NAR Existing-Home Sales numbers for April will be released on Thursday, May 21st. We have crunched the numbers based on April data and believe that the market continues to under-achieve relative to its capacity. Based on fundamentals, housing market capacity continued to strengthen in April based on the most recent information on labor markets, ... Read More ›

As demand for housing continues to grow, one of the key factors holding back growth is the limited number of available homes on the market. Mark Fleming, First American's chief economist, commented on this "weird" phenomenon in a recent CNBC story that points again to the supply problem at the heart of housing today. Read More ›

First American recently released the First American/Interthinx fourth quarter 2014 Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. You can view the full, interactive report here. First, let’s consider the main headline, “Fraud risk is up three percent from the third quarter, but unchanged from a year ago.” So, fraud, for now, isn’t trending for the worse or the ... Read More ›

First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming was featured in a panel discussion on Fox Business' The Willis Report on May 4 discussing the status of the housing recovery. Read More ›

First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming commented in the MReport that expects mortgage rates to remain low for the foreseeable future. Fleming also predicted that increased rate increases may not happen for a couple years. “It may be as late as 2016, dependent mostly on inflation and labor market conditions over the next six months,” Fleming ... Read More ›

Mark Fleming, First American's chief economist, recently told Inman News that the primary cause of lagging home sales — and constrained inventory — remains the large share of homeowners with “negative equity,” Read More ›