The US Federal Reserve sent a clear signal Wednesday that it will keep interest rates low to boost the economy even after significant improvement of the job market was released. In light of the current unemployment rate of 7.7%the Fed says it plans to keep its key short-term rate near zero until the rate reaches 6.5% or less, and as long as expected inflation is tame. The Fed has said previously that... 

Lower optimism found in Australia’s housing sector contributed to a decline in home loan approvals during July. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data yesterday showing that the number of home loans approved in July moved down 1.0 per cent. Commsec economist Savanth Sebastian said the figures revealed recent interest rate falls had not increased confidence in the housing sector. In... 

The Singapore housing market has started attracting a fresh surge of foreign interest, after a short decrease that was caused because of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) charged in December of last year and the ending the Financial Investor Scheme in late April of 2012. Recently, the Business Times published a report revealing that Malaysian investors were the biggest foreign buyers in the... 

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) gained after average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages increased for the third week in a row, floating slightly above record lows. Low mortgage rates have helped boost a modest housing recovery this year. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the 30-year lending rate rose 3.62%, higher as compared to 3.59% last week. Three weeks ago, the rate moved down to 3.49%, the worst level... 

China’s real estate market has turned out to be a combat zone for central and local governments warring over policy measures. Over the first half of 2012, local governments have introduced various policies to fuel real estate markets, which they see as a source of much-needed funds. In other news, requests for US home loans moved down in the week ended August 10, with demand for new loans down for... 

Four years following the economic recession hit, Australian banks no longer provide loans valued at 100 percent of the value of the property, indicating that tighter lending standards continue to stay for borrowers. Financial comparison site RateCity released a report last week showing no Australian bank is offering home loans worth 100 per cent of the value of the property in the last three years. Wells... 

The housing recovery in Australia is gathering pace with news signs property prices may have recovered. Total housing finance in June advanced to its top level this year, due mainly to solid gains in NSW and Victoria. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures revealed an increase of 1.3 per cent in the number of home loans approved to $13.8 billion in June, turning around a 1.2 per cent decline in May. Property... 

Despite home prices recovery in some parts of the country, the broad housing market will not start turning the corner before next spring, the most recent prediction based on the Fiserv Case-Shiller indices shows. The forecast, which covers 384 markets, anticipates that countrywide, home prices will drop another 1% between March 2012 and March 2013. Fiserv said at that point, prices will start gaining... 

The steady growth of the U.S. housing market this year has led high returns from the real estate investment trusts. The Vanguard REIT ETF, which compiles the performance of an index that evaluates the performance of publicly traded equity REITs, is up more than 15 percent for 2012, beating the Dow Jones Industrial by a large margin. The U.S. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry maintained their... 

US house prices moved up for the fourth consecutive month in May, indicating the recovery in the housing market sustained pace, even as the broader economy fluctuates. The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas showed a rise of 0.9 percent in May versus April on a seasonally adjusted basis, beating economists’ estimates for a 0.5 percent growth. Australian home prices surprisingly...