December 11, 2012
More Americans Believe Economy Headed in Right Direction
Americans are showing increased confidence in the housing market and the direction of the economy. According to results from Fannie Mae’s November 2012 National Housing Survey, such improvement bodes especially well for continued strengthening in the housing sector, which in turn is likely to support overall economic growth.
Homeownership and Renting
• Average home price change expectation held steady at 1.7 percent.
• Fourteen percent of those surveyed say that home prices will go down in the next 12 months, a 4 percentage point increase over last month.
• The percentage who think mortgage rates will go up continued to rise, increasing 4 percentage points in November to 41 percent.
• Twenty-three percent of respondents say it is a good time to sell, a 5 percentage point increase over last month, and the highest level since the survey’s inception.
• The average rental price expectation hit 4 percent in November, a 0.9 percent rise over the past two months.
• Forty-eight percent of those surveyed say home rental prices will go up in the next 12 months, a slight decrease from last month.
• The share of respondents who said they would buy if they were going to move held relatively steady at 67 percent.
• Fifty-one percent of respondents now say it would be easy to get a mortgage, marking the highest rate since the survey’s inception.
The Economy and Household Finances
• Hitting 50 percent for the first time since the survey’s inception, the percentage who think the economy is on the wrong track has declined by 25 percentage points over the past year, and by 6 percentage points from last month.
• The percentage who expect their personal financial situation to get worse over the next 12 months rose 5 percentage points to 18 percent, the highest level since December 2011.
• Meanwhile, 21 percent of respondents say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago.
• Household expenses remained stable over the past month, with 56 percent responding that their household expenses stayed the same compared to 12 months ago.November 3, 2012

December 10, 2012
Unemployment in U.S. Falls to 7.7 Percent
The nation’s unemployment rate dropped from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent last month - the lowest in nearly four years - as businesses added another 146,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.
The job gains were close to the average of 151,000 a month so far this year - enough new openings to slowly put the 12 million people who are job-hunting back to work. Nearly 50,000 fewer jobs were created in September and October than originally reported by the department, however, according to revisions based on more complete information from the states. The rate is lowest recorded since December 2008, just before President Obama took office. 

Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Hit New Record Lows
Mortgage rates hit new record lows last week with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropping to 3.50 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.40 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate slipped to 2.84 percent and the larger jumbo 30-year mortgage inched lower to 3.98 percent, resetting a record low for the 6th week in a row. The 3-year ARM dipped to 2.84 percent and the popular 5-year ARM remained unchanged at 2.74 percent.
The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At the time, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 3.50 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $898.09, a difference of $344 per month for anyone refinancing now.

New Credit Risk Scoring May Lead to Qualifying More Borrowers
Evidence is growing that more borrowers will be approved for a mortgage without increasing risk to lenders through more sophisticated credit risk scoring that uses alternative data, such as unsecured credit and property history in consumer credit report analysis, according to a new report by the CEB TowerGroup.
CEB TowerGroup evaluated data from a joint analysis conducted by CoreLogic and FICO that compares the FICO® Score used by most lenders today with a new score launched in July that evaluates the traditional credit data from national credit data repositories and the unique alternative credit data contained in the recently launched CoreScoreTM credit report. The analysis of 300,000 mortgage applications found that 3,100 more applicants would receive a qualifying credit score of 700 and approximately 70 percent of a sample population saw their credit score improve.
The report included a joint analysis by CoreLogic and FICO that found that enhancing the process of determining risk with new alternative data and analytics would allow lenders to approve loan applications that might otherwise be denied, or deny problem loans that might otherwise be approved. Both outcomes would help consumers and the market itself, says Tim Grace, senior vice president of Product Management at CoreLogic.
The report, titled "Enhanced Credit Data and Scoring: Deeper Insight into Mortgage Applicants," notes that consumers used to pay mortgage debts first, but because of the recent financial crisis some consumers now treat paying other debts, such as credit card bills and car payments, as a higher priority to maintain personal financial liquidity.

Consumer sentiment at highest in five years
Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five years in October as Americans were more upbeat about prospects for the economy and their own finances. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 82.6 from 78.3 in September. It was at its highest level since September 2007 on a final reading basis.

Homebuilding to Get Boost From Falling Foreclosures
Homebuilders may benefit from the drop in distressed properties in recent months, which might spur greater activity in new-home construction. Distressed home sales have hampered home prices the last few years. But with less competition from distressed home sales, more home buyers may consider new homes. Some forecasts for single-family housing starts may rise 19 percent in 2012, and existing-home sales to grow 8.5 percent this year. Last week, the Commerce Department reported new home construction increased 15 percent in September.

Interesting Facts About Florida
1,000 People move to Florida every day
19 Major Commercial Airports
12 International Airports
14 Deepwater Ports
1,800 Miles of Coastline
1,250 Golf Courses (Florida has more golf courses than any other state)
1,200 Miles of Sand Beaches
370,000 Hotel Rooms in Florida
If Florida were an independent country, its economy would be one of the twenty largest in the world. The state's gross domestic product of $737 billion would place it closest to the Netherlands, the 16th largest economy in the world with GDP of $796 billion.