When the housing and mortgage industries started crashing around 2005-2006, most Americans did not expect it would take so long for the market to recover. Maybe the full scope of the crisis was never understood initially or it was just wishful thinking for most. But, 5 years later, government officials are saying the housing recovery could still take a few more years.
Such pronouncements made me wonder about the future of the housing industry.
Existing-home sales were down again in May and were 15.3 percent below the pace seen a year earlier.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said temporary factors held back the market in May, as implied from prior data on contract signings. “Spiking gasoline prices along with widespread severe weather hurt house shopping in April, leading to soft figures for actual closings in May,” he said. “Current housing market activity indicates a very slow pace of broader economic activity, but recent reversals in oil prices are likely to mitigate the impact going forward. The pace of sales activity in the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first half, and will be much stronger than the second half of last year.”
Three of the four regions in the United States posted declines in May.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a press release this morning saying that the Emergency Homeonwers Loan Program (EHLP) to provide assistance to distressed homeowners in twenty-seven states as well as Puerto Rico. The program has been allotted $1 billion under the Dodd-Frank regulatory reforms.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan commented:
Through the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program the Obama Administration is continung our strong commitment to help keep families in their homes during tough economic times. W
Nothing like getting to work on a Monday morning and finding no fewer than four dismal reports on the housing market in my “Inbox.”
It’s not like anyone thought housing recovered over the weekend (that was pretty clear from the precious few “Open House” signs in my neighborhood at least), but the outlook is deteriorating, and we’re just a day away from getting what is expected to be a weak report on existing home sales for May. Let’s start with home prices from Fannie Mae’s Economics and Mortgage market Analysis Group, which predicts additional home price declines through the third quarter before flattening out at the end of 2011. Full Article…
Building Homes for Heroes built a home for wounded warrior SPC Brendan Marrocco.
Two years after losing all four limbs in a bomb explosion in Iraq, a Staten Island soldier was finally given the keys to his new, state-of-the-art home yesterday.
And he could not stop smiling.
Brendan Marrocco beamed with pride as he crossed the threshold into his new abode in Prince’s Bay, which has been tailor-made to suit his every need.
“It’s very overwhelming. The house is amazing,” the 24-year-old said.
“I can finally just try to live my life like everybody else.
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