December 2012 U.S. Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

U.S. home values poised for best year since 2005




Owners of homes in the U.S. saw the value of their real estate increase by an average of six per cent in 2012, the first annual increase in more than five years.






Data tracking firm Zillow Inc. said Thursday it expects U.S. homes will have increased in value by a cumulative $1.3 trillion US in 2012, bringing the total value of residential real estate to $23.7 trillion.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Why you can't trust Bob Toll's prediction of 20% home price increases in 2013





Bob Toll, Executive Chairman of Toll Brothers, recently told Reuters that home prices are going to jump 20% in 2013 and another 25-30% in 2014.







But before you decide to pile into real estate, you might want to think about it for a moment.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Fear of U.S. fiscal crisis overblown, critics say



America going over the fiscal cliff in January will likely be more of a bumpy toboggan slide for Canadians.





The prospects that U.S. lawmakers won't be able to find the goodwill to arrive at a compromise to prevent a $670-billion economic shock in 2013 dimmed considerably Friday after a vote failed and the House of Representatives headed home for the holidays.





The smart money bet that Republicans, despite their humbling loss in the November elections, couldn't bring themselves to swallow even the mildest tax hike needed to arrive at a deal with the Democrats.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The 12 states that are still getting buried under foreclosures





80,817 homes received foreclosure filings in November, down 3 percent from the previous month, and 19 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac's foreclosure report.







The drop in foreclosure activity was largely driven by a drop in foreclosure starts - the pace at which mortgages enter the foreclosure process - which were down 13 percent on the month.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The 15 worst housing markets for the next 5 years





Housing has turned the corner and is said to be a bright spot in the U.S. economy.






But national home prices are expected to climb just 3.3 percent in the next five years, according to the latest data from Fiserv Case-Shiller.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The 15 best housing markets for the next 5 years





National home prices are expected to climb 0.3 percent in the next year, according to the latest home price report by Fiserv Case-Shiller.







But over the next five years, home prices are projected to rise 3.3 percent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

American growth vs. the world



FOR those who started out the year optimists on American growth (such as me), 2012 was sobering. It looks like America will end the year having grown about 2%, according to Deutsche Bank, marginally below the average pace since the recovery began in mid-2009.





Why was it disappointing? In great part part because the rest of the world had an even worse year. Take a look at the nearby table. Of the world's four major developed economies plus China, America was the only country to grow roughly as fast as the International Monetary Fund projected in the fall of 2011. Europe and the U.K. actually contracted, while China (and several other emerging economies) grew notably less briskly.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Phoenix rental market shines again





The economic engine driving Phoenix has, from its very beginning, been characterized by the five C`s: cattle, climate, copper, citrus, and cotton. It`s a long and storied history in the American Southwest`one that underscores hard work, perseverance, and an ability to put our resources to their highest and best use.







Although most of these economic drivers have changed, Phoenix continues to maximize its greatest resources, which today include powerhouse industries such as technology, health care, and education. These clusters have allowed the city to expand faster than expected and, much like its namesake, to rise from the ashes of the Great Recession stronger and more diversified than ever before.




Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Mortgage forgiveness debt relief act set to expire on December 31, 2012





The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act is set to expire on December 31, 2012. Unless the measure is extended by federal lawmakers, struggling homeowners will no longer be eligible for a tax break that was originally implemented in 2007 in an attempt to slow the nation`s freefalling real estate markets.







The expiration of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act could potentially plunge the nation`s recovering housing market into another tailspin. In short sales and foreclosures, loan forgiveness has not been considered taxable income for homeowners. However, barring any last-minute changes to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, foreclosed families may be forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars after losing their homes.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Foreclosures still present danger to recovery





Foreclosures still present a danger to economic recovery, according to recent data released by the Local Initiatives Support Corp., the Urban Institute and the Center for Housing Policy.







Mortgages delinquent by 90 days or more declined from 5.5 percent in December 2009 to 3.5 percent in September 2012. However, the foreclosure rate remains near an all-time high of 6 percent. More troubling is the increasing foreclosure inventory ` due to more starts versus completions.







Read the full article here.