housing market

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Dow Dips on Monday Overreach
Dow Dips on Monday Overreach
Oct 2, 2007 3:53 PM CDT

Dow Dips on Monday Overreach

A rough housing report doesn’t help

(Newser) - The market was mostly down today, after investors corrected for yesterday’s record-breaking spike, and a new drop in a home-sales index stirred mortgage anxieties. The Dow dipped 40.24 points to 14,047.31, with one strategist telling MarketWatch, “The fundamental news didn’t warrant the rally.”...

Florida Growth Runs Out of Gas
Florida Growth Runs Out of Gas
Sep 29, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

Florida Growth Runs Out of Gas

Long-time fastest-growing state hits the brakes

(Newser) - Americans’ 80-year love affair with Florida is on the rocks, says the Wall Street Journal. With housing prices up 64% compared with five years ago and property taxes skyrocketing, the magnetic effect of the long-time fastest-growing state is weakening. “I thought it would be like a vacation," said...

Where to Find Housing Bargains
Where to Find Housing Bargains
Sep 26, 2007 1:48 PM CDT

Where to Find Housing Bargains

Where to look to make sure your next home is a solid asset—and where not to

(Newser) - Taking into account current affordability, projected growth, and employment opportunities, BusinessWeek pick the best and worst prospects for bargains in the US housing market. The best, in alphabetical order:
  1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
  2. Baton Rouge, La.
  3. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.

Home Sales Sink to 5-Year Low
Home Sales Sink to 5-Year Low
Sep 25, 2007 12:52 PM CDT

Home Sales Sink to 5-Year Low

Stats at 5-year low due to credit crunch

(Newser) - Sales of previously owned US homes fell 4.3% in August, marking a 5-year low point and continuing the housing swoon growing out of the credit crisis. Although the drop was slightly less than expected, borrowing costs have risen and mortgage qualification has gotten harder, so demand is down and...

Largest US Homebuilder Posts Biggest Losses Ever

Lennar stock drops after worse-than-expected earnings report

(Newser) - The atrophied housing market has sent America’s largest homebuilder into even more of tailspin than expected. Lennar announced today it lost $513.9 million last quarter, or $3.25 per share—the worst losses in its 53-year history. Lennar says home discounting and the dismal mortgage situation will force...

Stocks Keep Up Rate-Cut Rally
Stocks Keep Up Rate-Cut Rally
Sep 19, 2007 3:39 PM CDT

Stocks Keep Up Rate-Cut Rally

iPhone sales spur market on

(Newser) - The stock market kept rising one day after the Fed slashed key interest rates, as speculation that the housing slump might ebb compounded the biggest rally in four years. The Dow climbed 76.17 to 13815.56, while the Nasdaq rose 14.82 to close at 2666.48 and the...

What Inflation? Consumer Prices Fall 0.1%

Fed's rate cut looks good as housing, gas prices hit books

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke is likely patting himself on the back right now, Bloomberg reports. US consumer prices fell 0.1% in August, the first decline this year, making Federal Reserve chairman’s rate cut look good, with inflation potentially under control. “Core inflation has now been falling for nearly a...

Stocks Soar on Fed Surprise
Stocks Soar on Fed Surprise
Sep 18, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Stocks Soar on Fed Surprise

Financial shares enjoy particular surge

(Newser) - The markets responded with a roar to the Fed’s surprisingly deep rate cut today, with financial shares enjoying the biggest spike. The Dow climbed a whopping 324.10 points to 13,727.52, the Nasdaq rose 64.38 to 2,646.23, and the S&P closed at 1518....

Home Foreclosures Hit Record
Home Foreclosures Hit Record
Sep 18, 2007 12:14 PM CDT

Home Foreclosures Hit Record

August numbers double, with no end in sight

(Newser) - Another 108,716 American homeowners received foreclosure notices in August, a record total more than double last year’s figure. And this is only the beginning, say analysts, who expect even more subprime borrowers to default over the next 2 years. That will further depress housing prices, which are expected...

August Retail Sales Fail to Meet Forecasts

Gain of .3% drops to .4% loss if auto sales are excluded

(Newser) - Retail sales were up last month, but the .3% rise failed to meet expectations, and if automobile sales are excluded, sales actually fell by .4%—the steepest drop in a year. The August sales figures provide more fodder for an interest-rate cut when the Fed meets next week. “The...

Demand for Mortgages Rises as Rates Fall

Interest charge lowest since May, with Fed likely to cut further

(Newser) - Applications for home loans increased for the second week in a row as interest rates on both fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages fell, according to a survey by the Mortgage Banker's Association. Indices tracking applications for both purchases and refinancing showed a 5.5% increase over last week and a 12....

Trade Gap Dips to Lowest Level in 3 Years

Weak dollar, stronger world economies fuel rise in US exports

(Newser) - The US trade gap—the difference in total value between imports and exports—dropped to a 3-year low in July as exports jumped on a weak dollar and growing overseas demand. The figure fell 0.3% to $59.2 billion, roughly on par with the estimate economists surveyed by Bloomberg...

Midwest Jobs Take a Beating
Midwest Jobs Take a Beating
Sep 10, 2007 9:35 AM CDT

Midwest Jobs Take a Beating

Housing slump and auto woes hit the region hard

(Newser) - Jobs in the Midwest have taken a one-two punch from the national housing slump and the flagging Detroit auto industry, the Wall Street Journal reports. Factories that make the materials used to build new homes in high-flying markets from California to Florida are starting to downsize, following huge layoffs by...

Foreclosure Rate Hits the Roof
Foreclosure Rate Hits the Roof
Sep 6, 2007 6:23 PM CDT

Foreclosure Rate Hits the Roof

Subprime mortgage crisis also sparks rise in US delinquencies

(Newser) - The number of US home loans entering foreclosure reached an all-time high in the second quarter, a new survey shows, and delinquencies are up to more than 5% of all mortgages. Trouble with adjustable-rate mortgages—an outgrowth of the subprime crisis—is driving delinquencies, CNNMoney reports, with seven Midwest and...

Pending Home Resales Drop to Record Lows

Vicious cycle of credit crunch and housing slump continues

(Newser) - In yet another sign of the troubled housing market infecting the ailing credit market, the number of home resales plunged to a record low in July. The measure, which tracks the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes, dropped 12.2% to 89.9, its lowest level...

Bush Promises Mortgage Relief
Bush Promises Mortgage Relief
Aug 31, 2007 2:52 PM CDT

Bush Promises Mortgage Relief

Fed agencies to offer aid to help Americans during credit squeeze

(Newser) - The government will roll up its sleeves and aid homeowners battered by the subprime mortgage crunch, but it will forsake “speculators” trying to exploit the crisis, President Bush said today. The FHA will step in and help delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing at lower rates, but experts predict...

Consumer Confidence Plunges
Consumer Confidence Plunges
Aug 28, 2007 2:35 PM CDT

Consumer Confidence Plunges

Vital index hits level not seen since post-Katrina unrest

(Newser) - Consumer confidence dived in August to its lowest level since right after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though not as steep as expected, the drop reflects the squeeze stock market uncertainty and lower home values are putting on Americans' wallets and peace of mind, Bloomberg reports. "The things that are...

Home Resales Down For Fifth Straight Month

Decline lower than expected, but unlikely to stop, experts say

(Newser) - Existing home sales slumped again in July—the fifth straight month the figures have been off and a sign that the market-draining housing downturn will continue. Though the 0.2 percent decline was the smallest movement since 2002, experts expect sales to continue dropping, according to Bloomberg.

US Median Home Price to Drop
US Median Home Price
to Drop
Aug 26, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

US Median Home Price to Drop

Projected 1-2% decline for 2007 would be the first since 1950

(Newser) - The median cost of an American home, now $220,000, is expected to drop this year for the first time since tracking began in 1950, reports the New York Times. The decline will be modest—1 to 2%—but could last into 2008 and 2009, meaning that, adjusting for inflation,...

Monthly Foreclosures Climb Again
Monthly Foreclosures Climb Again
Aug 22, 2007 2:34 AM CDT

Monthly Foreclosures Climb Again

Figures jump 93% over 2006; 1 in every 693 households in default

(Newser) - Foreclosure numbers were up big again in July, rising 9% from June’s figures and a whopping 93% from a year ago, an unwelcome sign for already reeling credit markets. Foreclosures rose in 43 states, but California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia accounted for over half of the the activity,...

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