ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2018
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Mortgage rates declined over the past week and have now decreased in four of the past five weeks. Rates hit their high water mark at the end of May due in part to an improving economy and modestly higher inflation pressures. Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.55% t...
06/28/2018
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The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank model for Gross Domestic Product (GDP), economic growth, in the second quarter of 2018 is expected to surge 4.5%, after the 2.2% recorded in the first quarter of this year. GDPNow is not an official forecast of the Atlanta Fed. Rather, it is best viewed as a runni...
06/27/2018
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A recent survey conducted by RENTCafe shows that 83% of renters are kept away from their ideal locations and jobs due to rising rent costs. Nationally, the average rent charged by buildings in top-rated locations is $1,655 per month, 37% more than the national average rent of $1,211 charged in lo...
06/26/2018
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The National Association of REALTORS® reported on Wednesday that Existing Home Sales declined for the second straight month in May. Existing Home Sales were down slightly by 0.4% from April to an annual rate of 5.43 million annualized units, below the 5.55 million expected. From May 2017 to May 2...
06/20/2018
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The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that new home construction surged in May to a near 11-year high led by both single- and multi-family dwellings. Housing Starts rose 5% in May from April to an annual rate of 1.350 million units, above the 1.323 million expected. From May 2017 to May 201...
06/19/2018
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The monthly collection of jobs data in the United States is a combination of science and art. 60,000 American households are asked to complete employment surveys by the 12th of the month. The employment status of the individuals in those 60,000 households is then extrapolated to project national ...
06/18/2018
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Recent tax cuts and a strong labor market sent consumers on a spending spree in May as Americans doled out their hard-earned cash at gas stations, clothing stores and home improvement centers. May Retail Sales surged 0.8 percent from April, well above the 0.4 percent expected. From May 2017 to Ma...
06/14/2018
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Higher oil prices led wholesale prices higher in May as inflation pressures begin to build. The Producer Price Index (PPI) surged 0.5% in May from April, above the 0.3% rise expected. On an annual basis PPI jumped 3.1% from 2.6% in April and was the largest increase since January 2012. The Core P...
06/13/2018
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Small business optimism continued to reach new heights in May due in part to tax cuts and less regulations. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 107.8 in May, the second highest reading in the survey's 45-year history. "Main Street optimism is on a stratospheric trajectory thanks to rec...
06/12/2018
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Housing sentiment continued to strengthen in May, but high home prices complicate consumer purchase confidence, reports Fannie Mae. Higher home prices are due in part to limited inventories of homes for sales on many markets across the nation. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) r...
06/08/2018