US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Oct.) Even after a significant upward revision to September’s estimate, the 8.9% m/m drop in new home sales in October was enough to send sales to a 2½-year low. But a drop in mortgage interest rates over... 28th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller / FHFA House Prices (Sep.) With higher mortgage interest rates weighing on housing demand, it is not a surprise that the FHFA and Case-Shiller reported slower annual house price growth in September. We doubt mortgage rates have... 27th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Oct.) The first rise in existing home sales for six months in October provided a rare piece of good housing market news. That doesn’t signal the end of the slowdown, but it does indicate that the strong... 21st November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Oct.) Single-family housing starts dropped for the second month in a row in October, and building permits saw their first annual decline in 4½ years. Faltering new home demand has hit homebuilder confidence... 20th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Oct.) The 30-year mortgage rate rose above 5% for the first time in over seven years in October, helping to explain why home purchase mortgage demand fell to a two-year low in October. If we are right in... 7th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Homeownership & Vacancy Rates (Q3) After rising for eight consecutive quarters, the homeownership rate was unchanged in the third quarter. A lack of homes for sale, and higher interest rates weighing on home demand, help explain why... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Aug.) The apparent rebound in house price pressures, implied by the 0.6% m/m rise in August, reflects issues with the seasonal-adjustment process, rather than a sign that the slowdown in house price growth... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response FHFA House Prices / New Home Sales (Aug./Sep.) New home sales dropped for the fourth month in a row in September, as rising mortgage interest rates have weighed on housing demand. House price growth has also continued to ease, with the 6.1% y/y... 24th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Sep.) The housing market slowdown continued in September, with existing home sales seeing the largest month-on-month drop since early 2016. Sales are likely to stay weak, but with the labour market still... 19th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Sep.) The headline drop in housing starts in September was mainly driven by the volatile multifamily sector, but single-family starts also edged down. Looking forward, the good news is that lumber prices... 17th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Sep.) Since the end of August, the 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate has risen by 16bps, to stand at 4.96% in the final week of September. Given that, the corresponding 0.9% m/m rise in mortgage... 3rd October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Aug.) New home sales rose by 3.5% m/m in August. But given the volatile nature of the series, and a downward revision to July’s reading, the overall picture is one of flat sales since the end of last year... 26th September 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller / FHFA House Prices (Jul.) The FHFA and Case-Shiller both reported a small rise in house prices of 0.2% m/m in July. That continues the run of weaker house price gains seen since the spring. Higher mortgage interest rates are... 25th September 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Aug.) The downward trend in existing homes sales seen since April came to a halt in August, with sales unchanged over the month. But that still left sales at 2½-year lows. With interest rates set to rise... 20th September 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Aug.) The headline 9.2% m/m rise in housing starts in August hides an otherwise disappointing report. The jump in starts was driven by the volatile multifamily sector, with single-family construction seeing... 19th September 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Aug.) The gradual contraction in mortgage demand continued in August, with applications for both refinancing and home purchase loans seeing month-on-month falls. To date, the drop in home purchase demand... 5th September 2018 · 1 min read
