National Association of REALTORS
Last week's economic releases included Existing Home Sales, Commerce Department Releases on Housing Starts and Building Permits and the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Mortgage rates and new jobless claims were released according to their weekly schedule. Home Builder Confidence Holds Firm in April According to April's National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, home builder confidence held steady with a reading of 58 for the third consecutive month. Analysts viewed April's reading as a sign of steady expansion for home building, but builders noted concerns over labor shortages. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz…
Last week's scheduled economic news included releases from the National Association of Home Builders, Housing Starts, and Existing Home Sales. Weekly reports on new jobless claims and mortgage rates were also released. The National Association of Realtors® reported that sales of previously owned homes rose to 5.46 million sales on an annual seasonally adjusted basis in December. This reading surpassed expectations of 5.21 million sales and November's reading of 4.76 million sales. November's low reading was in part affected by new mortgage rules, which delayed some closings into December. Economic factors pushing housing markets include low driven by falling fuel…
This week's report of economic events is shortened due to the Christmas holiday. Economic news through Wednesday included Existing Home Sales, New Home Sales and Consumer Spending. The details: Existing Home Sales Dip, New Home Sales Rise According to the National Association of Realtors®, sales of previously owned homes dipped from October's seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.32 million sales to 4.76 million sales of pre-owned homes. This was considerably lower than analysts' expectations of 5.30 million sales. Factors seen as contributing to November's reading included pent-up demand caused by low inventories of available homes and affordability issues emerging as…
Last week's economic news included the National Association of Home Builders Index, Housing Starts and FHFA's report on August home sales. The National Association of Realtors® released its monthly report on sales of previously owned homes. Builder Confidence and Housing Starts Post Gains The Wells Fargo National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index for September posted its highest level of builder confidence in 10 years a higher than expected results with a reading of 64 for October. Analysts expected a reading of 62 based on September's reading of 61. The NAHB Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reading is based…
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 citing a date for raising its target interest…
Last week's scheduled economic reports included the Case-Shiller 20 and 20-City Index reports, pending home sales data released by the National Association of Realtors® and the scheduled post-meeting statement of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee. Case-Shiller: Home Prices Growing at Normal Pace The Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price index for May reported that year-over-year home prices grew by 4.40 percent year-over-year. S & P Index Committee Chair David M Blitzer said that home prices are increasing gradually by four to five percent a year as compared to double-digit percentages seen in 2013. Mr. Blitzer said that home price growth…
