• December 8, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The U.S. created 228,000 jobs in November in another sign the economy is running at full tilt. Economists had predicted a 200,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.1%. Wages rose 0.2%, or 5 cents, to an average of $26.55 an hour, the government said Friday. Worker pay increased 2.5%

• December 7, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The Federal Housing Administration announced Thursday that nearly every area of the U.S. will see FHA loan limits increase in 2018. Click the headline to read more about the new loan limits, which will take effect for FHA case numbers assigned on or after Jan. 1, 2018.

• December 7, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

As expected, the Senate Banking Committee overwhelmingly approved Jerome Powell Tuesday to lead the Federal Reserve. All the panel’s Republican and Democrat members voted for Powell except one single Democrat, and now, this bipartisan support all but seals Powell’s future as Federal Reserve Chair.

• December 7, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

• December 6, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The increase in productivity of American firms and workers was unchanged at 3% in the third quarter under the government’s first do-over of its original report. Economists had expected productivity to be reset at 3.3%.

• December 6, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Private-sector employment slowed down in November, as employers added 190,000 jobs Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported Wednesday. Economists had expected an increase of 180,000 private jobs, compared with October estimate of a gain of 235,000.

• December 5, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Economists polled expected non-manufacturing economic activity to shrink slightly in November. The number hit 57.4 in November, vs. 59 estimate

• December 1, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The best way to avoid a possible inversion of the bond market yield curve would be for the Federal Reserve to be cautious about raising the policy rate during 2018, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Friday in a speech in Little Rock, Ark. The yield curve has gotten considerably flatter under Fed Chairwoman

• December 1, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be $453,100, an increase from $424,100 in 2017. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

• November 30, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Consumer spending rose a steady 0.3% in October following a nearly 1% gain in the prior month that was the largest in eight years. Economists polled had forecast a 0.2% increase. Personal income rose 0.4% for the second month in a row. The savings rate, meanwhile, edged up to 3.2% from 3%. Savings had fallen