SubscribeAll Posts Tagged With: "housing 2009"
Housing Nightmare
For years, home ownership has been seen as the surest path of rising into the middle class and the most significant source of savings for many families. So how could it be that buying a single-family home has made so many people in this country worse off?
The answer is simple, according to John Wasik, author of a recently released book that examines the housing crisis, "The Cul-De-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream."
"The whole premise of the ‘Cul-De-Sac Syndrome’ is we hit a dead end," he said. "We hit a wall of unaffordability. I want to convey the…
9Jul2009 | The Real Deal | 1 comment | ContinuedMortgage Applications Plummet, Housing Market Continues to Fight Back
Mortgage applications plummeted last week as a surge in interest rates put the brakes on the mortgage-refinancing boom.
The Mortgage Banker’s Association yesterday (Wednesday) said that its seasonally adjusted index of applications fell 16% in the week ended May 29. The industry group reported its gauge, which includes both purchases and refinancings, dropped to 658.7 last week from 786 the week before.
The report clearly showed a slowdown in refinancing, as the number of homeowners revising their existing mortgages plummeted 24%, while new loan originations actually increased 4.3%.
Analysts said the biggest jump in interest rates since October slowed demand, as the…
4Jun2009 | Money Morning | 1 comment | ContinuedStatistics Reveal a Bottoming Housing Market
Perhaps the mishmash of numbers floating around the housing market have you confused. For those who follow the market closely, the daily news seems to bring a never-ending stream of contradictory data.
Here are just a few statistics in the news lately from respected market mavens like the S&P/Case-Shiller Indices and the National Association of Realtors:
- The “average” price of homes in the U.S. is down almost 35% from the record highs of 2006.
- “Median” housing prices are down 19% in 90% of the major markets in the United States.
- Building permits were up 4% in April from last year, and homebuilder confidence increased from 16…
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