All the Real Estate News That’s Fit to RE-Print™
Welcome to our weekly edition of Hot Real Estate Investment News.
As the end of the summer gets closer, real estate investment news has slowed down considerably, and it will probably continue that way until after Labor Day.
New this week: The Freddie Mac House Price Index showed a 4.8 percent gain over the last quarter and housing starts in July are up 21.5% from starts in July 2011.
Here are the details about real estate investing related news items that caught our attention this past week….
August 2012 U.S. Economic & Housing Market Outlook
All the Real Estate News That’s Fit to RE-Print™
From Freddie Mac Chief Economist, Frank E. Nothaft:
“…house-price news has been decidedly good over the past quarter. The Freddie Mac House Price Index for the U.S. showed a brisk 4.8 percent gain from March to June 2012, the largest quarterly pickup in eight years; the national index posted a June-to-June rise of 1 percent, the largest annual appreciation since November 2006….
Other house-price metrics also suggest the market is strengthening. The CoreLogic index for the U.S. was up 2.5 percent June-to-June (and up 3.2 percent when distressed home sales were excluded), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index posted year-over-year gains through May.”
July housing starts beat year-ago levels but decline from June
HousingWire’s Kerri Ann Panchuk reports:
“Housing starts in July soared above year ago levels with 746,000 units under construction, up 21.5% from 614,000 starts in July 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau said. Still, starts fell 1.1% from 754,000 units in June.”
Also see:
July Housing Starts Slip Led by Single-Family Fall
“Despite continuing improvement in builder confidence, housing starts slipped in July to 746,000, with single-family starts accounting for the decline, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Thursday. Housing permits though improved to 812,000, the highest level in almost four years.”