Fed: Residential Markets Holding Strong

Residential real estate markets held strong in October and early November, as home sales and construction maintained "a brisk pace" in most Federal Reserve districts, according to the Federal Reserve Board's Beige Book.The Richmond and Atlanta districts reported some easing in recent weeks, however, while Dallas "relayed concerns about rising housing inventories in several areas, with homebuilders offering increased incentives," the Beige Book says. The Chicago district reported a softening in the mid-priced housing market and "a small uptick" in some areas in luxury housing markets. Lending was subdued in most districts. "Outstanding loan volume moved up slowly in the Philadelphia district in November, and some banks there were limiting their residential real estate lending to prevent mortgages from becoming too large a portion of their loan portfolio," the report said. Refinancings slowed in all districts that commented on mortgage lending. Meanwhile, commercial real estate markets remained weak in most areas, although the outlook was "a bit more upbeat," the economic report says.