Commercial & Residential Property Blog

Mortgage applications to purchase homes fell to the lowest level since December 1996, decreasing 3.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly report.

WASHINGTON, DC – With the Obama Administration and Federal Reserve this week sponsoring events that focus on how to ease regulatory burdens on the small business community that are constricting job growth, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today urged policymakers to address the lack of financing for housing production that is impeding the housing and economic recovery.

The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based economic forecasting organization, said on Friday that its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) dropped to 121.5 for the week ended July 2, compared with 122.3 during the week before.

A coalition of housing industry groups joined the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today in announcing plans to file a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for removing the “opt-out” provision from its Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule.

Most families with young children live within a mile of a public elementary school. The most common home heating fuel in the U.S. is gas. Only a third of American homes have a working carbon monoxide detector.

New York–For most, when the subject of affordable housing projects arises, the words “economic stimulus” rarely come to mind, but they should, according to Enterprise Community Partners and the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC).

Economists said May’s decline in home sales may weaken an already tepid economic recovery.

Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages backed off from yearly lows this week, but still remain historically cheap.

Census data shows that the average square footage of a new single-family home dropped to 2,438 in 2009 after peaking at 2,521 in 2007.

Overall applications were up nearly 18 percent from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Applications to refinance home loans were up 21 percent to the highest level since May 2009. That’s because buyers have been taking advantage of near-record-low mortgage rates.