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Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of July 30, 2012 - Last week's housing reports weren't quite the head shot Apple's co-founder referred to, but they still required us to keep the faith. June New Home Sales were down 8.4%, coming in at a 350,000 annual rate. But the trend of a gradual recovery is still there, with new home sales UP 15.1% versus a year ago. The new home median price is down 3.2% versus a year ago, yet the average price is UP 0.3% and the inventory of completed new homes is at the lowest level on record, a 4.9 month supply.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of July 23, 2012 - The famed British statesman's advice certainly applies to the housing market. Indeed, those who haven't given up are starting to see positive signs. Wednesday, June Housing Starts were UP 6.9% for the month, UP 23.4% compared to a year ago and at their highest annual rate since October 2008.The total number of homes under construction (started but not finished) gained for the tenth month in a row, the first time that's happened since 2003-2004. No wonder Home Builder Confidence had its biggest monthly jump in almost 10 years.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of July 16, 2012 - Everyone working in the housing market certainly has shown perseverance and it seems to be paying off. While the overall economy slows, there are signs of the start of a housing recovery. Bloomberg reports all major home price indexes registered modest national increases. Almost 10% more existing homes were sold in May than a year earlier. The inventory of existing homes has dropped close to a normal level of six months, key to sustaining spring home price gains. Housing starts were up 26% in May over the prior year and the inventory of new homes is back at 2005 levels.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of July 2, 2012 - Getting ready to celebrate our nation's independence, it's appropriate to note this sage advice from a founding father, as we see more signs that our energy and persistence are finally paying off in the housing market. New home sales were expected to be the last to recover, yet they were UP 7.6% in May to a 369,000 annual rate and are UP almost 20% over a year ago! Plus, the median price was up 5.6% from a year ago and the supply dropped to 4.7 months!

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of June 25, 2012 - Those of us who toil in the U.S. housing market have certainly stayed with our problems a long time. But you don't have to be Einstein to see light at the end of the tunnel. Housing starts were down slightly in May but are UP 28.5% over a year ago. Single-family starts were actually up 3.2% for the month and are UP 26.2% versus a year ago. New Building Permits went up 7.9% for the month and are UP 25% versus a year ago. Total number of homes under construction gained for the ninth month in a row, which hasn't happened since 2003-2004!

Austin Mortgage Market Update - For the week of June 11, 2012 - Forward is where the housing recovery appears to be going, though some advances are bigger than others. According to a leading data aggregator, home prices rose in April for the second month in a row, UP 2.2% over March and UP 1.1% versus a year ago. Taking out distressed sales, prices were UP 2.6% for the month and UP 1.9% year over year. These price gains are at a rate not seen since late 2006 and better than 2010, when sales jumped thanks to the federal tax credit.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of June 4, 2012 - Those looking for healing in the housing market needed to see past April's 5.5% dip in Pending Home Sales and focus on the 14.4% gain in the index compared to a year ago. The small drop ended a three month run of monthly gains, but we've now had annual gains for 12 months straight! The National Association of Realtors' chief economist stated, "Housing market activity has clearly broken out at notably higher levels and is on track to see the best performance since 2007."

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of May 21, 2012 - Home builders are doing plenty with what they have, as Housing Starts rose 2.6% in April to a 717,000 annual rate. Single-family units were up 2.3% for the month and are up 18.8% from a year ago. Multi-family starts were up 3.2% for the month and are up a whopping 63.0% from a year ago. This reflects interest in the condo market, attractive to first time buyers and downsizers, as well as to investors in rental units. Building Permits were down 7.0% in April to a 715,000 annual rate, although permits for single-unit homes are up 18.5% versus a year ago.

Texas Mortgage Market Update - For the week of May 14, 2012 - There are more and more opportunities to grab in the housing market. After almost six years of price declines, we're finally seeing signs of stability, as home prices rose in the first quarter in more than half the U.S. metro areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median price for existing homes sold was higher than a year ago in 51% of the areas -- 74 of 146 metros.