Economist Doug Duncan weighs in on the challenges facing economic forecasters today, cutbacks in economic reports produced by Fannie and Freddie, Fed independence, and more. Continue reading
With Trump administration’s Aug. 1 deadline looming, new readings on consumer confidence show would-be homebuyers may be getting less fearful that tariffs will tank the economy. Continue reading
Consumer confidence sank to a five-year low in April over concerns about tariffs, while trade deficit surged to an all-time high in March, and job postings shrank more than expected Continue reading
Investors who fund most home loans are now convinced that the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates again until June after employers add 256,000 jobs in December. Continue reading
Relief would be good news for would-be homebuyers, although purchase loan applications are still up 10 percent from a year ago as mortgage rates hit highest levels since July. Continue reading
Home transactions may be down, but you wouldn’t know it from most brokerage payrolls. Real estate hiring churned along in July, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue reading
Brokers, agents and homebuilders tallied a solid hiring month amid the holiday season even as the downturn in real estate transactions continued, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue reading
Sales of new homes have suffered, but plenty of projects remain active. Homebuilders have yet to make steep cuts to their payrolls, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. Continue reading
Many real estate professionals say the pandemic made them reconsider things like when they want to retire and work-life balance, while others say the last year has just made them want to double down on work. Continue reading
The expectation among forecasters was unemployment could climb as high as 20 percent, but data released Friday showed it actually dropped to 13.3 percent. Continue reading