US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Feb.) The 3% m/m gain in existing home sales in February was better than expected. Even so, that rise just reversed January’s drop, and left sales essentially unchanged from their level a year ago. With the... 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Feb.) The 7.0% m/m drop in housing starts in February was not a surprise. It was driven by the multifamily sector, where a 26.1% m/m drop fully reversed a similar surge in January. More of a concern is the... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Feb.) The jump in mortgage applications seen in January has been quickly reversed, with total applications posting a 6.2% m/m drop in February. The rise in mortgage interest rates, which reached their... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller / FHFA House Prices (Dec.) The Case-Shiller and FHFA house price indices painted contrasting pictures in December. Annual growth on the Case-Shiller index rose to 6.3%, the highest level since May 2014. But the FHFA reported a... 27th February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Jan.) The 7.8% m/m drop in new home sales in January looks, at least partly, to reflect cold weather in the South and Northeast. With inventory levels at nine-year highs, and demand supported by rising... 26th February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Jan.) Existing home sales fell for a second consecutive month in January, leaving them 5% lower than at the start of last year. The good news is that there was a marginal pick up in the number of existing... 21st February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Jan.) At first glance it appears that housing starts had a very strong start to the year. The 9.7% m/m jump in January more than reversed December’s decline. But the volatile multifamily sector was... 16th February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Jan.) Concerns that mortgage rates are set to rise gave both refinancing and home purchase mortgage activity a significant boost in January. But, with mortgage rates now at four-year highs, and no... 7th February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Homeownership & Vacancy Rates (Q4) A homeowner vacancy rate close to a 17-year low didn’t prevent a welcome rise in the homeownership rate to 64% in the final quarter of 2017. But the lack of homes for sale has driven more households... 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Nov.) According to Case-Shiller, annual house price growth in November edged up slightly to 6.2%, but we doubt it will rise much further. Buyers are staying away due to the lack of homes for sale and, with... 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Dec.) The 9.3% m/m drop in new home sales in December reversed some, but not all, of November’s surge and left sales up by 14% over 2017 as a whole. A strong labour market, and the shortage of existing... 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Dec.) Existing home sales dropped by 3.6% m/m in December, reversing much of November’s surprise jump. That left sales up a marginal 1.1% over 2017, and just 2.6% over the past two years. The lack of... 24th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response FHFA House Prices (Nov.) The FHFA reported a moderate 0.4%m/m rise in house prices in November, and the annual growth rate is now at a 10-month low. Despite tight market conditions, active housing demand is being constrained... 24th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Dec.) Housing starts had a poor end to 2017. An 8.2% m/m drop in December meant starts finished the year 6% down compared to a year ago. The single-family sector drove the contraction in starts. But, at the... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Dec.) Mortgage applications for home purchase were flat in December, and have made no upward progress for two years. While there have been signs of life in the home sales data in recent months, the absence... 3rd January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Nov.) House prices continued to rise steadily in November, in both monthly and annual terms. That seems consistent with the exceptionally low levels of inventory, as well as the continued strength of the... 2nd January 2018 · 1 min read
