WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to 26 flood-ravaged counties in North Dakota and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe flooding.
New home sales in the U.S. fell slightly in March due to a strong upward revision to the previous month's figure, the Department of Commerce reported Friday. New home sales fell to an annualized pace of 356k, a 0.6% decrease from February, the report…(read more)
Demand for big-ticket items in the U.S. dropped less than economists were expecting in March, according to the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday. Durable goods orders excluding transportation posted a drop of 0.6% despite forecasts for a 1.2% decline…(read more)
U.S. durable goods and new home sales are the main economic data releases of the day, as the G7 finance ministers meet in Washington D.C. At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Department of Commerce will release its March durable goods report. Economists expect…(read more)
Despite some signs of relief in the U.S. housing market, most economists foresee continued challenges for new home sales over the coming months. After unexpectedly rising 4.7% in February to 337k, economists expect new home sales in the U.S. to remain…(read more)
Mortgage interest rates continued to inch downward during the week ended April 23 and long term fixed rates are now an out-and-out better deal than ARMs from day one. Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey released this morning reported…(read more)
The drop in U.S. existing home sales in March indicates that the housing market is far from a bottom, economists say. Sales dropped more than forecast by 3.0% against a surprise 4.9% surge in February. Dimitry Fleming, an economist at ING, said Thursday's…(read more)
Despite an expected rise in weekly U.S. initial jobless claims, some economists are encouraged by a continued drop in the four-week average of claims, which they say could suggest the end of the recession. Others say seasonal factors are continuing to…(read more)
The U.S. housing market delivered bad news on Thursday, with existing home sales falling well below expectations in March and a downward revision to February's increase. Existing home sales contracted 3.0% in March against expectations for a 1.5%…(read more)
Score one for transparency. Time was that bamboo shoots under the fingernails couldn't get Freddie or Fannie to fess up that they owned this mortgage or that one. As a representative of a government regulatory agency I once fought with a Freddie Mac…(read more)
