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• Poor May Existing Home Sales Reflect Soft Economy and Falling House Prices

  By petergrist on June 21, 2011 • (0)

  

  Existing home sales fell again in May, a casualty of the soft economy and falling house prices. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a 3.8% decline in existing home sales in May, down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million units. This follows a drop of 0.8% in April. Economic activity has been sluggish in recent months,… Read More ›

• Consumer Price Index Up Again in May, but Energy Prices No Longer Rising

  By petergrist on June 15, 2011 • (0)

  

  The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up again in May, but unlike the previous ten months, the increase was not driven by energy prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a 0.2% (SA) increase in the CPI for All Urban Consumers in May—marking the eleventh consecutive increase in overall price levels. On a year-over-year basis, the all-items index is… Read More ›

• Growth in the Producer Price Index Slows in May

  By petergrist on June 14, 2011 • (0)

  The rate of growth in the Producer Price Index (PPI) has finally begun to show signs of slowing, after 7 months of strong growth and eleven consecutive months of increases. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, month-over-month, the PPI for finished goods rose only 0.2% (SA) in May, representing a marked deceleration from the gains observed between January and… Read More ›

• Employment Growth Slows in May, but Home Improvement and Maintenance Jobs Continue to Rise

  By petergrist on June 3, 2011 • (0)

  

  The rate of employment growth slowed considerably in May, with the Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a meager 54,000 increase in total non-farm payroll employment.  This is a marked decrease from the average employment growth of 220,000 per month over the past three months. The report also included downward revisions to the gains registered in… Read More ›

• Home Improvements Drive Rise in Residential Construction Spending in April

  By petergrist on June 1, 2011 • (0)

  

  A marked increase on home improvement expenditure provided a notable rise in private residential construction spending in March, but spending on single-family and multifamily housing construction continued to decline. The Construction Spending report from the Bureau of Census indicated a 3.1% increase in private residential construction spending to $232.1 billion from a downwardly revised $225.07 billion March (March private residential… Read More ›

• New Low in the Case-Shiller House Price Index

  By petergrist on May 31, 2011 • (0)

  

  The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller house price index (HPI) fell to a new low in March with the quarterly National index, as well as the monthly Composite 20 (CS20) and Composite 10 (CS10) indexes sinking below their previous cyclical lows of early 2009. The National index was down 4.1% on a not seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis in the first quarter… Read More ›

• Real GDP Growth a Lackluster 1.8% in First Quarter

  By petergrist on May 26, 2011 • (0)

  The Bureau of Economic Analysis’ (BEA) ‘second estimate’ of growth in real GDP for the first quarter of this year stands at a lackluster 1.8%, a marked deceleration from the 3.1% rate of growth in the previous quarter. The weak result can be attributed to the negative shocks from the Middle East, North Africa and Japan which the U.S. economy… Read More ›

• Downward Pressure on House Prices Easing

  By petergrist on May 25, 2011 • (0)

  

  The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) purchase-only house price index (HPI) fell 2.5% in the first quarter of 2011 to a seasonally adjusted index value of 181.0 (down 3.5% to 179.4 NSA).  According to the FAFA, this is “… the largest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2008 …”—the peak of the recession. This follows a seasonally adjusted 1.4%… Read More ›

• Existing Home Sales Underperforming with Low Appraisals Increasing Contract Cancellations

  By petergrist on May 19, 2011 • (0)

  

  Existing homes sales have lost momentum in the past three months, with another soft result in April.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported an easing of existing home sales in April, down 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 5.05 million units. This follows a substantial (8.9%) decline in February and a modest rise (3.5%) in March—which… Read More ›

• Rising Energy Prices Push Consumer Prices Higher in April

  By petergrist on May 13, 2011 • (0)

  

  Rising energy prices continued to push consumer prices higher in April, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers showing a 0.4% (SA) increase in April—its tenth consecutive increase. Over the last 12 months, the all items index is up 3.2% (NSA). The energy price index was up again, increasing… Read More ›