Archive for December, 2011
Across most of the country, home values are stuck in the doldrums, crimping consumer spending and leaving anxious owners in search of relief.
You’d think the situation would present an inviting opening for the Republican candidates vying to challenge President Obama, who has acknowledged his failure to solve the real estate problem as one of his major policy shortcomings.
Three years into the president’s term, the nation’s housing market remains a mess. Although some data shows some signs of improvement in recent months, one in four homes with mortgages is underwater and homeowners are struggling to cope with the loss of $7 trillion in home equity. Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders calls 2011 the worst in its 69-year history when it comes to construction of new homes.
Home prices in October declined in 19 American cities, as the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price index showed drops in both the 10-city and 20-city composites.
According to the latest S&P report, home prices declined 1.1% and 1.2% for the 10- and 20-city composite indexes.
"There was weakness in the monthly statistics, as 19 of the cities posted price declines in October over September," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. "Eleven of the cities and both composites fell by 1.0% or more during the month. And even though some of the annual rates are improving, 18 cities and both composites are still negative. Nationally, home prices are still below where they were a year ago. The 10-city composite is down 3.0% and the 20-City is down 3.4% compared to October 2010."
S&P said fourteen of 20 metropolitan statistical areas and both the 10 and 20-city composite indexes had improved annual returns up from September.
Miami experienced no change in annual returns in terms of pricing during the month of October, while Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis saw their annual rates worsen. Atlanta experienced the lowest annual pricing return, with prices down 11.7%.
"Atlanta and the Midwest are regions that really stand out in terms of recent relative weakness. Atlanta was down 5% over the month, after having fallen by 5.9% in September," the report said. "It also has the weakest annual return, down 11.7%. Chicago, Cleveland Detroit and Minneapolis all posted monthly declines of 1.0% or more in October. These markets were some of the strongest during the spring/summer buying season. However, Detroit is the healthiest when viewed on an annual basis. It is up 2.5% versus October 2010."
The only metropolitan statistical area to record a positive monthly change was Phoenix, which saw home prices edge up 0.3% from September to October.
Write to Kerri Panchuk.
Backers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are urging the White House to use whatever means necessary to get a director in place, and argue that “extreme” Republican opposition has made such moves not only acceptable, but necessary.
A filibuster-proof bloc of GOP senators promised before a director was even nominated they would block any selection unless changes were made to the new agency’s structure. And they followed through with that promise earlier this month, halting the president’s nominee, Richard Cordray.
For most Americans, Friday afternoons are filled with positive anticipation of the weekend. In Washington, it’s where government officials dump stories they want to bury. Good news gets dropped on Monday so bureaucrats can talk about it all week. When the Securities Exchange Commission chose a recent Friday to announce a lawsuit against six former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives, it wasn’t because the Obama administration wanted to draw attention to the action.
The White House spent tremendous political capital passing the Dodd-Frank financial-regulation law and spared no opportunity to demonize Wall Street for its role in the financial crisis. They’ve blamed big banks, rating agencies, and the derivatives market, and the massive bill itself was sold as a way to prevent future crisis. But the White House narrative – and the bill itself – completely ignores the role of the two mortgage giants in the financial collapse.
