The housing recovery continued rolling along this morning, with the Commerce Department reporting that new home sales rose 28 percent in the Midwest in April. Nationally, sales rose 3.3 percent from March to April, and 9.9 percent from April

Judicial and nonjudicial states have radically different approaches to foreclosure proceedings, and they may produce different recoveries in the appropriate states. Currently, few analysts argue that a housing recovery is not happening; debate still persists, though, on the particulars –

Freddie Mac yesterday released the latest results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and it found what by now has become common – that average fixed mortgage rates hit record lows last week. The 30-year FRM averaged just 3.79

Housing starts for privately-owned homes rose by nearly 30 percent year-over-year in April, perhaps the strongest sign yet of a recovery in residential construction. According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing

After a few difficult years, the income and business of Realtors grew in 2011, according to the 2012 National Association of Realtors Member Profile. A survey of 58,823 NAR members that yielded 6,245 usable responses, the profile found the median

Housing affordability has been trending upwards in the post-boom housing market, and according to analytics firm Fiserv, it’s now at a 40-year high. Utilizing data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fiserv studied 380 U.S. markets, and it found

NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg has become the latest proponent for housing finance reform, arguing in an op-ed for a comprehensive overhaul of the current system. “Our goal is to overhaul the housing finance system to ensure that housing credit

A new study out by Standard & Poor’s is estimating it will take 46 months to clear out the nation’s supply of shadow inventory, one month less than predictions from 2011. Liquidation rates for the residential mortgage markets appeared

Median home values, improving sales and stronger inventories were all features of the 2012 first quarter report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Median existing single-family home prices rose year-over-year in 74 out of the 146 metro areas tracked

A new chart of analysis has reinvigorated the homeownership vs renting debate, with another nod of economic approval heading for the homeowners’ corner. Assembled by analyst Ben Walsh for Felix Salmon of Reuters, the chart uses the most recent data from

The wave of foreclosures that many analysts had anticipated has, thus far, failed to materialize (knock on wood), and its absence is making some reconsider the housing market. As the Wall Street Journal explained in a recent story, the biggest

The federal conforming loan limit was one of the most highly contentious issues in the tail end of 2011, but based on recent statistics, all that controversy seems to have been for naught. Originally passed in late 2008 to

After a couple of mild months, construction spending rebounded in March, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the month, spending was up 6.0 percent from March 2011 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $808.1

Month after month, data comes out affirming the rising demand for rental units, and like the wider world of real estate, fresh and unusual details often accompanies it. A recent Wall Street Journal piece on the rent/homeownership dichotomy has presented

Foreclosure activity was down in the latest foreclosure report from RealtyTrac, which covered foreclosure filings, default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions for the first quarter of 2012. The total properties in these catergories is reported to be 572,928 properties during

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury just released the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard for March, showing improvement in some areas from previous months. Raphael Bostic, an assistant secretary for