ThinkstockWe have two data points on the U.S. housing market this morning. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in November rose 5.9% to…
ThinkstockKB Home (NYSE: KBH) reported fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2012 results before markets opened this morning. The homebuilder posted quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.10 on revenues of $578.2 million. In the…
ThinkstockReal estate research firm Zillow reports that November home prices rose 5.2% over the same month of last year. This was the largest improvement since August 2006. But the national data was misleading. The…
ThinkstockNew housing starts in November fell to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 861,000, a decrease of 3% from the revised October rate of 888,000 and a gain of 21.6% above the November 2011…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a decline of 12.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, compared with last week’s rise of 6.2%. Unadjusted,…
Not every high-net-worth individual will spend what it takes to build or buy a dream home. But quite a few will pop for a luxurious amenity that may enhance their lifestyles and the value…
ThinkstockThe National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo housing market index rose two points in December to 47, the highest index reading since April 2006. An index reading below 50 indicates that more builders view…
ThinkstockIn the past 12 months, home prices have skyrocketed in some major U.S. cities. In Phoenix, according to real estate information site Trulia, asking home prices increased by 26.9% between November 2011 and November…
ThinkstockForeclosures have nose dived. However, the states hardest hit by the real estate disaster remain in deep trouble — another reminder that all housing problems are local and need to be solved at the…
ThinkstockThe bad timing of Wall St. analysts is legendary. As the implosion of the subprime mortgage credit market mirrored the collapse in residential and commercial market real estate values in late 2008 and 2009,…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a rise of 6.2% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, compared with last week’s rise of 4.5%. Unadjusted,…
ThinkstockData from research firms from S&P Case-Shiller to Corelogic have indicated recently that the housing crisis has reached a bottom and that a sharp recovery may occur next year. That prospect appears much less…
This is something you have not heard in about a decade: A HOMEBUILDER IPO! It sounds hard to believe, but with two of the best 10 S&P 500 performers of 2012 being homebuilders maybe…
The number of foreclosure starts fell 21.9% in October according to the latest data from Lender Processing Services Inc. (NYSE: LPS). Year-over-year, new foreclosures are down 48% and the foreclosure inventory of homes for…
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a rise of 4.5% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index compared with last week’s drop of 0.9%. Last…