Braves stay hot at home, beat Rockies 11-3

ATLANTA (AP) – Freddie Freeman hit two home runs, Brian McCann added a three-run shot and the Atlanta Braves won their fifth straight game with an 11-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

The Braves, who scored 10 unanswered runs, moved 10 games ahead of second-place Washington on the NL East. They lead the majors with a 36-15 home record.

Freeman had four RBIs with his first multihomer game this season and fourth of his career.

Rookie Alex Wood (1-2) earned his first career victory after allowing six hits, three runs, one walk while striking out seven in seven innings.

Juan Nicasio (6-5) allowed 10 hits, a season-high eight runs, three walks and struck out four in four innings. Colorado has lost 16 of 19 series games against Atlanta.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

U.S. Economy Shows Modest Growth

(MoneyWatch) The U.S. economy expanded 1.7 percent between April and June, surprising some experts and government forecasters who were expecting weaker growth.

Personal consumption, business spending and the renewed housing market accounted for most of the growth in the quarter, along with a smaller decrease in federal spending, the Commerce Department said Wednesday in releasing its first estimate for the period.

To be sure, the economy is hardly ready for liftoff. The agency revised growth in the first quarter to 1.1 percent, down from an initial estimate of 1.8 percent. But the latest GDP figure topped a consensus estimate of 1 percent growth, and it will help dispel fears that the economy is veering off track after showing stronger job growth in recent months. Economists expect growth to accelerate in the final six months of the year.

The Commerce Department also released revised data showing that growth since the recession was slightly stronger than previously estimated. Growth for 2009 to 2012 was revised up by 0.3 percentage points to 2.4 percent. By contrast, growth over the last three quarters was weaker than originally thought.

(cbsnews.com)

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June Marks 20 Months of Declines for Foreclosure Inventory

07/30/2013

http://www.dsnews.com

BY: ESTHER CHO

Completed foreclosures and distressed inventory continued their downfall in June, CoreLogic reported Tuesday.

Data for last month showed 55,000 homes were lost to foreclosure, down 20 percent from June 2012. The decrease represents the 19th month-in-a-row completed foreclosures have ticked down. However, on a monthly basis, completed foreclosures inched up by 2.5 percent.

Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, about 4.5 million homes have been lost to foreclosure.

The level of foreclosure inventory also came down in June. According to CoreLogic’s estimate, about 1 million homes were in some stage of foreclosure, which represents a 28 percent annual decrease and a 2.9 percent decline from May 2013. The yearly decline marks the 20th consecutive month inventory has trended down.

Serious delinquencies are also posing less of a threat to distressed inventory.

“So far this year, distressed inventories have fallen dramatically, down 14.4 percent, and serious delinquencies are down 15.9 percent,” added Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “In the first six months of 2013, the stock of seriously delinquent mortgages has dropped by 412,000.”

Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, described June’s improvement as “broad-based,” noting 49 states have posted annual declines in foreclosure rates.

The one state to see a slight increase was Arkansas, where the foreclosure rate rose 0.1 percent from a year ago.

“The housing market is clearly on the mend, but we expect the ultimate conclusion of the present housing down cycle to be another several years away,” he added.

In June, Florida continued to lead as the state with the highest number of completed foreclosures over the last year after 107,000 homes were lost to the process.

California followed, with 72,000 completed foreclosures, while Michigan (63,000), Texas (48,000), and Georgia (44,000) rounded out the top five, which account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.

Again, Florida led with the highest foreclosure inventory rate, at 8.6 percent, which is more than three times the national rate of 2.5 percent.

Also in the top five were New Jersey (6.0 percent), New York (4.8 percent), Connecticut (4.2 percent), and Maine (4.1 percent).

Case-Shiller Indices Near 5-Year High

07/30/2013BY:

http://www.dsnews.com

MARK LIEBERMAN, FIVE STAR INSTITUTE ECONOMIST

Home prices rose to their highest levels in almost five years in May, increasing 2.5 percent, according to theCase-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. On non-seasonally adjusted basis, the 20-city index was up 12.2 percent from a year earlier and the companion 10-city index was up 11.8 percent.

Economists had expected the 20-city index to increase 2.0 percent from April and 12.4 percent from a year ago.

For the month, the 10-city index rose 2.5 percent and the 20-city index was up 2.4 percent.

The 10-city index rose to its highest level since September 2008 and the 20-city index to its highest level since October 2008.

 

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Eight in 10 Americans Say Owning Is a Good Financial Decision

07/26/2013

http://www.dsnews.com

BY: ESTHER CHO

Americans hold a more positive view of the housing market, while an increasing share of renters plan to own, according to the 2013 National Housing Pulse Surveyfrom the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Of those surveyed, 80 percent said they believe buying a home is a good financial decision, up by 8 points from 2011.

Over the last two years, the market has also seen an increase in renters who are interested in owning.

In the recent survey, 36 percent of renters said they are thinking about buying, up from 25 percent in 2011, while 51 percent of renters also said that owning in the future is one of their highest personal priorities. Overall, 79 percent of renters said owning is a priority in general.

Meanwhile, the percentage of those who say they prefer to rent over buying dropped 6 points since 2011 to 25 percent.

Americans also perceive their market as being stronger, with 38 percent stating they believe activity in their local market has increased in the past year, up sharply from 11 percent in 2011.
Another 49 percent believe prices in their neighborhood are more expensive than they were a year ago.

This view was especially strong in the West, with 62 percent of respondent in the Pacific West stating this and 60 percent in the Mountain West region.

Not only are attitudes toward housing improving, but Americans are also less concerned when it comes to job security.

The share of respondents who expressed concern over job layoffs and unemployment decreased from 61 percent in 2011 to 48 percent in the most recent survey.

Concern over home foreclosures eased as well. In 2013, 29 percent said foreclosures are a “very” or “fairly” big problem, down from 47 percent in 2011.

However, Americans did express concern over the direction of nation, with 58 percent stating the country is on the wrong track, barely changed from 57 percent two years ago. According to the survey, the numbers were influenced by partisanship, with 84 percent of Republicans holding the view compared to 36 percent of Democrats.

Nearly two thirds (64 percent) of respondents also shared concerns over the high prices for homes and rent, little changed from 62 percent in 2011.

Also, 69 percent said they are concerned about people in their area falling behind on their
mortgages.

Despite the increase in prices the housing market has recently witnessed, respondents were completely invulnerable.

More than half (58 percent) of said they are very or somewhat concerned about the drop in overall home values, though the concern has decreased from 70 percent in 2011.
Also, 44 percent of homeowners said they do not think they could sell their house for what they paid for it.

The survey was conducted by American Strategies and Myers Research & Strategic Services.

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