Last week's economic events included a number of readings on housing related topics. The National Association of Home Builders released its report on builder confidence in housing markets, Housing starts reached their highest level since the great recession, and existing home sales exceeded expectations and the prior month's reading. The Federal Reserve released minutes for its most recent FOMC meeting, which indicated that while a majority of FOMC members are leaning toward raising the Fed's target federal funds rate, concerns over certain aspects of the economy continue to keep the Fed from … [Read more...]
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – July 27, 2015
Last week's scheduled economic news releases were limited as no news was released on Monday or Tuesday, but good news did arrive in the form of a dip in mortgage rates for fixed rate loans. The National Association of Realtors® reported higher sales of pre-owned homes and FHFA reported that home price growth associated with mortgages held or backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held steady in May. Sales of Pre-Owned Homes and FHFA House Prices Rise According to the National Association of Realtors®, June sales of existing homes reached their highest level since February 2007. Sales of … [Read more...]
Good News! Existing Home Sales, FHFA Home Prices Increase
Housing markets show continued signs of strengthening according to reports released on Wednesday. The National Association of Realtors® reported that sales of pre-owned homes rose to 5.49 million in June as compared to May's revised reading of 5.32 million pre-owned homes sold and expected sales estimated at 5.42 million sales. Expectations were based on May's original reading of 5.35 million sales. June's reading was the highest since February of 2007. Readings for existing home sales are calculated on a seasonally adjusted annual basis. Buyers Gain Confidence in Labor Markets, Rush to … [Read more...]
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – June 29, 2015
Last week's economic news was largely positive as both new and existing home sales beat expectations. FHFA reported that home price growth held steady in May, while weekly jobless claims edged up, but were lower than expected. New and Existing Home Sales Exceed Expectations According to the Commerce Department, new home sales reached 546,000 on an annual basis for May. This surpassed expectations for 525,000 new homes sold and April's revised reading of 534,000 new homes sold. Expectations were based on the original reading of 517,000 new homes sold in April. Existing home sales rose by 5.10 … [Read more...]
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – June 1, 2015
Last week's economic reports included the Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, FHFA's House Price Index and Pending Home Sales from the Commerce Department. The details: Home Prices Dip in March, Pending Home Sales Up According to the Case-Shiller 20-City Housing Market Index, the national reading for average home prices dipped in March. The 20-City Index moved from February's year-over-year home price growth of 4.20 percent to an average year-over-year home price growth rate of 4.10 percent in March. San Francisco, California reclaimed the top spot for home price growth of 10.30 percent … [Read more...]