US Housing Market Chart Pack Increased house price optimism among consumers All of the major house prices indices posted gains in November, which means that prices have risen by between 5.6% and 7.4% over the past year. Moreover, realtors and consumers have been revising up... 4th February 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Fiscal cliff deal extends Mortgage Debt Relief Act The 11th hour deal to avert the fiscal cliff included a one-year extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act. The Act, which frees homeowners from paying tax on forgiven mortgage principal, has become... 10th January 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Surge in HARP refinancing continues The typical guarantee fee charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lenders rose to a high of 46 basis points in early December. Mortgage borrowers will soon see fees rise as a result, but this will... 11th December 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Signs that willing sellers are returning Having fallen briefly following the announcement of QE3, MBS yields and mortgage interest rates were rising again in the final weeks of October. Of course, the bigger picture remains that mortgage... 5th November 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Mortgage interest rates drop further on QE3 The announcement of the third round of quantitative easing, during which the Fed will buy $40bn of mortgage-backed securities per month until the outlook for the labour market improves ‘substantially’... 9th October 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Land values begin to rise The combination of rising sales volumes and a dwindling inventory of homes for sale saw house prices rise again in the latest data. Depending on which of the major house price indices we look at... 12th September 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Don’t fret about June’s weak sales figures Home sales fell by 5.6% m/m in June, the largest monthly decline for 16 months. But this is unlikely to signal that the recovery in housing demand has run out of steam already. For one, pending home... 6th August 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack House prices are on a streak but may slow in second half Annualised growth on the Case-Shiller and CoreLogic house price indices over the past three months stands at 6.2% and 9% respectively. However, price growth may moderate in the second half of the year... 12th July 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Modest housing improvement still holding up The weaker tone of the economic and labour market data has yet to be reflected in the housing numbers. Home sales rose by 3.4% m/m in April and are 10% higher than a year ago. The fact that improving... 8th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Plenty more home sales pending March’s further fall in home sales is a potentially worrying sign that the improvement in housing market activity is already petering out. But we are encouraged by the fact that pending home sales are... 9th May 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Borrowers making larger loan applications The $20,000 increase in the average loan size that mortgage applicants are seeking from lenders over the past three months may be an early sign that buyer confidence is improving. This should provide... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Tentative signs that prices are stabilising The latest data brought tentative signs that the stabilisation in house prices that we have been expecting may now be happening. In January, our seasonally adjusted measure of the CoreLogic index rose... 14th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Slightly easier credit supporting sales The rise in home sales in each of the three months to December is the clearest sign yet that a modest housing market recovery is underway. The fact that mortgage approvals are still subdued, however... 9th February 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Activity showing first signs of improvement The magnitude of the decline in existing home sales since the start of the housing market crash has been revised up significantly, but sales now appear to be rebounding as banks begin to lend more... 13th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack High credit hurdle hampering housing Housing market activity has improved in recent months, with both new and existing home sales rising in October and homebuilding activity holding on to its previous gains. This has yet to translate... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Price falls starting to gather pace again The latest evidence suggests that the stabilisation in house prices seen over the summer is giving way to further price falls. In September, our seasonally adjusted measure of the CoreLogic index fell... 9th November 2011 · 1 min read
