Posted About Five Years Ago
by
NAHB
|
ECONOMIC NEWS
|
|
|
|
MarketWatch
|
|
Housing starts soar in January, building permits hit 10 1/2-year high
|
|
Construction on new homes in the U.S., known as housing starts, jumped almost 10% in January to an annual rate of 1.33 million. That's the second highest level since the Great Recession and it easily exceeded the 1.24 million forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Realtor.com
|
|
Who ordered all the McMansions? 10 cities where they're piled highest
|
|
You know them when you see them. The imposing, ostentatious structures looming over surprisingly wee plots of land. The crazily mismatched architectural styles. The hipped roofs, gabled roofs, and pyramidal roofs—all on the same house! The bank columns. The front yard Romanesque fountains. The puzzling profusion of window sizes and types. The gigantic, two-story front doors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
CNBC
|
|
Here's how a 5% mortgage rate would roil the US housing market
|
|
Mortgage rates are now at their highest level in four years and poised to move even higher. The timing couldn't be worse, as the usually busy spring housing market kicked into gear early this year amid higher home prices and strong competition for a record low supply of homes for sale.
|
|
|
|
USA Today
|
|
U.S. mortgage rates climb to a nearly 4-year peak
|
|
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped this week to their highest level in nearly four years, a sign that the prospect of higher inflation is steadily increasing the cost of borrowing to buy a home.
|
|
Fox News (AP)
|
|
NIMBY vs. YIMBY: Housing battle brews in booming Seattle
|
|
Seattle's booming tech industry has brought a massive influx of new residents with big wallets to the city. But an ensuing housing crunch has led to skyrocketing rents and home prices that have strained middle- and working-class families and deepened the city's crisis of homelessness.
|
|
|
|
The Wall Street Journal
|
|
The new tax law: How will the tax overhaul affect the economy?
|
|
President Donald Trump and Republicans are betting the 2017 tax overhaul will invigorate the U.S. economy after a long but slow expansion, putting controversial economic theories about growth to a crucial test. (Subscription may be required.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOUSING FINANCE NEWS
|
|
National Mortgage News
|
|
Has GSE reform hit the skids?
|
|
Despite a legislative push by some senators and other stakeholders to jump-start housing finance reform, efforts to form consensus over a bill once again are stuck in neutral. (Subscription may be required.)
|
|
|
|
The Wall Street Journal
|
|
Another plea from Fannie Mae
|
|
Fannie Mae is again going hat in hand to taxpayers after announcing a $6.5 billion quarterly loss on Wednesday. Washington should take this news as a kick in the keister to finally start winding down the mortgage giant and its busted brother, Freddie Mac . But the Trump Administration seems to be moving in the opposite direction. (Subscription may be required.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HousingWire
|
|
Mortgage Choice Act approved by House of Representatives
|
|
The House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass the Mortgage Choice Act of 2017, which would adjust the Truth in Lending Act's definitions of points and fees under the Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgage rule.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INCLUSIONARY ZONING
|
|
The Wall Street Journal
|
|
The high cost of 'affordable housing' mandates
|
|
As housing prices recover from the Great Recession, municipalities across America are considering laws that will raise the cost of homeownership. The Wall Street Journal reports that cities like Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta are requiring developers to set aside some portion of their new units to sell or rent at below-market prices to low-income households. Like many progressive promises, this is a fool's errand. These laws will reduce the cost of housing for targeted political groups if they increase the cost of housing for everyone else. (Subscription may be required.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
