Nationwide housing production gained 2.6 percent from an upwardly revised pace in March to hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units in April, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). This modest gain was seen in both the single- and multifamily sectors, which registered growth of 2.3 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.Click to continue

Mortgage applications increased 9.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 11, 2012. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 9.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8.7 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 13 percent from the previous week.Click to continue

Pro Teck Valuation Services' May HomeValueForecast.com Update explores important housing indicators, such as the number of home sales and months of remaining inventory (MRI) and their impact on home prices nationwide and in select markets. May's HomeValueForecast.com demonstrates that many metro areas hardest hit by price declines may be recovering due to increasing home sales and reduced inventories of homes. Also, the U.S. housing market is stabilizing according to leading MRI indicators.Click to continue

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) composite quarterly Housing Affordability Index (HAI) rose to a record high of 205.9 in the first quarter of 2012, based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate. The higher the index, the greater the household purchasing power. This is the first time the quarterly index broke the 200 mark; recordkeeping began in 1970.Click to continue

According to the Freddie Mac Quarterly Product Transition Report, in the first quarter of 2012, fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) accounted for more than 95 percent of refinance loans. Refinancing borrowers preferred fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or an FRM. Of borrowers who refinanced during Q1, 31 percent reduced their loan term by paying off a 30-year loan and replacing it with a 20-year FRM, 15-year FRM or other shorter-term loan.Click to continue

Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) has announced that its LPS Applied Analytics division updated its home price index (LPS HPI) with residential sales concluded during February 2012. "Our HPI shows an increase in seasonally adjusted prices this month for the first time since March 2010, and for only the third time in five years,” said Raj Dosaj, vice president of LPS Applied Analytics. “There have been signs of price declines slowing for a few months now, and our estimates for next month are flat to slightly positive.Click to continue

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) averaging 3.83 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 10, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.84 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.63 percent. The 30-year FRM has averaged below four percent all but one week since Dec. 8, 2011, helping to keep homebuyer affordability high.Click to continue

According to San Diego-based DataQuick, Las Vegas-area home sales rose to the highest level for in March in six years amid a record level of absentee purchases, the most new-home sales since mid-2010, and continued strength in the sub-$200,000 market. The median price paid for a home in the region edged up from February but fell short of the year-ago level by the smallest amount in a year and a half. In March, 5,020 new and re-sale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County).Click to continue

CoreLogic has released its March Home Price Index (HPI) report which shows that nationally, home prices, including distressed sales, declined on a year-over-year basis by 0.6 percent in March 2012 compared to March 2011. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 0.6 percent in March 2012 compared to February 2012, the first month-over-month increase since July 2011.Click to continue

Phoenix-area home sales dipped in March compared with a year earlier as buyers faced a dwindling supply of foreclosures and other sub-$100,000 properties on the market. With foreclosure re-sales at a nearly four-year low, the median sale price shot up 13.3 percent from March last year, marking the fourth consecutive month in which the median has risen year-over-year, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. A total of 10,005 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during March in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area.Click to continue