CoreLogic, a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, released its October MarketPulse report this past Friday. The monthly publication provides insight into the health of the U.S. economy with emphasis on housing and mortgage metrics. CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Senior Economist Sam Khater, along with colleagues from the CoreLogic Mortgage Analytics and Economics group, authored the articles.
Key findings in the October MarketPulse Report include:
• The 2012 housing recovery is expected to be more durable than in prior years because of an improved balance between supply and demand. Given the solid performance of home prices in the spring of 2012, even a stronger-than-projected decline in the fourth quarter of this year is unlikely to diminish the gains made.
• According to CoreLogic estimates, new home sales are up 24 percent over a year ago and existing home sales are up 11 percent over a year ago. This demand is fundamentally driven by institutional investor interest in single-family residential properties as an asset class, pent up demand returning to the market, and increasing consumer confidence in housing.
• About a million borrowers are still unable to access refinancing programs. This is due in part to the inability of a large number of borrowers to take advantage of lower interest rate refinancing on loans originated after May 2009, despite efforts by the Federal Reserve and Federal Housing Administration to implement policies aimed at lessening mortgage debt for struggling borrowers since the start of the U.S. housing recession.
For a full copy of the October CoreLogic MarketPulse report, including a complete set of data and charts, visit http://www.corelogic.com/downloadable-docs/MarketPulse_2012-October.pdf.
