Housing affordability is being affected by a “perfect storm” scenario and taking the biggest hit in nearly ten years. The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo released their Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for the third quarter of 2013, which was 64.5%, down from 69.3% in the second quarter. “Perfect storm” means home values […]
The National Association of Home Builders reports that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes held steady in September after four consecutive months of improvements. This year, the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers increased one point, to 47, the highest since October 2005. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders […]
The recent reports that came out from both the Commerce Department and the National Association of REALTORs paint a dark picture for prospective homebuyers who have either waited to buy a home until they had the money to do so or waited too long because they believed that home prices would drop even further. Commerce […]
There is a tug-of-war in Congress over a bill that would reduce up-front fees for homeowners with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans who wish to refinance and eliminate appraisal costs. While Democrats argue this will save homeowners thousands of dollars a year in mortgage payments, Republicans say the best way for the housing market […]
Twenty U.S. metropolitan areas are now part of the expanding Improving Markets Index as of this month, according to the National Association of Home Builders and First American Title Insurance. The February IMI list now includes 259 metro areas and has all 50 states represented on the list, including the District of Columbia. The new […]
According to the recent National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index, 103 housing markets were qualified to be listed as “improving.” That is up from last month’s figure of 99 markets and the largest number of improving metro areas since the Index was created last year. Of that number, eleven metro areas were […]
Daily Real Estate News recently reported that housing starts are expected to increase in 2011. But by how much? It depends on who you ask. During an economic update at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando on January 12, David Crowe, The National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist, said that projected single-family home starts […]