating
on November 30,2010

The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes showed that home prices went down between August and September, and that third quarter prices also were down, according to a report by the Wall...

Fannie Mae report: Americans less confident in housing market
on November 29,2010

A survey by Fannie Mae showed that Americans' confidence in the housing market dropped during the third quarter of 2010. The survey, which polled 3,417 households in July, August, and September,...

Survey: Housing market will see increased demand for rental properties
on November 29,2010

The U.S. housing industry is likely to see increased demand for rental properties, according to the latest Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, which collected data from 3,417 households. For the...

New single-family home sales down in October
on November 24,2010
The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today that new single-family home sales October were down 8.1 percent, to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 283,000, from...
Existing home sales down in October
on November 23,2010
Existing home sales went down 2.2 percent in October, dropping to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.43 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales went down 25.9 percent...