Based on company transactional data and Google search activity, Auction.com predicted Monday that existing-home sales in January will come in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.06 million, just slightly above the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) December estimate of 5.04 million.
Read More »Fannie: Economy to Drag ‘Unspectacular’ Housing Activity Up
Fannie's 2015 economic forecast, released Thursday, is less a picture of a purely positive housing market than an expectation of an economy so strong across several key growth sectors that it will propel the national housing market to greater heights than in 2014.
Read More »Economists: Signs Point to ‘More Robust Year’ for Housing
In the wake of the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) latest confidence index, builders convened in Las Vegas this week to discuss housing trends over the last few months and what they expect to see in 2015.
Read More »Freddie Mac: Plenty of Tailwinds for Housing in 2015
Freddie Mac cited a number of positive opportunities for housing in 2015—but households and businesses should take advantage of them early, because some of them aren't expected to last.
Read More »What Will 2015 Bring for Mortgage Rates?
With the Federal Reserve recently ending its monthly asset purchases and turning toward the possibility of bringing short-term interest rates up in 2015, analysts (including economists at Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and other housing groups and companies) are calling for the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to rise to nearly 4.5 percent, with some calling for an average closer to 5 percent.
Read More »Report Details Highlights and Lowlights of 2014
It's been a rollercoaster year for the U.S. housing market, but analysts at Realtor.com say the patterns seen in 2014 could be the foundation for more stable growth in the coming year. In its year-end review, Realtor.com outlined some of the major trends seen in 2014 that signal a strengthening housing recovery.
Read More »Economic Growth Projected to Lift After Fourth-Quarter Turn
Economists at Fannie Mae are forecasting full-year growth of 2.1 percent for 2014, a full point below 2013's rate of growth, due to the reverse in the final quarter of some unsustainable forces that boosted the economy in the third quarter. However, the group is predicting economic growth of 2.7 percent for 2015.
Read More »2015 Outlook Calls for 4% Increase in Home Sales
In its last outlook of the year, Freddie Mac looked back at five key consensus predictions for 2014, how they fared, and how they will affect housing and the economy next year. In addition to home sales, the four other areas examined were mortgage originations, home values, rental market, and mortgage rates.
Read More »2015 Looks Bright for RMBS Market
In its predictions for 2015, Moody's says stronger underwriting standards, third-party reviews, and the implementation of risk retention rules will all bolster the credit quality of new private-label RMBS. "New regulations setting strict standards for origination of qualified mortgages along with ability-to-repay rules will drive the strong credit quality of new issuance," said Navneet Agarwhal, managing director at Moody's.
Read More »Forecast: Full Steam Ahead for Housing
In its latest forecast, Wells Fargo's Economics Group cited a number of reasons optimistic housing market predictions for next year, namely easing of credit, job and income growth, and mortgage rates near their lowest levels in a generation.
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