US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (May) Both single and multifamily housing starts rose in May, meaning total housing starts were up 20.3% compared to a year earlier, close to a two-year high. However, the building permit data show that... 19th June 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (May) A 2.7% m/m drop in mortgage applications for home purchase left this measure of active housing demand unchanged compared to this time last year. A rise in mortgage interest rates, to a seven-year high... 6th June 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Mar.) March’s strong gain in the Case-Shiller national house price index appears consistent with some recent evidence that house price expectations have begun to rise. But it is harder to reconcile with the... 29th May 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response FHFA Prices / Existing Home Sales (Mar./Apr.) Signs that the inventory of existing homes for sale had stabilised have proved to be short-lived. Inventory levels reached a new low in April. With so few homes on the market it is not surprising that... 24th May 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Apr.) New home sales declined by 1.5% m/m in April, and downward revisions to the previous three months’ readings show that sales have struggled to gain traction so far this year. But, with the inventory of... 23rd May 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Apr.) As expected, a reversal of the surge in multifamily starts seen in March contributed to a 3.7% m/m drop in total housing starts in April. More of a concern is the lack of a sustained recovery in... 16th May 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Apr.) The rise in mortgage rates to a seven-year high of 4.8% over April has had contrasting impacts on refinancing and home purchase applications. Refinancing applications fell, approaching a 10-year low... 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Homeownership & Vacancy Rates (Q1) Given the number of existing homes for sale recently dropped to a record low, it is no surprise that the homeowner vacancy rate fell to 1.5% in the first-quarter, the joint-lowest rate for 24 years... 26th April 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Mar.) Substantial upward revisions to new home sales in January and February, coupled with a 4.0% m/m rise in March, means new sales now look to have made a decent start to the year. The relatively healthy... 24th April 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller / FHFA House Prices (Feb.) Annual house price growth on both the Case-Shiller and FHFA measures has been fairly stable since the start of the year. After dropping for the first time in 18-months in January, growth on the... 24th April 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Mar.) Existing home sales increased for the second month in a row in March. But, at 1.1% m/m, the rise was modest and sales are still lower than at this time last year. A lack of inventory explains that... 23rd April 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Mar.) At first glance the 1.9% m/m rise in housing starts, and 2.5% m/m increase in building permits, suggests the gradual recovery in home construction continued into March. But, in fact, growth in both... 17th April 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Mar.) Mortgage interest rates reached a seven-year high in March, which in turn helped push refinancing activity to close to a 10-year low. Mortgage applications for home purchase performed better, rising... 4th April 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Jan.) Case-Shiller reported that annual house price growth edged back to 6.2% in January, from 6.3% in December. That is the first time annual growth has fallen since June 2016, and supports our view that... 27th March 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Feb.) The 0.6% m/m drop in new home sales was marginal, but it marks the third month in a row of falling sales. However, given the relatively healthy inventory of new homes and reports from homebuilders of... 23rd March 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response FHFA House Prices (Jan.) After two months of slowing house price gains, the sharp 0.8% m/m rise in January reported by the FHFA might be a sign that price growth is accelerating. But, given how volatile the monthly data are... 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
