The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee yesterday raised the target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, marking the 15th straight increase since June 2004. The federal funds target rate is the interest rate charged by banks when they borrow funds “overnight” from each other.
“As yet, the run-up in the prices [...]

Americans spent $210 billion on remodeling projects last year, an increase of 5.8% compared with spending in 2004, according to a recent report by the National Association of Home Builders. While remodeling spending surpassed $200 billion for the first time in 2005, NAHB expects spending to climb 13.2% this year to an all-time high of [...]

This architecture was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and continues to be a mainstay in suburbs across the United States. The defining characteristics are half-timbering on bay windows and upper floors, and facades that are dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables. Patterned brick or stone walls are common, as are rounded [...]

One question market watchers are asking is - will the record level of commercial investment transactions that occurred in 2005 continue unabated in 2006?
A total of $268 billion worth of investment-grade commercial real estate (properties valued at over $5.0 million) traded hands last year. This value represented an increase of 44% over transaction volume in [...]

While home price appreciation slowed across the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2005, several regions continued to experience double-digit price growth, according to Freddie Mac’s Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI). The Mountain states led the nation in annual home price appreciation last quarter, with home values rising 19.4% at an annualized rate compared [...]

The annual rate for privately owned housing starts declined to 2.12 million units in February, according to a report released by the U.S. Deptartment of Commerce and as reported by the National Association of Realtors. The February construction pace was down 4.8% from a year ago. Single-family housing starts decreased 0.4% from February 2005, to [...]

Americans believe home prices will continue rising in the coming years, according to a recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. Nearly 50% of respondents believe their home values will increase by 5 to 15% in the next three years, while 25% expect home prices to rise 16% or more over the same period.
Though the majority of [...]

Luxury home prices in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco increased to all-time highs during 2005, according to the First Republic Prestige Home Index, which tracks homes valued at more than $1 million in key California markets. While luxury home prices appreciated by 13% or more for the year in Los Angeles, San Diego [...]

The U.S. leading index rose for the fourth consecutive month in January, increasing 1.1, the Conference Board recently reported. Six of the ten indicators composing the leading index rose in December, including initial claims for unemployment insurance, real money supply, building permits, vendor performance, stock prices and interest rate spread. A key barometer of economic [...]