Monday, February 6, 2012
The Washington Post
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is at 61.1, down from a revised 64.8 in December.
Read the full story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/consumer-confidence-slips-in-january-by-about-3-points-amid-worries-about-income/2012/01/31/gIQA8p63eQ_story.html
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Following three consecutive months of gains, sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units in December, according to figures from the U.S. Commerce Department.
NAHB is forecasting that new-home sales will rise 18 percent in 2012 following a 7.3 percent dip to the lowest number in the history of the government’s recordkeeping (302,000 units) in 2011.
December’s decline in new-home sales was mostly due to a 10.1 percent dip in the South, which is the nation’s largest housing market. The Midwest posted a more modest decline of 3.7 percent, while the Northeast and West posted substantial gains of 46.7 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
The inventory of new homes for sale continued to slide to a new record low of 157,000 units in December, which is a 6.1-month supply at the current sales pace.
Monday, January 30, 2012
C.A.R. Pending Home Sales Index dropped as expected between November and December, tracking the annual seasonal slowdown. However, the index was higher than a year ago for the eighth straight month, a trend that bodes well for the start of the spring home-buying season.
C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell from a revised 108.7 in November to 91.6 in December, based on signed contracts. The index was up from the revised 82.5 recorded in December 2010, marking the eighth consecutive month that pending sales rose from the previous year. The decline follows a normal seasonal drop that usually occurs in November and December. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The San Francisco Chronicle
Banks may seize more than 1 million U.S. homes this year after legal scrutiny of their foreclosure practices slowed actions against delinquent property owners in 2011, RealtyTrac said.
Read the full story
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/12/BUPF1MOFAU.DTL
Monday, January 23, 2012
CNN Money
Federal officials hope to launch a pilot program in early 2012 to convert government-owned foreclosures into rental properties.
Read the full story
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/09/news/economy/foreclosures_rental/index.htm?iid=HP_River
