ECONOMY

Reuters
In recovering housing market, the starter home remains elusive

Seeking a yard for her two dogs and proximity to her new government job, Alison Owen set out to buy a home this spring in the hot market of Austin, Texas.

Construction Dive
Minority ownership of residential construction firms on the rise

Despite an overall decrease in the number of U.S. residential construction firms between 2007 and 2012, a National Association of Home Builders analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners data revealed that the number of minority-owned firms in that timeframe rose 9% from approximately 109,000 to 157,000.

Realtor Magazine
One vs. two-story homes: Which dominates?

Most people prefer a single-story home, one study reports. But home shoppers may have a more difficult time finding a one-story home in some regions of the country.

 

The Wall Street Journal
The typical home in San Jose now costs more than $1 million

Rising home prices and growing affordability concerns showed no signs of abating in the second quarter, as San Jose, Calif. became the first city where the price of a typical home eclipses $1 million.
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The Washington Post
Mortgage rates move slightly higher as refinances fuel uptick in applications

Mortgage rates were barely affected by last week's better-than-expected employment report. Despite indications that America's labor market is surging again, home loan rates remained about where they have been. For those who have been paying more attention to the Olympics, presidential election, beach or back to school, they are hovering at their lowest levels in three years.

 

HousingWire
Fannie Mae: Millennials finally starting to buy homes

As Millennials get older, they are increasing homeownership rates faster than in previous years, according to research from Fannie Mae.  

 

The Wall Street Journal
Home equity loans come back to haunt borrowers, banks

The bill is coming due for many homeowners on a type of loan that was widely popular in the run-up to the housing bust, causing a rise in delinquencies at banks. (Subscription may be required.)

 

HOUSING FINANCE NEWS

The Hill
Corker urges Congress to refocus on housing finance reform

A top Senate Republican said on Tuesday that the possible threat of another massive taxpayer bailout for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac highlights the need for Congress to tackle mortgage finance reform.

 

Bloomberg
Fannie, Freddie could need as much as $126 billion in crisis

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could need as much as $125.8 billion in bailout money from taxpayers in a severe economic downturn, according to stress test results released Monday by their regulator.

 

The Hill
How Congress can expand the American dream

What is a significant – and growing – barrier preventing future generations from achieving the American Dream?

 

The Washington Times
Why mortgage principal forgiveness policy is a bad idea

There's nothing like a "good crisis" to give the federal government an opening to spread its tentacles further into private markets. Just look at the vast growth of federal housing programs since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

 

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

The Washington Post
The next big fight over housing could happen, literally, in your back yard

In the new home Julia Coffee designed for herself, handpicking the tiles and the flooring and the red front door, the microwave doesn't work. Neither does the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, the washing machine, nor — including on 100-degree days — the central air.

 

Los Angeles Times
California desperately needs affordable housing — but also a new blueprint for building it

Kate Vershov Downing is a lawyer working for a Silicon Valley technology firm, married to a software engineer. But even with two good jobs in the household, she's been driven out of the Palo Alto housing market, where the home she rents with another couple costs $6,200 in monthly rent and would cost $2.7 million to buy.

 

HOUSING AND THE ELECTION

The Hill
Housing moves into the campaign spotlight

The future of the housing market is finally getting some attention from the presidential campaigns.

 

Miami Herald
Subdued Trump tells home builders he's one of them

Donald Trump gazed out at his business brethren — home builders assembled at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach on Thursday — and reminisced.

 

REGULATORY NEWS

The Washington Post
To help home buyers, ease the regulatory burden on home builders (Letter to the editor by NAHB Chief Economist Rob Dietz)

When it comes to housing, home builders are on the front lines, and we were the first to sound the alarm that tight mortgage lending conditions and shortages of buildable lots and construction workers were impeding the recovery. The July 30 Real Estate article "Too little and for too much" failed to state the primary crisis confronting the housing market: A recent study by the National Association of Home Builders showed that 24 percent of the cost of an average new single-family home is attributable to government regulation.

 

MULTIFAMILY

The Wall Street Journal
Threat of lawsuits crimps condo developments

Gary Godden used to specialize in designing condominiums for first-time buyers near Denver, often completing eight to 10 projects a year before the real-estate crash. (Subscription may be required.)