Trends

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Robert Shiller: Conan the Housing Contrarian

News regarding the housing market has been uniformly positive the last couple of weeks. New home sales in January hit their highest level since 2008. Negative equity is improving. Contract activity has been strong, and the mortgage markets continue

Will GSE Reform Actually Happen?

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission threw its hat into the GSE reform ring earlier this week, issuing a detailed report calling for a gradual, yet transformative, change to how the nation’s mortgage markets currently operate – and one

Zillow: Negative Equity in the U.S. Continues to Improve

The negative equity situation in the U.S. is one of improvement, reported real estate website Zillow, though there is still progress to be made. As Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, put it, the benefits of an improving equity situation are

Pending Home Sales Index Jumps 9.5 Percent in January

The Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors rose 9.5 percent year-over-year in January, rising to its highest reading since April 2010 and boasting its 21st straight month of yearly

New Home Sales in January at Highest Level Since 2008

New home sales posted very encouraging numbers in January, rising 15.6 percent from December to January and 28.9 percent from January 2012, according to the latest analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban

Texas Home Prices Remain Solid in December Case-Shiller

Texas home prices remained on solid footing in the December Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard & Poor’s, as prices in Dallas posted an increase of 6.5 percent year-0ver-year for the

With Housing Inventory Plummeting, Are We in a Seller’s Market?

There was much to like in last week’s existing-home sales report from the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales were up 9.1 percent from last year, median existing-home price was up 12.3 percent yearly, and most encouraging of all, distressed

Multifamily Housing Strong in January Architecture Billings Index

The multifamily housing market continued its strong performance in the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Architecture Billings Index, a leading economic indicator of future construction activity that is based on the billings from the nation’s architectural firms. For January, the

Mortgage Markets on the Mend in MBA National Delinquency Survey

The mortgage markets showed considerable signs of healing in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest National Delinquency Survey, a wide-ranging measure of the U.S. residential mortgage markets. Among the survey’s many highlights were the national delinquency rate, which at 7.09

What Are the Most Recognizable Brands in Real Estate?

There are numerous brands in the real estate industry, all of which follow unique business models and offer their clients and agents different experiences in the homebuying and selling process; which of those brands, though, is the most recognizable

NAR: Existing-Home Sales Inch Up While Housing Inventory Falls

In what has become a recurring pattern for the housing market, existing-home sales inched up in January while housing inventory declined, according to the latest analysis from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Nationally, existing-home sales were up 0.4

Freddie Mac Dishes the Optimism in New Market Report

“Optimism” was somewhat of a taboo term during the darkest days of the housing downturn, with any encouraging reports on the housing market earning skeptic glances and caustic asides. Now, though, the situation is a little different. Housing starts,

Fading Foreclosure Discounts Complement Rising Home Prices

An interesting thing has been happening in the housing market. Home prices, as we’ve reported on numerous occasions, have been rising steadily after bottoming in 2012’s first quarter, but a recent FNC report found a corresponding trend – discounts

Top 10 Highest Closed Properties in 2012

Houston’s market has remained stable and strong – so what were the highest closed properties last

Census Bureau: Building Permits Up 35.2 Percent in January

January was another strong month of residential construction activity, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau, with building permits increasing 35.2 percent year-over-year. With a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 925,000, building permits also increased 1.8 percent

RealtyTrac Market Report Shows Decrease in Foreclosure Filings

Foreclosure filings were down 28 percent year-over-year in January and 7 percent from December, according to the latest Foreclosure Market Report from research firm RealtyTrac. In addition, U.S. foreclosure starts hit a 79-month low, decreasing 11 percent from last month and decreasing

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