Housing Market, Economic Recovery | featured news

Home resales rose in April to their highest annual rate in nearly two years and a falloff in foreclosures pushed prices higher, hopeful signs for the country's economic recovery.

When it comes to the economic recovery, timing is everything — and so far, it’s been off. Take the market performance of housing and autos, two big-ticket purchases that traditionally have moved in tandem. But new data released this week showed housing prices and new home sales dropping off at the same time that auto sales were peaking.

Lower unemployment, bankruptcies and foreclosures in March reduced the nation's economic stress to its lowest point this year, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of conditions around the country.

The U.S. economy is not fully recovered from its deep recession with housing still weighing on growth, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday in a speech on the importance of community development.

New single-family home sales rose in November but to a lower- than- expected rate , a government report showed on Thursday, highlighting the weakness in the housing market even as the broader economic recovery gains momentum.

Congressional lawmakers scramble to come up with quick fix to the foreclosure fiasco that has threatened the economic recovery and thrown a monkey wrench into their re-election campaigns.Up to 40 States Plan Foreclosure Data Inquiry

Consumer confidence sank in July to its lowest since February on job market worries, underscoring the slow path to economic recovery, and home prices rose in May but without signs of a sustained rebound, reports released on Tuesday showed.

Homebuilders' confidence in the housing market has sunk to the lowest level in more than a year, more evidence that the economic recovery is slowing.

The stock market rebounded Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected increase in pending home sales restored investors' optimism about the economy.

While the 20-city home price index rose 0.3 percent from November to December, the index was off 3.1 percent from December a year ago.