Just a data summary this month as very little changed, so ditto. Existing Home Sales July 2021 – National Association of Realtors® (NAR) As of July 2021 Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Sales Numbers (SAAR) 5.990 million SAAR as of July 2021 up 2.0 percent sequentially from June 2021 up 1.5 percent year-over-year Monthly Sales – …Read more
As the pandemic progresses through its lifecycle, the demand for commercial real estate continues to evolve with some property types and markets struggling and others booming. Detailed market-specific insight is critical to ascertain where individual real estate markets are currently at and where they are heading. Dr Glenn Mueller’s quarterly Commercial Real Estate Cycles report …Read more
Fortunately Fannie Mae and the MBA release monthly forecasts for residential lending volumes, new and existing home sales and interest rates. They do not, however, look through the same glasses when prognosticating the future, however. Core to housing and residential lending are interest rates that remained below 2.9 percent once again this week according to …Read more
Axioms are truths. If there is ever one complete truth it is that not everyone sees the future equally, nor do they consistently perceive the present. Proof in the statement takes only a glance at the latest forecast for residential interest rates from Fannie Mae and the MBA (F&M). As shown in the table, not …Read more
The combined cost of housing and transportation expenses accounted for one-half (49.8 percent) of all monthly household expenditures in 2019 (prior to the pandemic) according to the Annual Consumer Expenditures Study by the U.S. Census Bureau. Included in both of those are energy costs. On a simple average across the 50 states, monthly energy costs …Read more
Homebuilders face a trifecta of impediments – not winnings – with new home construction being hindered by shortages of workers, materials (including appliances, fixtures, HVAC and even hot-water tanks) and developed residential building lots. As a result, May new home sales slid for the second month in a row sequentially from the prior month using …Read more
While forecasts from truly respected institutions are valued, unfortunately there is not always agreement from the various parties. The following summarizes monthly forecasts from Fannie Mae and the MBA. A critical foundation component for forecasting housing and residential lending is interest rates. Right out of the chute, Fannie Mae and the MBA see differing outcomes …Read more
Existing home sales slipped 0.9 percent in May 2021 compared to April based on the Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Actual closings in May 2021 (not seasonally adjusted) were up 2.9 percent vs April. Given the plunge in sales from April to June in 2020 due to …Read more
As new home sales prices inflated to a record high – with the median price in April 2021 at $372,400, up 12.6 percent from the prior month and up 20.2 percent year-over-year, the air was let out of the number of sales which dropped 5.9 percent from the prior month according to the latest data …Read more
Fannie Mae and the MBA continued to tweak their monthly forecasts for 2021 and 2022 in the U.S. residential housing and lending markets. The two still diverge on where interest rates are heading. In their May 2021 forecast, Fannie Mae now believes that the conventional, fixed-rate 30-year residential mortgage rate is going to dip slightly …Read more