Real GDP grows 2.4% in Q2

This graph shows actual real GDP vs. potential real GDP:U.S. real gross domestic product increased at a 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter.The U.S. economy continued to grow during the second quarter, the government reported Friday. But the pace slowed more than economists were expecting, raising concern about growth — or even another recession — in the months ahead.Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity,...

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More Americans are chosing to rent

The U.S. home ownership rate continues to fall:The number of Americans who own homes fell in the second quarter of the year to the lowest level since 1999, said a government survey released Tuesday.The Census Bureau said the home ownership rate fell to 66.9% in the second quarter of 2010, down half a percentage point from the previous year. The home ownership rate was 67.1% in the first quarter of the year.And renting is becoming more popular:With homeowner markets stressed, it appears renting has become more appealing than owning. Between 2004...

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Home prices up in May

The S&P/Case-Shiller index was up in May:Home prices rose slightly in May compared with a month earlier, appearing to have stablized at the lower levels that followed the end of the residential real estate bubble, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 major housing markets released Tuesday.Prices were up 1.3% from April, and 4.6% from 12 months earlier.The price rise might have reflected one of the last gasps of the government's incentive program, which paid tax refunds of as much as $8,000 to homebuyers if they signed...

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Cool real estate for sale: Nakatsu Castle

I think this is very cool. If you've got the money, you can now buy your very own Japanese castle.Nakatsu Castle, located in Oita prefecture, in western Japan, is for sale.The castle, a 14-minute walk from the nearest train station and just minutes away from the Sea of Japan coastline, features 5.7 acres of land bordered by a traditional stone wall and moat, with a five-story, steel-framed building. Built in 1964, the current building is a replica...

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New real estate tax in 2013

Apparently, ObamaCare contains a new tax on real estate. It only affects "the rich." However, given enough time and inflation, it may start affecting middle class Americans, much like the A...

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Lost decade ahead? Lost decade behind!

CNN Money warns that the U.S. could experience an economic "lost decade" over the next ten years:The risk of a double-dip recession is getting a lot of attention, but even that grim prediction could prove a little too optimistic.Disappointing job reports, weakness in housing and consumer spending and problems in world financial markets have raised concerns about the U.S. economy stalling out later this year. Now some economists are starting to talk...

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Interesting

From CNN Money: Confessions of former debt collecto...

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More sellers slashing home prices

From CNBC's Diana Olick:That heady buzz from the home buyer tax credit is now turning into a grinding headache, as home sellers realize their very temporary, government-induced catbird seat has now fallen back to earth.As of July 1st, 24 percent of sellers on the market had cut their asking prices at least once, according to Trulia.com.That's up 9 percent from the previous month and represents about $27 billion worth of vanished national home equity (or home equity hopes)."The market is going to maintain a relatively flat trajectory, if not more...

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Mortgage applications hit a 13-year low

With the tax credit mostly gone, we're starting to get a better sense of what the free market thinks of housing:Mortgage applications to buy a home plunged last week — to the lowest level in more than 13 years — as the housing recovery continued to struggle following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, an industry group said Wednesday.The Mortgage Bankers Association said application for mortgages to purchase a home sank a seasonally adjusted...

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REITs vs. Stocks & Commodities

The financial crisis started three years ago this summer. Since that time, real estate investment trusts (REITs) really haven't performed much worse than stocks and commodities.The graph below from Bigcharts.com shows the Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ), the S&P 500 Index (SPX), and the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index ETF (DJP).You would have been worse off during most of the past three years by owning REITs, but today all three asset classes...

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Fed worried about economic double-dip

It appears the Federal Reserve has recently become increasingly worried about the prospect of an economic double-dip:Federal Reserve officials, increasingly concerned over signs the economic recovery is faltering, are considering new steps to bolster growth. ...Top Fed officials still say that the economic recovery is likely to continue into next year and that the policy moves being discussed are not imminent. But weak economic reports, the debt crisis in Europe and faltering financial markets have led them to conclude that the risks of the recovery...

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Alan Greenspan on the economy

Video: Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan on the economy, stocks, the financial sector, and housing.You can count me as one of the people who blame him for the current economic mess, but I still think he's very knowledgeable about the economy. His book, The Age of Turbulence, is excelle...

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Housing outlook grim

The Washington Post illustrates the growing bearish view of the housing market, even as it misleads readers about historical housing prices.After showing signs of a fledgling recovery from the worst downturn in decades, the U.S. housing market appears to be heading back toward the doldrums, as the expiration of a lucrative tax credit for buyers and increased uncertainty about the economy cause home sales to plummet.The sudden weakness in residential real estate has struck nearly every region of the country, according to recent government and industry...

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Enjoy the heat today

Here in the Washington, DC area it's supposed to hit three digits on the thermometer in the late afterno...

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Congress won't let the housing tax credit die

It was originally supposed to expire last fall, but now it will live on through September.First-time homebuyers will have until Sept. 30 to close on their purchases and land an $8,000 tax credit under a bill passed by the Senate late Wednesday.President Obama is expected to sign the bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by the House on Tuesday. The deadline had been June 30.The bill doesn't help anyone currently shopping for a home. Buyers must have signed a contract by April 30 to qualify for the tax break. At issue is when the deal must be...

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