Home-Price Growth is Cooling, But Lackluster Wage Growth May Hold Back Sales

August 9, 2014 By In Uncategorized No Comment

The once blistering growth in home prices is starting to slow down, but a new report from Trulia shows that home and rentals prices still outpace wage growth substantially, holding back many Americans. “There are still big barriers to homeownership,” says Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko. “Average wages per worker rose less than 1% in

Read More

LEVERAGED PORTFOLIO’S ARE BACK IN VOGUE. INVESTOR DEMAND SLOWS DOWN

November 15, 2013 By In Uncategorized No Comment

AS THE BANKS CONTINUE TO OFFER  MORE AND MORE LENDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUILDERS,  THE INVESTORS WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE HOUSING MARKET GAME ARE BEGINNING TO LOOSE INTEREST.  THE LOW TEENS RETURNS VS MID TO HIGH 20% RETURNS HAS INVESTORS SEEKING OUT ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES.   LEVERAGED PORTFOLIO’S ARE BACK IN VOGUE. The proportion of

Read More

WILL PRICE APPRECIATION REMAIN STRONG

November 15, 2013 By In Uncategorized No Comment

Will home price appreciation remain strong in the face of modest job growth and the recent uptick in mortgage rates? Price appreciation is largely driven by the degree to which demand exceeds supply. While the best short-term measure of the housing demand/supply balance is months of supply of homes on the market, the best long-term

Read More

FED GIVES COMMUNITY BANKS A FEW BREAKS ON NEW CAPITAL RULES

August 6, 2013 By In Uncategorized No Comment

The real test for Basel III Rule is whether the rule makes it easier or more difficult for banks to serve their customers,” said Frank Keating, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association. “If it makes it harder, that’s not what our still-recovering economy needs For immediate release The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday

Read More

HALF WAY HOME: HOUSING RECOVERY CROSSES 50% MARK

January 17, 2013 By In Uncategorized No Comment

Jed Kolko Trulias Chief Economists suggests that Trulia’s Housing Barometer leaps up again, with the housing market 51% back to normal in November Each month, Trulia’s Housing Barometer charts how quickly the housing market is moving back to “normal.” We summarize three key housing market indicators: construction starts (Census), existing home sales (NAR), and the

Read More