US Housing Market Update Supply of starter homes no better in rental market Households frustrated by the lack of affordable single-family homes for sale will find conditions are no better in the rental market, where the number of homes available for under $1,250 a month has... 12th November 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Inventory of cheaper homes has halved since 2012 The number of vacant single-family homes for sale has dropped 25% since the start of 2012. But the situation is far worse at the cheaper end of the market, where the inventory of homes priced under... 31st October 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Could house price growth accelerate? Some leading indicators of house price growth, such as the size of mortgage approvals and months’ supply of new homes on the market, are pointing to an acceleration in growth to around 5% y/y by the... 22nd October 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Headwinds for NYC home buyers, but not for rents Over the past couple of years buyers of high-end homes in New York City have been hit by higher taxes, and can no longer hide their identity. That has cut home buyer demand and house prices, and may... 16th October 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Rise in appraisal threshold a positive, but a small one A hike in the threshold at which mortgages require a home appraisal, from $250,000 to $400,000, is long overdue and has the potential to reduce closing times, raise closing rates and boost house... 9th October 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Pending home sales taking longer to close A surge in demand for refinancing has stretched lenders’ capacity, lengthening the time it takes to close a mortgage. That has disrupted the usual relationship between pending and existing home sales... 26th September 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Californian rent controls may boost new developments Rent controls usually discourage new rental developments. But the Californian bill that is set to be signed into law may in fact boost the construction of new units. New rental buildings are exempt... 18th September 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Why have mortgage spreads widened? The sharp rise in the spread between the 10-year Treasury yield and 30-year mortgage rate primarily reflects the speed at which yields dropped back. But tighter credit conditions also look to be... 13th September 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Tighter credit conditions another brake on home sales Concerns around the economic outlook have encouraged banks to tighten mortgage lending standards, offsetting some of the impact of lower interest rates on home sales. Surveys suggest that tightening... 29th August 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update How will rents perform as the economy slows? Rental growth typically falls back during economic slowdowns, but we think rents will hold up relatively well over the next couple of years. With the rental vacancy rate close to record lows the... 22nd August 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update House prices to benefit from lower mortgage rates With mortgage rates set to drop to 3.8% over the next couple of weeks, and inventory tight, we have edged up our house price forecast and now expect a rise of 3% this year. But a slowing economy and... 19th August 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Rise in sentiment good news for starts, not sales The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index has hit a record high, but the detail shows the share of households who see now as a good time to buy is still relatively low. High house prices and a lack... 14th August 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update What’s driving the gap between mortgages and sales? The number of mortgage applications for home purchase jumped earlier this year, but those buyers came up against the tightest market conditions for 40-years. Increased competition for homes crowded... 2nd August 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Drop in homeownership rate won’t be reversed soon A steady decline in home sales last year pushed the homeownership rate to a 1½-year low in the second quarter, and we doubt it will recover over the next couple of years. A slowing economy will... 26th July 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Cut in premium won’t halt drop in FHA market share bill which recently passed the House to cut the FHA upfront mortgage premium by 25 bps for first-time buyers who take a financial management course is too small to halt the downward trend in the FHA... 18th July 2019 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Google’s homes will have little impact on prices Any new housing in the San Francisco Bay area is welcome, but Google’s plan to help build 20,000 homes over the next decade will have little impact on prices. The San Francisco metro has the tightest... 20th June 2019 · 1 min read
