After an alarming decline of 0.5% in March, retail spending has shown minor improvement in April, as sales showed a positive increase of 0.1% to $419 billion. In spite of this improvement, the Washington D.C.-based Conference Board predicts that the spring spending swoon will carry over to the summer. According to the Conference Board, the […]
Foreclosure activity in the state of Massachusetts continued to fall this quarter—signaling further economic recovery for the Bay State. The number of foreclosures in Massachusetts has remained under 1,000 for the fourth consecutive month, while petitions signaling the first step of a foreclosure have decreased by 38% year over year. 856 petitions were filed this […]
Construction of homes in the U.S. took a slight dip in January, however, still remains high relative to 2008. The Commerce Department says that construction declined from the 8.5% peak seen this past December to 7.8%. However, housing experts attribute this type of dip is seasonal and that January has always been a slow month in the […]
Following the housing bubble, construction of new homes declined sharply. The effects of low home inventories were felt in 2012 and will continue throughout 2013. The MLS Property Information Network reports that prospective buyers in Massachusetts had 23% fewer homes to select from compared to this time last year. In fact, in just Boston alone […]
Good news for the Massachusetts housing market—sales of single-family homes increase by an astonishing 21% in October compared to last year’s figures. Furthermore, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported that October was the 16th consecutive month where sales were higher than during the same month in the previous year. In addition, the group also reported […]
Last week, the Federal Housing Administration made headlines when it ended September with $16.3 billion in projected losses. Now some officials are speculating that the Administration will need a taxpayer “bailout” by the US Treasury. The FHA is required to hold cash in reserve to cover its liabilities—the mortgages it ensures. However, the housing recovery […]
