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Florida’s housing market reported more closed sales, higher median prices, a tighter inventory and fewer days on the market during the third quarter of 2015, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 74,141 in 3Q 2015, up 14.7 percent over the 3Q 2014 figure.

Memphis-area home sales for October decreased 3.5 percent from a year ago, with 1,336 total sales recorded in the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® MAARdata property records database. Sales were down 6.2 percent from September, when there were 1,424 total sales. Average sales price from October-to-October was up 4.3 percent, at $156,692. Inventory decreased 1.8 percent, with 6,291 units listed for sale. Monthly sales volume YTD increased 6.8 percent to $2.20 billion.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, third quarter 2015 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 12 percent higher than during the same period last year and three percent higher than the second quarter of 2015.

Monday, November 9, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today that the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston joined the Greenovate Boston Mayor's Carbon Cup - a commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 35 percent by 2020. Mayor Walsh recognized their commitment this afternoon at the fifth anniversary meeting of the Green Ribbon Commission.

Mortgage credit availability increased in October according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from Ellie Mae's AllRegs® Market Clarity® business information tool

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released its inaugural First American Homeownership Progress Index, which tracks homeownership rates and the underlying demographic and economic factors that influence the probability of homeownership at national and state levels over time.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced loans and grants for 141 projects to build and improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural communities across the nation. "Many rural communities need to upgrade and repair their water and wastewater systems, but often lack the resources to do so," Vilsack said. "These loans and grants will help accomplish this goal. USDA's support for infrastructure improvements is an essential part of building strong rural economies."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) today announced interest rates for November 2015. The CCC borrowing rate-based charge for November is 0.250 percent, down from 0.375 percent in October

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) joined 49 senators in supporting legislation to disapprove EPA’s carbon regulations for new and existing power plants, saying the regulations are harmful to Tennessee utilities.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater knows that Florida’s homeowners carry insurance to protect their property in the event of an emergency, natural or otherwise. Floridians have seen the costly destruction hurricanes can cause as well the financial volatility that storms can create in the property insurance market. Each year, the Office of Insurance Regulation tests the financial soundness of property insurance companies that conduct business in the state of Florida to ensure they can withstand the catastrophic losses generally associated with major storms.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 11.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 units in September, according to newly released data from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau

Permits for new single family homes reached their highest monthly count since October 2014, according to the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City’s (HBA) monthly Residential Building Permit Statistics report.  Four hundred, sixty-two permits for single family homes were issued in September, an increase of 37 permits over August.

September year-over-year statistics for single family homes revealed increases in closed sales, median sale price, and average percent of original list price received. Closed sales rose 12.8% from 1,355 to 1,529 transactions, median sale price climbed 5.9% from $269,200 to $285,000, and average percent of list price received bumped up 1.1% from 93.0% to 94.0%. Meanwhile, median days on market and inventory levels continued to decrease. Median days on market declined 35.2% from 54 to 35 days, active listings decreased 6.9% from 7,316 to 6,811 listings, and months’ supply of inventory diminished 20.2% from 5.6 to 4.5 months

Positive housing market momentum carried into September with home sales and median prices experiencing healthy year-over-year gains as Illinois headed into the fall market, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS

In 2014, 2,876 different multifamily lenders provided a total of $195.1 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 2014 Report on Multifamily Lending.  The 2014 dollar volume represents a 13 percent increase from 2013 levels.  Sixty-five percent of the active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans over the course of the year

Homes sales and sale prices continue their steady upward trend in Iowa in September. This is the strongest third quarter Iowa has seen in 8 years. The median sale price rose 5.9 percent from September of last year. The median price was $131,750 in September 2014 compared to $139,500 this year.

Mortgage applications increased 11.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 16, 2015.  This week's results include an adjustment to account for the Columbus Day holiday.

The percentage of home buyers who can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California is declining. The sharp increase in housing demand has led to skyrocketing home prices, shutting out a large percentage of the potential home buyers. The latest California Association of REALTORS® housing affordability report indicates every region in the state, except Kings County, posted lower affordability in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced today that it expects to see $905 billion in purchase mortgage originations during 2016, a ten percent increase from 2015.  In contrast, MBA anticipates refinance originations will decrease by one-third, resulting in refinance mortgage originations of $415 billion.  On net, mortgage originations will decrease to $1.32 trillion in 2016 from $1.45 trillion in 2015.

According to the reports, there are five percent more new listings across South Carolina totaling 8,622. Pending Sales decreased three percent to 5,203, and there is five percent less inventory to choose from with 38,368 homes on the market. Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up seven percent to $174,460. Homes sold faster throughout September with most on the market for 99 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down almost 17 percent to six months