June 2012 U.S. Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

FHFA house price index rises 0.8%, beating expectations





Headline: The FHFA house price index climbed 0.8 percent month-over-month in April.






Last month's number was revised down to a 1.6 percent gain.




The U.S. index is 17.6 percent below its April 2007 peak. The monthly HPI Index is now at the same level it was in May 2004.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The 3 most important factors driving home prices in the U.S.





Some argue that the U.S. housing market has bottomed already, and recent housing data suggests that national home prices are in the early stages of recovery.






But housing is local, and price growth changes depend on the market.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The three biggest headwinds to the U.S. economy





The U.S. economic recovery has been weak and the looming fiscal cliff threatens to act as a further drag on the economy.








Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg says this is the softest recovery ever recorded considering the massive government stimulus over the past three years. And the fact that recovery has been so weak shows that policymakers still face three major headwinds.




First, the U.S. is still in "the throes of a consumer debt paydown cycle which is unprecedented and inherently deflationary." It typically takes six - seven years before deleveraging cycles are done and the U.S. economy is still not even at halfway through running its course.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

New home sales reach two-year high in the U.S.





New single-family home sales surged in May to a two-year high and prices rose from a year ago amid tightening supply, further signs the housing market was gaining some momentum.







The Commerce Department said on Monday sales jumped 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 369,000-unit annual rate, the highest since April 2010.







Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 346,000-unit rate last month from April's 343,000-unit pace. March's sales pace was revised up to 347,000 units from the previously reported 332,000 units.






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[Ally]

Robert Shiller goes off the deep end with his new housing proposal





Robert Shiller has finally gone off the deep end. He wants to condemn millions of US guaranteed mortgages from the bankster mafia.






Shiller:


My colleague Karl Case and I showed in 1996 that when the value of a home falls below the value of the mortgage debt ` when it is underwater ` a person is much more likely to default on the mortgage. And it is well known that in foreclosures, lenders lose so much on the legal costs and depressed market values of the homes that it would be in their interest to lower mortgage balances so the homeowners stay in place and don`t default.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Most economists agree that home prices will bottom in 2013



SEATTLE, June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Economists continued to predict home prices will decline only slightly in 2012, falling 0.4 percent for the entire year, and will increase thereafter, according to the June 2012 Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, compiled from 114 responses by a diverse group of economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists.





For the first time, the individual economists surveyed were largely in agreement on the trajectory of home prices nationally, signaling that a true bottom may be imminent.





The survey, sponsored by leading real estate information marketplace Zillow, Inc. /quotes/zigman/5930210/quotes/nls/z Z -1.82% and conducted by Pulsenomics LLC, is based on the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index during the coming five years.





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[Ally]

North Dakota energy policy is a model for the country




BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) ` North Dakota's robust and diverse energy sector can provide a model for creating jobs and help reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, officials said Monday.




Sen. John Hoeven and Gov. Jack Dalrymple were among the speakers at the Renewable Energy Action Summit in Bismarck. They, along with government and industry officials, said North Dakota's energy policy has expanded traditional and renewable energy sources, advanced technology, provided certainty for developers, spurred investment and created jobs.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The housing bust isn't over, we've got 2 or 3 more years of pain







Gluskin Sheff chief economist David Rosenberg was on Bloomberg TV this morning talking about the U.S. housing market




Rosenberg said that although home prices do appear to be carving out a bottom, there are major issues that will put downward pressure on prices for a while yet.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

U.S. pending home sales match two-year high



Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes matched a two-year high in May, fuelling optimism the housing market is poised for a recovery.





The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, rose 5.9 percent to 101.1. The index level matched the two-year high reached in March, while the gain was the largest since October, 2011.





Before March, the last time pending home sales were as high was April, 2010, when buyers were rushing to beat the deadline for a home-buyer tax credit, which was about to expire, the NAR said.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

U.S. GDP reading unchanged, but consumer spending less robust



The U.S. economy slowed as expected in the first quarter, but a less robust pace of consumer spending and export growth than previously estimated could dampen the economic outlook for the current period.





Gross domestic product increased at a 1.9-per-cent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its final reading on Thursday, unchanged from its estimate last month. That was in line with economists` expectations.





However, when measured from the income side, the economy grew at a 3.1-per-cent pace in the first quarter, up from 2.6 per cent in the previous quarter.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

U.S. housing market poised for new boom



Amid waves of troubling global economic news, there`s a sleeper story that`s gone largely overlooked, particularly in financial markets.





The U.S. housing market is doing much better. And it`s now on the cusp of what could be a dramatic turnaround.





That`s the conclusion of a new report by Vancouver-based independent housing economist Doug Smyth, who argues, among other good things, that millions of newly created jobs will eventually power another boom in demand for softwood lumber.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

15 hottest American cities of the future





Although it's hard to predict what the future will hold, we've come up with a list of 15 cities that we think will be hot in 20 years.







To compile this list we looked at job growth, population growth and demographics, affordability, livability, and the health and well being of the residents.







We also considered how the city is innovating in terms of technology, sustainability, culture, and more. And we thought about how "cool" the city is--an important factor in attracting the young, creative types who will make the city hot.







Read the full article here.