New single family residential (SFR) home sales of 631,000 on seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) were up 2.2 percent versus a year ago but down 5.3 percent sequentially from May. Year-to-date new home sales (not seasonally adjusted) of 345,000 units were up 5.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago. There were …Read more
Existing home sale slipped 2.2 percent in June 2018 versus a year ago to 5.38 million sales on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis (SAAR) according to National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Sales dipped 0.6 percent sequentially from May on a SAAR. From an unadjusted basis, housing sales in the first six months totaled 2.631 million, …Read more
New single family residential (SFR) home sales of 689,000 on seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) were up 14.1 percent versus a year ago and 6.7 percent sequentially from April. Other than the 712,000 SAAR rate posted in November 2017, this is the greatest level seen since October 2007. Year-to-date new home sales are up 8.8 …Read more
We economists have a secret rule when making forecasts on interest rates: give a rate or give a date, but never give both at the same time because you are going to be wrong. Fortunately, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the MBA update their quarterly and annual forecasts monthly for residential lending volumes – …Read more
Tight inventories of listings for sale and rising residential mortgage interest rates slightly deflected existing home sales in April 2018 as reported by the National Association of Realtors®. Actual sales in April 2018 of 460,000 compared to 447,000 a year ago were up 2.9 percent, but sales year-to-date dipped 0.65 percent. From a seasonally adjusted …Read more
Home prices are a pure function of the interaction of supply and demand. Strong job growth, rising wages (the average hourly wage in the U.S. is up 2.6 percent in the prior 12-months), rising rents and lack of supply is propelling prices upwards in most markets. In the latest 12-months the U.S. added 2.281 million …Read more
In 2015 a National Association of Realtors® survey found that 80 percent of renters have the desire to own a home. Holding most back, however, was the lack of a down payment. To find out which cities will take the longest time to save for a home, SmartAsset® studied the 50 cities with the largest …Read more
As we economists say, “forecasting is difficult, especially the future.” Fortunately, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the MBA update their quarterly and annual forecasts monthly for residential lending volumes – both refinance and purchase transactions. Driving these lending forecasts is the expectation of future interest rates. As the following table shows, there is not perfect …Read more
Existing home sales came in at 5.60 million dwelling units on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in March 2018, down 1.2 percent versus a year ago but up 1.1 percent sequentially compared to February 2018, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). On a raw unadjusted basis, sales totaled 434,000 in March 2018 …Read more
Perhaps the top moniker from the 1980s, 1990s and until the mid-2000s was Big is Better, and that spanned the spectrum from the Supersize French fry and soft drink advertisements to the term McMansions for housing. A McMansion was loosely defined as mass-built cookie-cutter suburban home of 3,000 square feet or greater, and more often …Read more