U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook April 2011

U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook April 2011 : MCLEAN, Va., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) released today its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for April showing signs of a pick up in home sales beginning this spring driven by the recent encouraging employment reports, low mortgage rates and continued high homebuyer affordability.

Outlook Highlights

* Unemployment declined for the fourth straight month to 8.8 percent, and net employment increased by 216,000 jobs.
* A projected 5 percent increase in 2011 home sales over 2010, on a calendar year basis.
* Despite weak and inconsistent monthly job gains for the real estate sector, real estate employment was up by 10,000 jobs since last November.
* Refinancing is likely to account for a much smaller share of loan applications later this year as borrowers who are "in-the-money" decrease and mortgage rates begin inching up.
* The share of adjustable-rate mortgages loans is projected to be 7 percent in 2011, compared to the 5 percent 2010 average in part because the level of fixed-rate mortgages rates are expected to rise relative to short-term interest rates.

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