|
Written by Jonathan Dienhart
|
|
04.09.2010 |
|
The unwinding of some of the government support for housing finance was evident this past week. The Federal Reserve’s conclusion of its purchases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and mortgage-backed securities at the end of March has caused mortgage rates to steadily rise over the past four weeks. According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was the highest it has been since August 2009 last week. This roughly coincides with the end of the federal homebuyer tax credit at the end of April. Recent data from the National Association of Realtors show that the upcoming expiration of the tax credit has sparked buyer activity. The trade group’s pending home sales index jumped 8.2% in the month of February and returned to its highest levels since December. | | No comments for this item |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Written by Jonathan Dienhart
|
|
03.25.2010 |
|
There was once a time that the financial markets frantically reacted to any news that came out of the housing market. Recently, there hasn’t been nearly the reaction in equity markets one might expect from the record low new home sales in February, lackluster resale data, an increase in mortgage delinquencies, and the continued slowdown in building activity. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales fell for the third consecutive month in February while Census Bureau data showed that new home sales fell for four straight months to a new record low. | | No comments for this item |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Written by Jonathan Dienhart
|
|
03.19.2010 |
|
Despite a fairly positive week in equity markets, lackluster housing data remains a lingering concern. Both housing starts and building permits fell in the month of February which is evidence that conditions in the housing market are still sluggish. Inclement weather conditions throughout the U.S. in February hindered on construction activity as housing starts fell 5.9% from the previous month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 575,000 units. Building permits fell 1.6% last month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 612,000 units which suggests that construction activity going forward will remain slow. | | No comments for this item |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Written by Jonathan Dienhart
|
|
02.25.2010 |
|
Housing data was weak on all fronts with sales and pricing in both the new and existing home markets posting declines in the first month of 2010. Although bad weather conditions may have contributed to some of the weakness, it is not good news that extraordinarily low mortgage rates and the extended homebuyer tax credit were insufficient to boost sales activity. New home sales volume hit an all-time low in January while existing home sales fell to its slowest annual pace since June. Exceptionally bad weather conditions in February throughout most of the U.S. will likely result in subdued sales activity again, which would be reflected in the data released next month. The extended federal tax credit now expires at the end April, so it’s likely we’ll see a run up in activity as we near that point, with a potential “clash-for-clunkers” type drop-off in sales activity for the month following. | | This item includes 1 comment |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Written by Jonathan Dienhart
|
|
01.30.2010 |
|
The downward trend in the markets continued in an eventful week of news, economic data, and earnings announcements. The broader S&P 500 index finished trading on Friday down almost 1.0% for the day and down about 1.6% for the week. The S&P 500 index closed at its lowest levels since November 6th on Friday and has fallen 6.6% since its 2010 highs just less than two weeks ago. Equities did not respond well despite President Obama’s first State of the Union address in which he focused on jobs and reviving the U.S. economy. The Fed also held its first meeting of the year in which they kept their target Fed Funds rate unchanged at a range of 0-0.25% while stating that the economy continued to show signs of improvement. The recent correction may be due to some profit-taking and a sign that the market has taken a more cautious approach after posting huge gains since March of last year. The big market mover to keep an eye on in the coming week will be January employment figures to be released on Friday. | | No comments for this item |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  
|
| Results 82 - 90 of 283 |
