Thursday, June 14, 2012

According to the monthly economic publication from CoreLogic, the housing market continues its gradual pace toward recovery. MarketPulse, compiled by CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Senior Economist Sam Khater, provides insight into the current and future health of the U.S. economic climate with particular focus on housing and mortgage metrics.

Key findings in the June MarketPulse Report include:

• The Home Price Index (HPI), including distressed sales, posted two consecutive months of year-over-year increases in April 2012, the first such increase since the summer of 2010 when the housing market was benefitting from tax credits.
• Single-family construction activity increased 2.3 percent in April, and is up 25 percent over the last six months.
• Months’ supply of unsold homes fell to just more than six months in April 2012 and is currently at the lowest level in more than five years.
• As the flow of REOs has slowed over the last 18 months, negative equity has become a positive force in real estate markets by restricting supply in the face of increasing demand.
• The housing market has transitioned from pricing dynamics driven by economic weakness and high shares of distressed sales to one of restricted supply, which will likely exist for some time to come—a reason for optimism in many hard hit markets.
• Collateral credit standards are now more liberal than at any time in the past two decades when measured by the average combined loan-to-value ratio (CLTV) over time for purchase mortgage loans including first and junior liens.

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