Real Estate News by the Numbers: Week of March 10 – March 16

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A quick rundown of the important real estate news from the week of March 10 – March 16, by the numbers:

35% – Amount who think the economy is heading in the right direction according to a Fannie Mae survey. The reading is 19% higher than results of a November survey.

3.9% – Increase in seller’s ask price, year-over-year, as of March 5. Seller’s ask price increased year-over-year for the first time in 6 years this past December.

21 – States that had an increase in foreclosure filings in February, the most since 2010. Also, half the the nation’s largest 20 metros has posted an increase.

$33 Billion – Amount Freddie and Fannie asked banks to buy back in bad loans in 2011. That number is 10% higher than the previous year. “The banks don’t typically pay the full amount but during the second half of 2011, the companies collected $11.1 billion from banks, compared with $6.9 billion in the first half of the year.”

1.43% – Homeowner vacancy rate in Nassau-Suffolk, NY and Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA. The two metros had the lowest homeowner vacancy rate in large metros since 2010. Homeowner vacancy rate is defined as “number of homes for sale divided by the number either for sale or owner-occupied.”

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.