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Market Studies

Low Inventories Conceal Hidden Vacancies, Threat Looms Nonetheless

While headlines continue to portray a housing market with rising prices and tight inventory, vacancies remain high. Government data released this week reveal a dark cloud looming behind the bright headlines. According to Trulia, more than three-fourths of the nation's largest markets are dealing with more empty homes than prior to the latest housing bubble.

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Report: Housing Bubble Fears May Not Be Unfounded

Though many analysts in recent months have waved off concerns of a new housing bubble in the making, Fitch Ratings says now might actually be a good time to worry. The agency's analysts have identified a bubble risk in continuing price increases and see several factors that could halt, or even reverse, recent market gains, Fitch explained in a report released Wednesday.

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Activity from Homebuyers Picks Up in Aftermath of Shutdown

Homebuyers shook off their fears and returned to the market in force following the re-opening of the government in October, according to data presented by Redfin's Research Center. The online brokerage reported a 58 percent annual increase in the number of interested buyers reaching out to its agents in the week immediately following the resolution of the partial federal government shutdown. The number of clients touring homes and those making offers also grew.

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NAR Hires Managing Director of Data Analytics

Technology is ever-evolving, and it's transforming the real estate industry, generating volumes of information about how people approach and conduct real estate transactions. To help Realtors understand and interpret these trends, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) hired Todd Carpenter to fill a newly created position, managing director of data analytics.

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September Sees Drop in New Private Mortgage Insurance

Member firms of Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) issued a combined 37,501 new mortgage insurance policies with a dollar volume of $9.6 billion in September. Private mortgage insurers' new business for the month represents a drop from the 46,051 new policies issued in August and tracks a drop in August application volume of more than 5,000.

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Borrowers Deemed Less Healthy in Q3 as Prices and LTVs Rise

Borrowers' financial health deteriorated in the third quarter after seeing marked improvement in the previous three-month period, according to recent findings released by the online exchange LendingTree. The company's measurement of borrower health is based on average loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and average credit scores, and with rising home prices, potential borrowers faced more financial pressure.

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Analysts Say Double-Digit Appreciation Will Come to an End by 2014

Although the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes recorded a 10.1 percent year-over-year increase in national home prices in the second quarter, double-digit appreciation is not expected to continue. While the market will continue to see home prices appreciate, those gains are projected to slip to just 5.4 percent by the beginning of next year, CoreLogic reports.

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What Does Fannie Mae’s New LTV Threshold Accomplish?

As of November 1st, Fannie Mae is no longer purchasing loans with loan-to-value ratios above 95 percent, which means borrowers must put up a down payment of at least 5 percent, as opposed to the 3 percent previously required. Industry experts with the Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center argue this move is arbitrary and likely to provide little benefit to the GSE or to taxpayers.

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Half of Consumers Fear Another Housing Bubble Is Forming

While many indicators suggest the housing market is recovering, some fear another bubble is already forming. A survey by Country Financial, a financial services firm in Illinois, found that some 48 percent of Americans believe the market could reach ""bubble"" status within the next two years. Bubble or no bubble, many Americans continue to suffer financial burdens that impede them from homeownership.

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Home Price Increases Widen in September, Sales Weaken

After taking a break in the summer, home price growth got back up to strength in September, according to statistics reported by DataQuick in the company's Property Intelligence Report. DataQuick reported price growth ""resumed at a rapid rate in September and spread to all"" of its 42 reporting counties on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. Other metrics, such as sales, weakened, however.

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