Pending home sales increased in February as inventory loosened up and buyers became accustomed to the high-rate environment.
NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index rose by 1.6% month-over-month to a reading of 75.6 last month. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
Year-over-year, they were down 7%.
“While modest sales growth might not stir excitement, it shows slow and steady progress from the lows of late last year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Ongoing job gains are clearly increasing demand along with more inventory.”
All four U.S. regions saw declines in year-over-year sales, while month-over-month sales rose in the Midwest and South. The Northeast and West saw losses from January.
Southern states and…
Mortgage applications are down for a second week even as rates fell slightly.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows that the adjusted Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased by 0.7%, following the week prior’s 1.6% slip.
Adjusted purchase applications slipped by 0.2%, while the unadjusted index was up 2% and 16% lower YOY.
Rates pulled back slightly, clocking in at 6.93%, but remained high enough to deter borrowers, according to MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan.
“Purchase applications were essentially unchanged, as homebuyers continue to hold out for lower mortgage rates and for more listings to hit the market,” he added.
“Lower rates should help to free up additional…
New home sales declined in February as existing sales surged, showing buyers still prefer affordable, older stock over new when it becomes available.
That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported sales down by 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, slipping from the month priors’ revised rate of 664,000.
Sales were still up by 5.9% from the same time last year, however.
The decline was the first in three months and generally unexpected by analysts, according to Bloomberg. Surveyed economists had predicted a rate of 667,000.
There were 463,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month. This represents an 8.4-month supply at the…
Existing-home sales rebounded from a December plummet in January, increasing month-over-month, but not annually.
Sales increased by 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors. They were down 1.7% from the same time last year, however.
The Midwest, West, and South all saw sales increase, while the Northeast held steady but didn’t decline.
This is a turnaround from December, which saw existing sales shrink to their lowest point since 1995.
“While home sales remain sizably lower than a couple of years ago, January’s monthly gain is the start of more supply and demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Listings were modestly higher, and home buyers are…
Home construction lost ground in January, collapsing to the slowest pace in five months.
Residential home construction fell to a 1.33 million annual pace, down from a revised 1.56 million in December, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the biggest drop since April 2020, and a far cry from Wall Street expectations of 1.45 million.
Single-family starts fared poorly, down by a 4.7% adjusted annual rate of 1.004 million units last month. But the driving factor was multifamily, which shrank by 35.6%, wiping out gains the month prior.
On the bright side, permits once again rose, besting last month’s 5-month high. Permits offer an indication of future construction.
Analysts partly attribute the inconsistency to severe winter…
Rates at 20-year highs and other ongoing issues forced affordability to hover near a decade-low in Q4 2023, constraining the housing market.
A new report from the National Association of Home Builders revealed that housing affordability stayed close to its lowest level in about a decade in the last quarter of 2023. Just 37.7% of new and existing homes sold in that period were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $96,300.
This is basically identical to Q3 2023, which posted the lowest-ever reading of the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. That index has been tracking affordability since 2012.
The report attributes the data to rates hitting a 20-year high during Q4, along with the high cost of…
Pending home sales soared in December, proving that price-sensitive buyers are jumping at the opportunity to lock in sub-7% rates.
NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index rose by 8.3% month-over-month — their biggest increase since 2020 — to a reading of 77.3 in December. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
Year-over-year, they are up 1.3%.
“The housing market is off to a good start this year, as consumers benefit from falling mortgage rates and stable home prices,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Job additions and income growth will further help with housing affordability, but increased supply will be essential to satisfying all potential demand.”
All four U.S. regions saw declines both month-over-month…
New home sales sank in October as mortgage rates priced potential buyers out of the market, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sales fell by 5.6% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 679,000, below the rate of 730,000 units predicted by economists.
New home sales are up 17.7% year-over-year, however, as lack of existing inventory pushes buyers to new construction. There were 439,000 new homes for sale at the end of October, representing a 7.8-month supply at the current sales rate.
The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2023 was $409,300, while the average sales price was $487,000, both down by more…
Borrowers struggling with rampant unaffordability are seeing some relief as mortgage rates cool, ending an upward swing.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.76%, down from 7.79%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.95%.
The 15-year fixed rate remained unchanged at 7.03%. A year ago, it averaged 6.29%.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage paused its multi-week climb but continues to hover under 8%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“The Federal Reserve again decided not to raise interest rates but have not ruled out a hike before year-end. Coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, this ambiguity around monetary policy will likely have an impact on the overall economic landscape and may continue…
By PATRICK LAVERY
When last we heard from the Federal Reserve on interest rates, on June 14, the Federal Open Market Committee agreed not to raise the target range for the federal funds rate for the first time in more than a year.
With the Fed’s next meeting now less than a week away, could Chairman Jerome Powell be preparing to announce one of the hikes that he said in June might still be remaining for this year? Or will the FOMC stick to a holding pattern?
And how are those developments going to impact a U.S. housing market that Powell has continuously characterized as sluggish throughout 2023?
It is predicted that the central bank will deliver a quarter of…
