This past Friday, The Agency’s Mauricio Umansky appeared on Fox Business “Markets Now” with Dagen McDowel and Connell McShane to discuss the current state of the housing market. Joining him in the discussion, which covered everything from the shortage of homes on the market to property tax and homeowners insurance, was the Corcoran Group founder … Read more

U.S. home prices continue to rise, surging 9.3% in February from a year ago, marking the biggest annual increase in residential real estate prices since 2006.  All 20 cities in the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index saw year-over-year gains. “Home prices continue to show solid increase across all 20 cities,” David Blitzer, head of the Index Committee at S&P Dow … Read more

Sales of new homes increased 1.5% in March over February and more than 18% from a year ago. The new numbers, reported by the Commerce Department today (report-pdf), show that housing is likely to remain a driver of economic growth this year. Most analysts see greater gains ahead, as the spring buying season continues. The only … Read more

Housing starts jumped dramatically in March to their highest level in five years, with total starts gaining almost 47% over last March and up 7% from February 2013. According to the latest report from the Commerce Department, the seasonally adjusted annual rate reached 1.036 million, which Robert Wetenhell, of RBC Capital Markets, notes, is the first time … Read more

The latest S&P Case-Shiller index shows home prices jumping 8.1% in January, marking the biggest year-over-year increase in prices since June 2006. “This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index, which tracks the 20 largest markets in the … Read more

  More people put their homes on the market in February and homes sales jumped to their fastest pace in more than three years, reported the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. The number of available homes for sale rose 10% last month, said the NAR, marking the first monthly gain since April 2012. Analysts believe … Read more

The Commerce Department on Tuesday reported that new home building in the U.S. continues to gain momentum with permits for home construction jumping 4.6% in February, the biggest gain in nearly five years. Once again, analysts say the data supports the notion that it is the housing market that’s driving economic growth in the U.S. right now. … Read more

Limited inventory, low mortgage rates and an increase in demand from buyers continues to drive the pace of home sales. The National Association of Realtors reports this week that purchases of existing homes rose to an annual pace of 4.92 million homes, 9% higher than January 2012. The median home value was also up, with … Read more

The high-end real estate market in California had a banner year in 2012 thanks, in part, to a record number of cash buyers and an upturn in home values. According to The L.A. Times, a record 697 homes sold for more than $5 million in California last year; a marked increase from the previous high … Read more