Mike Hardy

Consumer Sentiment On Housing Hits Lowest Level Since May 2020

Posted on by TMN Editor
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Consumers across the country continue to report difficult homebuying conditions due to inflation, higher mortgage rates, and home price appreciation. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, says that in April their Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell to its lowest level since the spring of 2020. The percentage of respondents who said it is a good time to buy a home decreased from 24% to 19%, while the percentage who said it is a bad time to buy increased from 73% to 76%. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to buy decreased 8 percentage points month over month, according to the survey. “The current lack…

Housing Bubble: Clickbait Or Is There A Bumpy Ride Ahead?

Posted on by TMN Editor
By CHUCK GREEN Trouble could be percolating in the U.S. housing market. In a blog post last month, researchers and economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas wrote of indications that real-time market monitoring is picking up signs of a “brewing U.S. housing bubble.” They added: “Our evidence points to abnormal U.S. housing market behavior for the first time since the boom of the early 2000s. Certain economic factors, especially including the price to rent ratio, and the price-to-income ratio—which show signs that 2021 house prices appear increasingly out of step with fundamentals, raise red flags.” Researchers and economists also cited growing concern that U.S. house prices are again becoming “unhinged from fundamentals.” Moe Zulfiqar, Editor of Lombardi Letter,…