Filtered by Subscriptions: US Housing Use setting US Housing
Modest rise in homes sales does not mark the start of the recovery The modest rise in existing home sales in October reflects the earlier drop in mortgage rates over the summer and is unlikely to be repeated, as borrowing costs have since rebounded to 7%. …
21st November 2024
Starts hit by hurricanes The decline in housing starts in October was exactly as we had expected given the hit to construction in the South from recent hurricanes and should partially reverse in November. Beyond this, we think the recent rebound in new …
19th November 2024
While Trump has vowed to lower mortgage rates to 3%, we expect the net effect of his policies to have the opposite effect, keeping borrowing costs higher for longer. With that in mind, we are changing our home sales forecast to show a shallower and later …
14th November 2024
Our US Housing Market Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. Lower borrowing costs should breathe some much-needed life into the market next year, but stretched affordability and tight supply due to …
6th November 2024
Rebound in mortgage activity short-lived Rising borrowing costs snuffed out the nascent recovery in mortgage activity in October, with home purchase and refinancing applications both slumping after a promising end to September. This puts to bed any hope …
Annual house price growth continues to cool A slightly healthier 0.3% rise in house prices in August does not change the fact that the market is rapidly cooling amid weak demand and growing supply. Therefore, we stand by our recent decision to trim our …
29th October 2024
Pick-up in sales to be short-lived The increase in new home sales in September was probably supported by the fall in mortgage rates last month. Rates have rebounded since then, however, which lends support to our view that new home sales will not rise …
24th October 2024
Stagnant existing home sales should rally soon The 1% m/m fall in seasonally adjusted existing home sales in September seems underwhelming given last month’s drop in mortgage rates, but the rise in mortgage applications in September points to a recovery …
23rd October 2024
Multi-family weakness offsets gain in single-family starts The small fall in housing starts in September was entirely due to the multi-family segment, whereas single-family starts rose to a five-month high. While starts will probably weaken this month due …
18th October 2024
In light of both Hurricanes Helene and Milton we are flagging notes where we highlighted the physical climate risks facing the US. Ranking metros by physical climate risks to real estate Elevated insurance premiums continue to hit valuations Unpriced …
14th October 2024
Overview – We expect mortgage rates to continue falling, dropping below 6% in 2026. Lower borrowing costs will breathe some life into the market, but stretched affordability and tight supply due to mortgage rate 'lock-in' will continue to hold back …
10th October 2024
Sharp fall in mortgage rates lifts applications The impact of lower mortgage rates was finally evident in mortgage applications in September, with applications for home purchase rebounding to a three-month high. With mortgage rates falling to little more …
2nd October 2024
Small fall in new home sales not a worry New home sales dropped back slightly in August, which always seemed likely after the 10% surge in transactions the month before, driven by pent-up buyers responding to lower borrowing costs. Still, new home demand …
25th September 2024
Increased supply and weak demand are both contributing to the slowdown in house price growth. The recent sharp drop in mortgage rates should cause the market to retighten, but it will take time for that to show up in house prices, which work with a …
24th September 2024
House prices lose further momentum Another muted 0.2% rise in house prices in July adds to the sense that the housing market is cooling amid weak buyer demand and growing supply. As price growth continues to moderate quickly with no signs of a turnaround …
Sales slump, but signs of life emerging The slump in existing home sales in August shows that the sharp fall in mortgage rates since late-July is yet to stimulate the market, although the signs of life in last week’s purchase mortgage applications data …
19th September 2024
Rebound in housing starts The large rise in housing starts in August was due to a rebound in starts in the south, confirming that the July slump was a temporary disruption caused by Hurricane Beryl. The increase in permits, particularly in the …
18th September 2024
A pullback in buyer demand paired with rising supply has cooled the market, causing house price inflation to ease in the first half of the year. With the spring selling season now over, though, and buyers poised to re-enter the market following the recent …
11th September 2024
Recovery delayed The drop in home purchase mortgage applications in August is surprising given the sharp fall in mortgage rates the month before. Some would-be buyers may be delaying their purchases due to increased concerns about the economic outlook, …
4th September 2024
While the headline-hitting surge in immigration last year was mainly driven by a spike in unauthorized movement, legal immigration has picked up from its pandemic lows, which is good news for many multifamily markets across the US. With top destinations …
3rd September 2024
Softer house price gains reflect looser market The muted 0.2% rise in the national Case-Shiller house price index in June was no shock considering that buyer demand collapsed that month, while supply kept growing. With the spring selling season now over …
27th August 2024
Drop in mortgage rates drives surge in new home sales The surge in new home sales in July was driven by pent-up buyers taking advantage of the sharp drop in borrowing costs last month, after having been sidelined earlier this year by high mortgage rates. …
23rd August 2024
Lower rates set the stage for a recovery in activity The small rebound in existing home sales in July seems underwhelming after last month’s large drop in mortgage rates, but the data are based on completed transactions and so it will take at least …
22nd August 2024
Housing starts hit by hurricane The slump in both housing starts and building permits in July, to the lowest levels since the epoch of the pandemic, only partly reflects the temporary impact of Hurricane Beryl. Accordingly, even though lower interest …
16th August 2024
We are sceptical that the recent decline in mortgage rates will revive the housing market. Rates are still high compared to recent years, discouraging homeowners from moving, while most potential new buyers remain sidelined due to historically stretched …
12th August 2024
Sharp fall in mortgages rates should soon support activity July was a disappointing month for mortgage activity overall, with earlier high borrowing costs causing home purchase applications to slide by 5.4% m/m. All the attention, however, will be on the …
7th August 2024
A pullback in buyer demand paired with rising supply has cooled the market, causing house price inflation to ease. However, the recent sharp decline in mortgage rates will offset some of that softness, by lifting demand from its current slump – providing …
6th August 2024
The rise in severe weather events over the last five years has left property insurers scrambling to price-in physical risks, causing premium growth to reach a 20-year high. While we think the worst is over, growth will likely remain above the historic …
31st July 2024
Significant homebuilding in the Sun Belt region over the past three years has restored housing inventory to pre-pandemic levels, which is why house prices there have stalled. In contrast, markets in the Northeast and California, which haven’t seen the …
30th July 2024
Rising supply weighing on house price inflation Another moderate 0.3% m/m rise in house prices in May adds to the evidence that sellers are losing their grip on the market due to increasing supply. Do not write our forecast for a 5% gain in house prices …
New home sales remain weak New home sales were essentially unchanged in June after their 15% slump the month before, not helped by mortgage rates which remained stubbornly high at around 7%. So far in July, borrowing costs have declined and currently sit …
24th July 2024
Spike in rates takes sales to 13-year low The sharp rise in mortgage rates in April was the catalyst for existing home sales falling to a 13-year low in June. However, borrowing costs have since receded and timelier indicators of activity such as mortgage …
23rd July 2024
Multi-family driven increase in housing starts The rise in housing starts and building permits in June is not as good as it seems at first glance, as it was driven by gains in the volatile multi-family sector, which we think will prove temporary. …
17th July 2024
Many households have left western metros in favor of those in the South over the past two years. With remote working looking like a permanent fixture of office-based jobs and affordability significantly stretched in the West, we do not expect to see a …
16th July 2024
Overview – We expect mortgage rates to continue falling, but not by enough to fully offset the effects of mortgage rate ‘lock-in’. As a result, although we expect existing home sales to rebound, we forecast that they will still be a muted 4.8 million even …
Despite rising in June, mortgage applications consistent with weak home sales The decline in mortgage rates back below 7% helped mortgage applications for home purchase to rise by 5.1% m/m in June. That gain was tiny in the context of the ongoing …
3rd July 2024
Across the 17 metros we cover, most will see higher vacancy over the next year or so due to a surge in completions. Atlanta and Houston will be the key exceptions. There new construction has plummeted in response to falling apartment values and higher …
2nd July 2024
New home sales fall to six-month low The 11.3% m/m decline in new home sales in May will steal all the headlines, but it largely reflected a significant upward revision to the April sales number, leaving us somewhat confused at the overall health of the …
26th June 2024
Price inflation slows for first time in almost a year The second consecutive moderate 0.3% m/m rise in house prices in April could be a sign that the increase in home listings this year has cooled the market. We think rising supply will eventually be …
25th June 2024
Sales barely budge in May Existing home sales were essentially flat in May which is somewhat puzzling given that pending home sales and home purchase mortgage applications, which lead transactions by a month, both fell meaningfully in April. Either way, …
21st June 2024
Housing starts fall to lowest level since June 2020 The drop in housing starts in May is consistent with the recent slowdown in permit issuance, pointing to construction continuing to falter this year. The 5.5% m/m decline in housing starts was driven by …
20th June 2024
Mortgage applications fall to three-month low The decline in mortgage rates in May was not enough to stop home purchase mortgage applications from falling to a three-month low. The chances of a quick turnaround in June currently look slim, as the increase …
5th June 2024
House prices March on The solid 0.3% m/m rise in house prices in March suggests that competition among buyers for the limited number of second-hand homes on the market remains strong. We expect that to continue for the rest of the year, consistent with …
28th May 2024
New home sales fall in April due to high mortgage rates The spike in mortgage rates to 7.3% in April caused a sizeable drop in new home sales, as buyers decided to wait for a chance of getting a lower rate. We think this will partly reverse in May as …
23rd May 2024
Existing home sales slide in April, with further falls likely ahead The drop in existing home sales in April will be followed up by further falls in the coming months, supporting our view that the recovery in transactions we expect this year will be …
22nd May 2024
The latest apartment rent data are consistent with our view that rental growth will be sluggish this year. Although single-family rent growth has fared better, we suspect it will soon start to slow again. Zillow reports that apartment rents continued to …
21st May 2024
Weaker than expected recovery in housing starts The modest rebound in housing starts in April confirmed that the slump the month before was a weather-related blip. But the recovery wasn’t as strong as we had anticipated, which potentially casts some doubt …
16th May 2024
This note answers some of the most frequently asked questions that we received from clients during a recent online briefing about the latest US tariffs on China. Watch the original briefing here . What has been announced? Yesterday was the end of a …
15th May 2024
Mortgage rates climbed back above 7% last month but we think that trend will soon reverse, with rates falling to 6.5% by year-end. Lower borrowing costs will draw more mortgaged buyers into the market. But supply will remain tight as the fall in mortgage …
14th May 2024
Lawmakers' current efforts to restrict institutional buying of single-family homes won't put downward pressure on house prices if enacted, as their market share is minimal. Investors ramped up buying of homes in 2021-22, a trend that has raised concerns …
9th May 2024
