Recent Posts by Mark Fleming
Mark Fleming is the chief economist for First American Financial Corporation and leads First American’s Decision Sciences team.
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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Fear the Boom and the Bust: A Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem
By
Mark Fleming on February 4, 2016
In case you hadn’t heard last week, a Twitter debate exploded between the well-known rapper B.o.B and the also, although possibly not equally, well-known astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The debate centered on B.o.B’s belief that the world is actually flat and Tyson’s scientifically reasoned explanation of how we know the world is actually ...
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