Posts with tag recession

Could a double dip in the housing market be on the way? That's what influential banking analyst Meredith Whitney told CNBC's Squawk Box yesterday. And while the news is not all gloom and doom, Whitney -- one of Wall Street's best-known bears -- sees what she calls some "scary" behaviors by consumers that will continue to... Continue Reading »

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, while a low mortgage rate ... keeps recession at bay? That's the thinking at Morgan Stanley, where economists have published research arguing, among others things, that rock-bottom mortgage rates are helping the US economy avoid a double-dip recession. In the report, Richard Berner... Continue Reading »

The recession has taken a bite out of the McMansion, and experts don't expect homeowners will be supersizing their homes again anytime soon. The U.S. Census Bureau released new figures, based on homes completed in 2009, which show that the average square footage of a new, single-family home completed in 2009 was 2,438;... Continue Reading »

This week marks the fifth anniversary of then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's observation that there was no housing bubble to worry about: "Although a 'bubble' in home prices for the nation as a whole does not appear likely, there do appear to be, at a minimum, signs of froth in some local markets where home... Continue Reading »

Interest rates dropped again last week as economists argued about the financial crisis in Europe and how bad it might get. As HousingWatch reported, Greece and Portugal's bad news could be the American homebuyers' gain. But how does such faraway news directly affect the U.S.? Average interest rates for 30-year,... Continue Reading »