housing market

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Federal Housing Agency Almost Out of Money

It may need an unprecedented bailout

(Newser) - The Federal Housing Administration is expected to announce this week that it's on the verge of running out of cash and may need taxpayer help, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rising mortgage defaults are battering the agency, which, though it guarantees fewer mortgages than either Fannie Mae or Freddie...

US Housing Construction Hits 4-Year High

Up 15% in September: Commerce department

(Newser) - US builders started construction on single-family homes and apartments in September at the fastest pace since July 2008, a further indication that the housing recovery is strengthening. The Commerce Department says builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 in September. That's an increase of...

Consumer Confidence Soars Past Expectations

There's good housing news, too

(Newser) - Consumer confidence soared to a seven-month high, flying far above analyst expectations, according to a Conference Board report released today. The board's index came in at 70.3, up from 61.3 a month earlier. That's a whole heck of a lot better than the 63 that the...

Economy Has Hit Bottom, Census Suggests
 Economy Has 
 Hit Bottom, 
 Census Suggests 
economic roundup
Sep 20, 2012 7:48 AM CDT

Economy Has Hit Bottom, Census Suggests

On the bright side, there's nowhere to go but up, census suggests

(Newser) - Are you a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty type? Because that will have a lot to do with how you read the American Community Survey, a compilation of 2011 Census data and unofficial figures from the first quarter of 2012 giving us a glimpse at the US economy. With that much...

Another Sign of New Life for Housing Market

Home sales up 2.3% from June to July

(Newser) - Americans bought more homes in July than in June, the latest evidence that the housing market is slowly recovering. Sales of previously occupied homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million in July, a 2.3% increase from the previous month's rate, the National Association...

The Government Needs to Start Buying Mortgages
The Government Needs to Start Buying Mortgages
OPINION
Aug 13, 2012 1:59 PM CDT

The Government Needs to Start Buying Mortgages

Economists Joseph Stiglitz and Mark Zandi have a plan to fix the housing market

(Newser) - Five years after the mortgage crisis began, housing is still one of the biggest factors dragging the economy down. There's just one option left, economists Joseph Stiglitz and Mark Zandi write in the New York Times : Mass refinancing. "Well over half of all American homeowners with mortgages are...

Foreigners Gobbling Up American Homes

Nonnatives take 8.9% of home real estate sales

(Newser) - The Canadians are coming ... for our real estate. A weakened dollar coupled with a buyer's market is prompting foreigners to snatch up expensive homes here in the US. Of the $928 billion spent on US real estate in the year ending in March, $82.5 billion came from foreigners....

Home Prices See Biggest Jump Since 2005

Growing shortage sends prices upward

(Newser) - House prices had their biggest jump in years in the second quarter of 2012, mainly because of a big shortage of houses for sale, reports the Wall Street Journal . Officials from data firm CoreLogic say it was the biggest jump since 2005, while Freddie Mac, using different methodology, says the...

Rents Hit Record Highs, Vacancies at 10-Year Lows

People avoiding buying keeps demand high for rental properties

(Newser) - With would-be homebuyers continuing to sit on the sidelines, rental vacancies dropped to a 10-year low last quarter, driving up rental prices to record levels around the United States, reports the Wall Street Journal . Rental prices have reached record highs in 74 of 82 markets measured by real estate tracking...

Home Prices Get Rosier —in Certain Zip Codes

Uneven recovery lifting most desirable neighborhoods first

(Newser) - The housing market's recovery has become a much patchier affair than the boom and crash were, the Wall Street Journal finds. More areas around the country are seeing home sales and prices rise, but while a few markets are seeing a solid recovery, including Phoenix and Denver, an analysis...

Homeownership Falls to 15-Year Low

It's at 65.4%, down from a high of 69.2%, but analysts aren't worried—yet

(Newser) - The US homeownership rate fell to 65.4% in the first quarter to hit a 15-year-low, as foreclosures and a strong rental market kept Americans away from homeownership, according to figures released by the Census Bureau today. That's down from 66% last quarter, and from 69.2% at the...

Facing Foreclosure? BofA to Let You Rent Your Home

New 'mortgage to lease' program kicks off in test markets

(Newser) - Falling behind on your Bank of America mortgage? Well, what would you say if the bank offered to take your house, but let you rent it for a while? That's the idea behind a new "Mortgage to Lease" pilot program that BofA is rolling out in select markets...

Student Loan Debt Passes $1T
 Student Loan Debt Passes $1T 
Mar 22, 2012 8:26 AM CDT

Student Loan Debt Passes $1T

Figure much higher than expected

(Newser) - America's student loan debt is a lot higher than previously believed, a fact that may create a drag on the economy for years to come, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Total debt passed $1 trillion late last quarter, officials told a banking conference...

Wall Street May Soon Be Your Landlord

Fannie Mae mulls bulk sales that would turn homes into rentals

(Newser) - Wall Street firms may soon have a new gig: landlord. A number of them are looking into getting directly involved in real estate, buying up foreclosed properties from Fannie Mae in bulk, reports the Wall Street Journal . They couldn't then flip the houses—per the deal, they would rent...

Next Debt Bomb: Student Loans?

'Nonsense,' say others, as student debt is fraction size of housing

(Newser) - With student loan debts soaring to $867 billion last year, student debt is a "bomb" waiting to explode, bankruptcy lawyers tell the Washington Post. The figure is bigger than the $704 billion owed by all Americans on their credit cards , and of the 37 million borrowers, 14.4% have...

$26B Mortgage Settlement a 'Modest' Help: Experts

Many struggling homeowners not covered in deal

(Newser) - The $26 billion mortgage settlement announced yesterday will be a boon for some—but the terms of the deal leave many homeowners out in the cold. Recipients of loans owned by the Federal Housing Administration, for instance, won't directly benefit from the settlement; nor will those with mortgages held...

Banks Ink $26B Deal to Help 2M Homeowners

49 states sign on to deal with nation's top 5 banks

(Newser) - America's five biggest banks have hammered out a $26 billion settlement for their role in causing the mortgage meltdown, reports the Wall Street Journal . The deal—the biggest of its kind since 1998's $206 billion settlement with the tobacco industry—was hammered out during almost a year of...

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners
Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners
INVESTIGATION
Jan 30, 2012 10:22 AM CST

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners

Has financial stake in limiting refinancing for struggling people

(Newser) - Freddie Mac was designed to help homeowners—but in 2010 and 2011 it wagered billions against them. The company invested in security packages that meant more cash for Freddie when homeowners couldn't refinance their mortgages. But Freddie itself regulates refinancing—and in fact has been increasingly denying refinances to...

Paul Krugman: Economy May Be Improving
 Finally, Sun 
 Through the 
 Economic Clouds 
paul krugman
Jan 23, 2012 9:53 AM CST

Finally, Sun Through the Economic Clouds

Thanks to improving housing market, private debt: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - The economy has had its share of false starts over the past few years, but this time things could really be improving, opines Paul Krugman. "There’s evidence that the two great problems at the root of our slump—the housing bust and excessive private debt—are finally easing,...

Great Time to Buy? This Renter Says No Thanks

Need for mobility trumps low prices: Justin Martin

(Newser) - Realtors scratching their heads at why more would-be homebuyers aren't jumping at record low mortgage rates will want to read Justin Martin's pro-renting essay in the Christian Science Monitor . In theory, he's the model potential buyer: He's a renter in his 30s with a good job...

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