The judge's ruling supports a federal rule that opens insurers to legal liability for disparate-impact claims.A federal judge in Illinois ruled in favor of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday, concluding a 10-year-old case brought against it by a major insurance industry lobbyist group.The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America first filed the suit against the Housing Department in November 2013, a
Interest expenses exceeded earnings as rates climbedCentral bank boosted interest rates to fight inflationThe Federal Reserve’s expenses exceeded its earnings in 2023 by $114.3 billion, its largest operating loss ever, forcing the US central bank to forgo remittances to the Treasury as interest rates remain elevated.Interest expenses, which includes reserves balances at the Fed’s reverse repo operations, nearly tripled to a $281.1 billio
Existing-home sales decreased 3.3% annually in February, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, sales did improve 9.5% from January — signaling that recovery won't be linear Existing-home sales were on the upswing in February, according to a National Association of Realtors report published on Thursday.The sale of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops declined 3.3 percent year-over-year
The biggest economic story of the post-pandemic period has been inflation.It's a narrative that, at first, had two clear phases. First came the breakneck acceleration in price growth amid reopenings and job changes, when the 12-month inflation rate surged from less than 1% in June 2020 to more than 9% in June 2022.Then the fever appeared to break, with price growth slowing over the next 12 months to just 3.1% in June 2023.Yet it is now clear that
More buyers are leveraging equity from a previous home sale and dodging higher mortgage rates.Home buyers who paid cash accounted for 32% of home sales in January, marking the highest rate since 2014, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. Many leveraged the equity from a prior home sale.Vacation-home buyers and real estate investors made up the bulk of all-cash buyers over the last six months, according to NAR. However, in the last two
Here are key takeaways from the February US jobs report released Friday:Nonfarm payrolls effectively undershot expectations. While they climbed 275,000, more than the 200,000 median estimate in Bloomberg’s survey, that was only after the previous two months of payroll gains were revised lower by 167,000.The unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 3.9%, the highest in two years, with the household survey of employment showing the fou
Spring hasn’t officially sprung yet, but the spring housing market already appears to be on the move despite stubbornly higher mortgage rates.Mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 11% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Demand was still 8% lower than the same week one year ago.The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with
Borrowing costs, which are rising toward 7% again, are putting a damper on the housing market.Recent swings in mortgage rates are helping to drag down contract signings, which fell 5% in January, the National Association of REALTORS® reported this week. Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator of housing activity based on contract signings, were down 8.8% compared to a year earlier.“The job market is solid, and the country’s total wea
New-home sales increased 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 661,000. Economists say the report, alongside improved builder sentiment, shows promise for a robust springNew-home sales improved across the board in January, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday.New-home sales, which include when a homebuyer makes a deposit or signs a sales agreement, increased 1.8 percent year
Escalating borrowing costs may interrupt a rebound in home sales—if only briefly.Mortgage rates have started climbing again, reaching the highest level since mid-December. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to an average of 6.9% this week, Freddie Mac reports. Home prices also are weighing on buyers’ budgets, with the median price nationwide surging last month to a record $379,100, the National Association of REALTORS® reported.What’s
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