Strong homes sales in 2012 helped to diminish the number of borrowers rolling into distressed situations. The increase in sales eroded inventories resulting in steady price growth. As a result, more people were able to refinance into affordable … [Read more...]
Change in Unemployment Rate: 2012 vs. 2011
Though sluggish, employment grew 1.7% between 2011 and 2012, or by 2.235 million new jobs. Job creation helped drive down the national unemployment rate from 8.9% to 8.1%. But improving conditions bring job seekers back to the job market, creating … [Read more...]
Housing Construction Slowly Ramping Up
Housing construction is slowly ramping up. Housing starts and permitting have been at their strongest levels in years, with many markets exhibiting double-digit increases between 2011 and 2012. Construction is an important source of job creation, but … [Read more...]
Home Price Changes for Fourth Quarter 2012
2012 began with atypically strong home sales, which carried through the entire year. As a result, inventories declined and price appreciation took off. Over the 4-quarter period ending in December, 131 markets or 88% of those monitored by NAR … [Read more...]
Local Market Reports: Decline in Homeownership
The sharp increase in layoffs and foreclosures across the nation after 2006 has weighed on the homeownership in subsequent years. Not surprisingly, the states with the sharpest declines in their homeownership rates were concentrated in those states … [Read more...]
Local Market Reports: Highest Homeownership Rates
Over the last decade, the housing market has gone through a dramatic swing. The large increase in unemployment which resulted from the recent recession coupled with nearly 4 million foreclosures since 2008 reduced the number of homeowners. As a … [Read more...]
