Labor/Economy
Economy Watch: FHFA Home Price Index Sees Late Summer Uptick
U.S. house prices saw an unusually strong uptick in August compared with July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency monthly House Price Index.
Economy Watch: CPI Barely Moves in September
Inflation is at a very low ebb in the United States these days. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.1 percent in September compared with August.
Economy Watch: Existing Home Sales See September Uptick
The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that total U.S. existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops, increased 2.4 percent in September to an annualized rate of 5.17 million units, compared with 5.05 million units in August.
Economy Watch: GSEs to Ease Lending Standards
Though recovered from its worst days during the recession, it’s generally acknowledged that the U.S. housing market hasn’t recovered as much as it could have, especially compared with other post-recession periods.
‘Economy Watch’ Podcast with Dees Stribling: The Economy’s ‘Modest to Moderate’ Growth
The economy’s still seeing “modest to moderate” growth.
Economy Watch: Housing Starts Bounce Back in September
Privately owned U.S. housing starts in September were at an annualized rate of 1.017 million units, according to the Census Bureau.
Economy Watch: Homebuilders Still Optimistic, But Less So
After four consecutive monthly gains, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell five points to 54 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Economy Watch: Consumers Rein in Spending in September
The Census Bureau reported that U.S. retail sales came in at $442.7 billion in September, a drop of 0.3 percent compared with August.
Economy Watch: SoCal Home Sales Surge in September
Southern California home sales hit a five-year high for September, rising above a year earlier for the first time in 12 months amid gains for mid- to high-end deals, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.