Economic Conditions

Economic Conditions

• 4.5% fixed-rate mortgage finally arrives

  July 30--The 4.5 percent fixed-rate mortgage is here, although more than 14 months late.

   

• Signs of real estate recovery in Charleston, S.C.?

  July 30--All real estate is local, but the market's recovery in Charleston is mostly in the hands of faraway decision-makers -- bank executives who control lending trends, Federal Reserve board members weighing interest rate levels, and business owners who decide when to hire more workers.

   

• Economists Still Forecast Housing Growth in 2010

  Despite weakness in May and June, housing starts will increase 15% this year, according to a consensus of housing economists.

   

• New Campaign Promotes Assistance For Distressed Homeowners

  Videos and other ad materials highlight homeowners who kept their houses through the Treasury Department’s Making Home Affordable Program.

   

• Housing recovery is about timing and location

  NEW YORK - If you bought a home in San Francisco in the past year, it might feel like the housing slump is over.

   

• NAHB Report: Home Builders Turning to Remodeling, Land Development in Downturn

  Nearly three-quarters of NAHB members built 10 or fewer single-family homes in 2009.

   

• With home construction screeching to a near-halt, Habitat for Humanity has become one of the most productive builders in South Florida

  July 27--The cranes that once soared atop South Florida's skyline and the heavy machinery that hummed along below are mostly gone.

   

• Don't hold your breath for a bounce in home prices

  WASHINGTON - Thought the housing crisis was over?

   

• New-Home Sales Stronger Than Expected in June

  Sales pace rises 23.6% to 330,000-unit level, which is still relatively slow.

   

• Stocks edge higher as home sales rise

  NEW YORK - Stocks are moderately higher after the government reported a bigger-than-expected jump in new home sales and FedEx raised its forecast for the current quarter.