Recent Posts by Mark Fleming

Mark Fleming is the chief economist for First American Financial Corporation and leads First American’s Decision Sciences team.
Market is Missing Its Potential Due to Tight Supply
By
Mark Fleming on October 18, 2016
First American has updated its proprietary Potential Home Sales model for the month of September.
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Automation Angst – The Polarization of the Labor Market in the 21st Century
By
Mark Fleming on October 11, 2016
Success achieving the American Dream of homeownership is, in large part, dependent on the ability to earn a good income. For much of the last century, a job in manufacturing provided a stable and solid income. In fact, after World War II, the United States was the manufacturer to the world, as America’s post-war economic boom changed the way we ...
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Market Potential Improves on the Back of Gains in Income
By
Mark Fleming on September 20, 2016
For the month of August, First American’s proprietary Potential Home Sales model showed that the market for existing-home sales is underperforming its potential by 5.6 percent or an estimated 323,000 seasonally adjusted, annualized rate (SAAR) of sales, an improvement relative to last month’s revised performance gap of -5.7 percent or 328,000 ...
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Market Hovering at Potential in Era of Many Housing “Positives”
By
Mark Fleming on August 22, 2016
For the month of July, First American’s proprietary Potential Home Sales model showed that the market for existing-home sales is underperforming its potential by 1.3 percent or an estimated 92,000 seasonally adjusted, annualized rate (SAAR) of sales, an improvement over last month’s revised under-performance gap of 1.8 percent, or 104,000 (SAAR) ...
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The Power of Leverage
By
Mark Fleming on August 18, 2016
The importance of measuring housing affordability is paramount. Homeownership is synonymous with the American Dream and all of the wealth-building benefits that it provides, and housing is the single largest monthly expense for most households. Yet, there are many ways to measure the affordability of housing.
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Era of Uncertainty Continues to Drive Consumer House-Buying Power
By
Mark Fleming on July 25, 2016
First American’s proprietary Real House Price Index (RHPI) looks at May 2016 data and includes analysis from First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming explaining the forces behind the continued low mortgage rate environment and the impact on consumer house-buying power.
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