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 Activity Continues to Track Potential

By Mark Fleming on March 17, 2016
For the month of February, First American’s proprietary Potential Home Sales model showed that the market potential for existing-home sales grew by 1.0 percent compared with January and increased by 3.6 percent compared with a year ago. The Potential Home Sales model provides a gauge on whether existing-home sales are under or over their long-run ... Read More

Housing

How Long Will Rates Stay Low

By Mark Fleming on March 16, 2016
This week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is holding their March meeting where they could, just possibly, decide to increase the benchmark Federal Funds Rate again. According to one survey by CNBC, the vast majority expect rates to remain unchanged. In that same survey, nearly all the respondents believed a rate hike was likely in the ... Read More

Interest Rates Federal Reserve

Why Housing Economists Get Excited About March

By Mark Fleming on March 11, 2016
With cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. and warm weather everywhere else just around the corner, it means the spring home-buying season is upon us, right? What better rite of homeownership passage than the Sunday open house on a beautiful spring day? It’s a popular way to spend a Sunday, even if you aren’t really serious about buying, and are just ... Read More

Millennials Homeownership Progress Index

Market Close To Achieving Its Potential

By Mark Fleming on February 18, 2016
For the month of January, First American’s proprietary Potential Home Sales model showed that the market potential for existing-home sales declined by 0.2 percent compared to December and decreased by 7.1 percent compared to a year ago. The Potential Home Sales model provides a gauge on whether existing-home sales are under or over their long-run ... Read More

Housing

A Lackluster Housing Wealth-Creation Engine in South Carolina?

By Mark Fleming on February 17, 2016
When is the best time to sell my house? It is one of the most common questions I am asked as an "expert" in housing. Assuming that one has the choice of timing the decision to sell one’s home, much of the decision has to do with the amount of equity that has built up since purchasing the house, the return on the investment. Traditional measures of ... Read More

Income

A Tale of Two Incomes - Income Inequality and Homeownership

By Mark Fleming on February 9, 2016
Aristotle said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” While people are naturally drawn to the idea of an equal society, the truth of the matter is that it is quite rare, sometimes seemingly impossible. The question is determining when inequality has gone too far, and by what standards of measurement. Read More

Income