Housing economic indicators report that the market is strong so far this year!
Read Home Destination's Minneapolis Real Estate 2011 In Review and our article on what to expect in "Minneapolis Real Estate in 2012". Great news for homeowners about the National Mortgage Settlement, and foreclosure help for the unemployed.
Inflation Watch: March 2012
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on what the Federal Reserve is doing to help strengthen our economy and increase economic opportunity. Better follow though with the housing market mortgage settlement is imminent. Some states, such as Minnesota lead with a budget surplus and lower jobless statistics. RE/MAX Results reports that in some areas, like Toronto, homes have sold for more than their listed price Wells Fargo reports that personal income rose modestly in March: a solid 0.4 percent and the prior month’s gain was revised 0.1 percentage point higher. Spending rose just 0.3 percent, which allowed the saving rate to rise to 3.8 percent.
Reports across the nation state that there is still a lot of inventory at the lower end but the better value homes are selling faster. On March 13, 2012, the The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index® noted that Minneapolis home sales rose 0.7 percent in February. Trends confirm that property values and home investments are affected by U.S. credit conditions.
The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) Exchange
The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) exchange traded fund has surged this year, as reported March 20, on money.cnn.com leading many to speculate that the housing market has "really, honestly, we're not fooling around this time, cross our hearts and hope to die, bottomed."
Housing Economic Indicators: Home Destination
Helping home buyers who are buying distressed property in the Minneapolis real estate market.
The housing economic indicators show that Minnesota continues to be a strong leader demonstrating that careful spending pays off. As you can see by the chart, the biggest chunk of Minnesota's surplus dollars have gone to HUD to assist our real estate needs. Minneapolis housing economic indicators give encouraging news for area homeowners.
Economist Tom Stinson says, "It's not that we're doing as well as we should, it's not that there isn't a lot left to do," ...we're outperforming the U.S. economy, and we're expected to continue to do that as well. Download your copy of The Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative: A Business Plan to Increase Homeownership in Minnesota’s Emerging Markets. Home owners and business owners are watching closely to see how property tax may benefit in the long run.
Download the latest U.S. Census Bureau News Joint Release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, released November 17, 2011, on new residential construction. 
Download the Federal Reserve Homeowners Independent Foreclosure Review if you feel the economy has pressed you into an unfair foreclosure.
Download the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis report from January 11, 2012 on the Minneapolis real estate market and economic summary.
Inflation Watch: Housing Economic Indicators October 2011
Next release: Nov 16, 2011
October 2011 Highlights
While economic uncertainty moderated price growth in commodities such as oil in August and September, many consumer prices and other commodities continue to advance on a monthly basis. Also, in spite of a second month of weakness, year over year inflation is still high among commodities.
Among consumer goods, only prices for computers and peripheral equipment have declined over the year. Lodging away from home and apparel saw price declines in September though they are still up compared to one year ago.
While core (those excluding food and energy) and headline consumer prices are within the bounds of the target range: 1 to 2 and 2 to 4 percent respectively, they are approaching the upper edge of the bound.
Some consumer prices are advancing at a considerable rate. Necessities such as transportation, food at home, and housing fuels and utilities are areas of concern.
Inflation Watch
Inflation (price-level growth) is important for REALTORS® because it can lead to shifts in interest rate policy by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Generally, the FOMC lowers interest rates to stimulate the economy. However, rates that are too low may lead to inflation. To combat inflation, the central bank increases interest rates but this policy may dampen economic growth.
For example, recently, the FOMC committed to keeping rates low through 2013 to help shore up economic activity, but this commitment comes with its own set of risks.
During the recent financial crisis, fears of deflation (price-level decline) were rampant. (Deflation caused a downward spiral of prices that destroyed the economy in the Great Depression.)
With financial markets now stable, some fear that inflation is around the corner. Stagflation, another unpleasant economic condition characterized by high unemployment and high inflation, is also a possibility.
In stagflation, it is difficult for the central bank to raise interest rates to combat inflation due fear of further job market deterioration if demand is hurt by the increased interest rates.
New Residential Home Sales In September 2011
Sales of new single-family houses in September 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
313,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department
of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.7 percent (±18.4%)* above the revised August rate of
296,000, but is 0.9 percent (±16.3%)* below the September 2010 estimate of 316,000. Download the U.S. Census Bureau News Joint Release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, posted on Oct 26, 2011, on single-family residential sales.
New Residential Construction
(Building Permits, Housing Starts, and Housing Completions)
Be watching with us for Homeowners economic indicators for New Residential Construction news for October 2011 that will be released by the government on Thursday, November 17, 2011. Stay tuned to current updates from Home Destination. Download the U.S. Census Bureau News Joint Release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, released October 19, 2011, on new construction housing economic indicators.