Category: Real Estate Finance

• January 30, 2018
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• realestatelife

Consumer confidence rebounded in the first month of the new year, climbing to 125.4 in January from a revised 123.1 at the end of 2017, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by had forecast a 125.0 reading. Americans were a little less sure about the economy in early 2018, but they expect growth to

• January 30, 2018
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• realestatelife

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in the three-month period ending in November compared to the same period ending in October, and was up 6.4% compared to a year before. The national index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% for the month, and 6.2% for the year.

• January 29, 2018
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• realestatelife

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose above 2.7% on Monday, adding to a persistent climb in yields for U.S. government paper on expectations of increased interest rates, an upbeat economic outlook and anticipation of greater issuance of government bonds.

• January 29, 2018
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• realestatelife

Consumer spending climbed 0.4% in December, capping off the biggest increase in household buying since 2011. Economists had forecast a 0.5% increase.  Americans were able to spend more last year partly because of rising incomes. They rose 0.4% in December and advanced 3.1% for the full year, the largest increase since 2015. Yet households drew

• January 27, 2018
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• realestatelife

Fresh off a resounding confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Jerome Powell takes over as chairman of the Federal Reserve next week with the central bank facing big decisions about monetary policy.
 The Fed is not only in the process of gradually raising interest rates, it also has been slowly reducing its massive balance sheet in

• January 27, 2018
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• realestatelife

Interest rates and classic measures of inflation have been pinned down to historically muted levels in recent years. As both show signs of creeping higher, some market watchers see the combination as a potential headwind for stocks. Inflation and the 10-year Treasury yield rising together are of particular importance.  The combination could be the “fly

• January 26, 2018
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• realestatelife

The U.S. expanded at a 2.6% annual pace in fourth quarter, extending one of the best stretches of growth during the current eight-and-a-half-year-old upturn. GDP fell short of the 3% forecast, however, owing to lower inventory production and a bigger trade deficit. Consumer spending, the main engine of the economy, rose a strong 3.8%, the

• January 26, 2018
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• realestatelife

President Donald Trump expects the U.S. economy to continue powering ahead in coming years, saying economic growth is likely to be higher than what most economists currently expect. In an interview aired Friday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump was asked about forecasts that the U.S. economy would expand around 3% in the

• January 25, 2018
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• realestatelife

Initial U.S. jobless claims rose by 13,000 to 233,000 in the seven days ended Jan. 20. below the 240,000 forecast of economists. The more stable monthly average of claims fell by 3,500 to 240,000, the government said Thursday.

• January 24, 2018
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• realestatelife

Existing-home sales were at a 5.57 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in December, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. Sales of previously-owned homes tumbled in December as an ongoing inventory crunch worsened. Existing-home sales were down 3.6% for the month, though they were up 1.1% compared to a year ago. NAR said November’s selling