Commercial & Residential Property Blog

More than 3,100 state and local government agencies have responded to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s campaign to expand hiring and contracting opportunities for low-income persons. As a result of the effort, three out of four HUD-funded state and local agencies submitted required annual reports, the largest response since HUD made Section 3 reporting mandatory.

About 36,000 employees were shown the door in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, but it wasn’t enough to budge the official unemployment rate of 9.7 percent. Moreover, it was fewer job losses than expected.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of national economic conditions reported that the economy is improving.

Bad weather was blamed for slow home sales and construction in New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. The Fed also reported sluggish lending with banks still cautious and borrowers reluctant to take out big loans.

The economic recovery seems on track for slow but steady gains after reports Tuesday showed growth in manufacturing activity, construction spending and contracts to buy homes.

The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased seven basis points last week to 4.62 percent, down from 4.69 percent the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by leading real estate Web site Zillow.com®. Rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell four basis points to 4.19 percent from 4.23 percent, while 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages increased five basis points to 3.74 percent, from 3.69 percent the week prior.

Banks that write a majority of mortgages and other loans in the U.S. say that borrowers have improved their repayment records in the third quarter of this year.

In the third quarter, Bank of America saw the first decrease in the numbers of customers that were more than 90 days late paying home equity loans. Wells Fargo’s loss rate on its credit card loans declined to 10.9 percent from 11.6 percent.

The Federal Reserve’s most recent Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, better known as the Beige Book, wasn’t exactly cheerful about the state of the U.S. economy toward the end of annus horribilis 2009. But it wasn’t precisely pessimistic either.

Mostly the report seemed to shrug its shoulders to indicate that things could be worse. “Leading the more positive sector reports among Districts were residential real estate and manufacturing, both of which continued a pattern of improvement that emerged over the summer,” it noted. “Reports on consumer spending and nonfinancial services were mixed.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan tossed out two more cents on the economy on Sunday, estimating that the recovery will be a little more V-shaped than he previously thought, with 3 percent growth in the quarter just ended instead of 2.5 percent (and “possibly even higher.”)

Ahead of the report on Friday about unemployment from the U.S. Department of Labor, from which no one is expecting particularly good news, various members of the Federal Reserve were on the speaking circuit talking about the economy and the role of the Fed. Richmond Federal Reserve bank president Jeffrey Lacker, for example, told Bloomburg radio that “The risk of a double-dip has diminished quite substantially.”

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke made a case to Congress on Thursday that the Fed needed additional powers to oversee banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, and others. He also admitted that the Fed hasn’t done a good job protecting consumers but said improvements are being made.