Apartments Push up Homebuilding in September

Check out the story from Moneynews.

Construction firms broke ground on more apartment complexes in September, pushing up the pace of U.S. homebuilding.
Housing starts rose 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.017 million homes, the Commerce Department said Friday. Almost all of the gains came from apartment construction — a volatile category — which increased 18.5 percent after plunging in August.
The sluggish recovery and meager wage growth has left more Americans renting instead of owning homes. Apartment construction has surged 30.3 percent over the past 12 months.

The same site has this story today. 

The drop in mortgage rates below 4 percent has cut into Debra Shultz’s sleep. The New York City banker is busier than she’s been in months, working with three dozen homeowners eager to lower their payments.
Shultz helped a Greenwich Village homeowner on Wednesday lock in a 3.63 percent interest rate for a 30-year fixed jumbo mortgage of more than $900,000. An hour later, the rate jumped to 3.75 percent. One lender changed its rate sheet six times that day.
“It just went crazy,” said Shultz, a senior vice president of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate in New York. “I sent out a blast e-mail to 1,600 clients and had 30 responses right away.”
Mortgage rates are following a slide in 10-year Treasury yields as weaker-than-expected economic data from Germany to China combine with concern about the Ebola virus, sparking demand for safe investments. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 3.97 percent, the lowest since June 2013, Freddie Mac said. Borrowing costs spiked in September before dropping for the last four weeks, giving owners a new opportunity to refinance.

Ted Margaris Construction in Chicago is also featured on Yelp, Super Pages, Yalwa, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Topix, Mojo pages, Ez Local, Kudzu 2 Find Local, Crestwood Private Investor, A Locations, Cyclex USA ,Show Me Local, B 2 Bye Yellowpages, Biz Wiki, QC Times, Facebook page, twitter feed, PJ Star, My Web Times, Link Town, Local Pantagraph,Domain Tools, NWI Times, Chicago At Home, Brush News Tribune, Olney Daily Mail, Santa Fe Mexican, Reporter Herald, PJ Star, Canton Rep, Post Gazette, US Biz Place, My Motherlode, Vail Daily, Tuff Stuff, Totally Local 

Home builder confidence U-turns, drops 5 points

Check out the story here.

  After jumping to the highest level in nine years last month, confidence among U.S. home builders took a sharp U-turn in October.
While still in the positive range, builder sentiment fell 5 points to a level of 54 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Fifty is the line between positive and negative on the index. This reverses four straight months of gains.
"We are seeing a return to the mid-50s index level trend established earlier in the summer, which is in line with the gradual pace of the housing recovery," said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Delaware. "While there was a dip this month, builders are still positive about the housing market."

...

Ted Margaris Construction in Chicago is also featured on Yelp, Super Pages, Yalwa, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Topix, Mojo pages, Ez Local, Kudzu 2 Find Local, Crestwood Private Investor, A Locations, Cyclex USA ,Show Me Local, B 2 Bye Yellowpages, Biz Wiki, QC Times, Facebook page, twitter feed, PJ Star, My Web Times, Link Town, Local Pantagraph,Domain Tools, NWI Times, Chicago At Home, Brush News Tribune, Olney Daily Mail, Santa Fe Mexican, Reporter Herald, PJ Star, Canton Rep, Post Gazette, US Biz Place, My Motherlode, Vail Daily, Tuff Stuff, Totally Local

US stock futures rally on Fed view, earnings

Better earnings point to higher mortgage rates, though this is just one day.

U.S. stock-index futures surged on Friday after a slew of solid earnings reports and on thinking the Federal Reserve might delay the tapering of its stimulus due to a softening global economy.
Futures maintained strong gains after data had housing starts rising 6.3 percent in September after climbing 12.8 percent in August.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday voiced concern about income inequality in the United States, saying the wealthiest five percent hold two-thirds of all assets.
General Electric shares advanced after the company reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. Morgan Stanley rose after tallying an 87 percent increase in third-quarter earnings

...

Ted Margaris Construction in Chicago is also featured on Yelp, Super Pages, Yalwa, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Topix, Mojo pages, Ez Local, Kudzu 2 Find Local, Crestwood Private Investor, A Locations, Cyclex USA ,Show Me Local, B 2 Bye Yellowpages, Biz Wiki, QC Times, Facebook page, twitter feed, PJ Star, My Web Times, Link Town, Local Pantagraph,Domain Tools, NWI Times, Chicago At Home, Brush News Tribune, Olney Daily Mail, Santa Fe Mexican, Reporter Herald, PJ Star, Canton Rep, Post Gazette, US Biz Place, My Motherlode, Vail Daily, Tuff Stuff, Totally Local

Lower mortgage rates a silver lining of stock market drops

Here's the story from the LA Times.

If there's an upside to a plunging stock market, it's that mortgage rates are falling too.
Investors bailing out on stocks have piled into ultra-safe U.S. Treasury bonds, pushing down the government's long-term borrowing costs on Wednesday to the lowest level since June 2013 — about 2.1% annual interest on the 10-year Treasury note. That yield was more than 2.5% at the end of September.
That means fixed mortgage rates, which tend to track the long-term Treasury yield, also are trending down. And that could perk up the lethargic real-estate industry.

With stocks down there is a flight to safety, being bonds, with that, mortgage rates, which are tied to bonds, are dropping. More coverage of the issue here and here.

Unemployment Applications at 14 Year Low

Evidence that the economy is improving. 

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid dropped to the lowest level in 14 years last week, the latest signal that companies are cutting few workers and hiring could remain healthy.
The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000, the lowest level since April 2000. Given that the U.S. population has grown considerably since then, the proportion of the U.S. workforce applying for benefits is even smaller. Applications are a proxy for layoffs.

Ted Margaris Construction in Chicago is also featured on Yelp, Super Pages, Yalwa, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Topix, Mojo pages, Ez Local, Kudzu 2 Find Local, Crestwood Private Investor, A Locations, Cyclex USA ,Show Me Local, B 2 Bye Yellowpages, Biz Wiki, QC Times, Facebook page, twitter feed, PJ Star, My Web Times, Link Town, Local Pantagraph,Domain Tools, NWI Times, Chicago At Home, Brush News Tribune, Olney Daily Mail, Santa Fe Mexican, Reporter Herald, PJ Star, Canton Rep, Post Gazette, US Biz Place, My Motherlode, Vail Daily, Tuff Stuff, Totally Local

Chicago foreclosure rates on the mend

Here's the analysis from Yo Chicago.

In October of last year Chicago had the 3rd highest foreclosure rate in the nation among metro areas with a population greater than 200,000.
In the third quarter of this year, according to data recently released by RealtyTrac, Chicago had the 19th highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 208 housing units in some stage of foreclosure. 

...

Ted Margaris Construction in Chicago is also featured on Yelp, Super Pages, Yalwa, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Topix, Mojo pages, Ez Local, Kudzu 2 Find Local, Crestwood Private Investor, A Locations, Cyclex USA ,Show Me Local, B 2 Bye Yellowpages, Biz Wiki, QC Times, Facebook page, twitter feed, PJ Star, My Web Times, Link Town, Local Pantagraph,Domain Tools, NWI Times, Chicago At Home, Brush News Tribune, Olney Daily Mail, Santa Fe Mexican, Reporter Herald, PJ Star, Canton Rep, Post Gazette, US Biz Place, My Motherlode, Vail Daily, Tuff Stuff, Totally Local

River North Apartment Tower Has New Name & Renderings

Here's the story from Curbed Chicago.

The new apartment tower that developer Fifield Companies is planting near the former Cabrini-Green site has a new name: Avant. Short, but sweet. The tower itself will not be as short, as it will stand at 28 stories when it is eventually completed. Designed by Pappageorge Haymes, the sleek glassy structure will deliver 306 new apartments to the booming River North neighborhood. The tower will feature a host of usual amenities found in newer downtown luxury apartment towers such as an outdoor pool and spa, outdoor fire pit, outdoor grill kitchens, a gym and screening room. No word just yet on rent prices or completion timeline. The former Cabrini-Green area is rapidly changing and developers are quickly pushing in. Expect to see big changes to happen in the following months. 

Ted Margaris Construction in Chicago is also featured on Yelp, Super Pages, Yalwa, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Topix, Mojo pages, Ez Local, Kudzu 2 Find Local, Crestwood Private Investor, A Locations, Cyclex USA ,Show Me Local, B 2 Bye Yellowpages, Biz Wiki, QC Times, Facebook page, twitter feed, PJ Star, My Web Times, Link Town, Local Pantagraph,Domain Tools, NWI Times, Chicago At Home, Brush News Tribune, Olney Daily Mail, Santa Fe Mexican, Reporter Herald, PJ Star, Canton Rep, Post Gazette, US Biz Place, My Motherlode, Vail Daily, Tuff Stuff, Totally Local