RealEstateEconomyWatch.com Insight and Intelligence on Residential Real Estate

  The frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications increased 3.9 percent in March 2017 as compared with the previous month. Firse American’s Defect Index for purchase transactions increased 2.4 percent compared to last month, and is up 3.6 percent compared to a year ago. “This month, the Loan Application Defect Index continued to trend upward as the risk on refinance and purchase transactions both increased compared to a month ago,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “After four consecutive months of increased defect risk, it’s fair to call this a … Read More »

For the second straight month, the three-year inventory drought punished sales in April, driving them down on every national market report despite demand so strong the prices continued to soar and time on market continued to fall as homes sold a record-setting pace. Sales fell from 2.3 percent to 4.6 percent on a monthly basis and now trail last year’s sales in two of the three national reports that include sales data.  Insatiable demand pushed prices from 5.2 to 9 percent higher than they were last April, squeezing affordability even more. “We may be seeing some frustration from buyers,” said … Read More »