Industry News

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index rose 11.3 percent while the Refinancing Index rose 17 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week. During the week, the average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell from 4.83 percent to 4.8 percent with points unchanged at 1.08.…

Although the situation is open to interpretation as well as change, there are growing concerns that the effects of this economic downturn could have a long-lasting effect on the housing market. A study by the Mortgage Bankers Association, conducted by University of Kentucky economics professor Joe Peek, concludes that "the…

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve officials have a slightly brighter view of the economy than they did at the start of the year. Fed officials say in a new forecast that they think the economy can grow between 3.2 percent and 3.7 percent this year. That's an upward revision from a…

U.S. home builders might not be singing "Happy Days are Here Again," but they seem to be humming a few bars of "I Whistle a Happy Tune." According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, builder confidence is up again in May for a second consecutive month, its highest level…

WASHINGTON - Millions of Americans are still likely to lose their homes in the coming years, but the foreclosure crisis is finally showing signs of subsiding.   The number of households facing foreclosure in April fell 2 percent from a year ago, the first annual decline in five years, RealtyTrac…

WASHINGTON - Consumer inflation was tame in 2009, with prices rising 2.7 percent. Yet families felt squeezed as their spending power sank in the face of falling wages, job losses and higher prices for energy, medical care and education.   Read the full article here

WASHINGTON - Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, says the economic recovery needs to be firmly rooted before the central bank reverses course and begins to raise interest rates. Read the full article here

When you look at all numbers for existing and new homes it appears that while housing is not declining significantly, it is not yet contributing to the V shaped recovery people are looking for.   Read the full article here