Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to appear on the Lykken on Lending Blog Talk radio show. On the broadcast, we discussed the National Association of Realtors (NAR) existing-home sales numbers that are released monthly. As you may be aware from my recent comments here and here, I believe that existing home sales have been underperforming ... Read More ›

We’ve posted the April First American Loan Application Defect Index, which estimates the frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications. The Defect Index decreased 1.3 percent in April as compared with March and decreased by 5.1 percent as compared with April 2015. The Defect ... Read More ›

Nominal house prices have been increasing nationally in the US for several years, and some markets have seen significant appreciation in nominal house prices. But, nominal house prices are not adjusted for any inflation. The price of a house today is not directly comparable to the price of that same house 30 years ago because of the long-run ... Read More ›

For the month of April, First American’s proprietary Potential Home Sales model showed that the market for existing-home sales is underperforming its potential by 4.1 percent or an estimated 232,000 seasonally adjusted, annualized rate (SAAR) of sales, an improvement over the last month’s revised performance gap of -7.6 percent or 418,000 (SAAR) ... Read More ›

First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming is quoted in an article in U.S. News & World Report examining why we’re not headed for another housing crisis. Read More ›

We typically, actually almost exclusively, focus on residential real estate in the Economics Center. But, today it’s time to broaden our horizons. Focusing on residential real estate misses all the shops, restaurants, warehouses, hospitals and offices like the one I am sitting in right now writing this. In short, focusing on residential real ... Read More ›