Retail sales typically make up 70 percent of GDP and thus are the core of the US. economy. On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales dipped 0.7 percent sequentially from November, making it the third consecutive monthly decline as the pandemic increased intensity. On a year-over-year basis, however, sales were up 1.6 percent – after …Read more
For those able to work remotely, finding the right work/life balance is essential. Here at Stewart, many of our associates began working remotely in 2020 in order to keep a safe environment for all. As we enter the new year, we wanted to take a moment to highlight what we like to do to stay …Read more
Electricity costs can be a significant monthly recurring expense for households. For some households, in high-heating and cooling requirement locales, approaching or exceeding $1,000 per month is possible. Electricity costs vary broadly from state to state just like economies and real estate markets. As usual the TINSTAANREM axiom is applicable — There Is No Such …Read more
December 2020 monthly forecasts from Fannie Mae and the MBA show they continue to disagree on where home sales and residential lending volumes are trending for 2021. The divergence is a function of differing expectations regarding interest rates. Interest Rates Interest rates have a profound and material impact on housing affordability. The U.S. hit an …Read more
Housing today has the greatest intrinsic and price values in our lifetimes as we spend more time than ever before at home. Median home prices rose a phenomenal 14.5 percent to $310,800 in the 12-months ending November 2020 according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), with year-over-year sales of existing properties up 25.8 percent. …Read more
The surge in existing home sales continued, up 25.8 percent in November 2020 versus one-year ago on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) to 6.69 million as reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Though down 2.5 percent from the October SAAR, much of that is due to the decline in inventory of homes …Read more
Jobs are everything to the economy and to the ultimate demand for real estate. Period. U.S. job numbers have been on a wild roller coaster ride since the pandemic, with the country still shy 9.8 million jobs when compared to February of this year. The loss and recovery rates of jobs have not been uniform …Read more
More than 60 percent of the states and the District of Columbia (32 out of the 51 total) added jobs from October to November based on seasonally adjusted job numbers as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The first table shows the percentage change, ranked from best to worst. While Hawaii posted …Read more
The U.S. brought back 245,000 jobs in November, the lowest rate of gain since the 22.2 million plunge in jobs from March to April according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The November gain, however, was the largest number of new jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels since May 2015. Unemployment slipped to 6.7 …Read more
Jobs are everything to the economy. Period. The latest summary metrics of employment as of October 2020 as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are included in the following tables. Included are 380 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) having monthly data and are based on seasonally adjusted employment numbers allowing an apples-to-apples comparison …Read more