New home sales missed sales estimates significantly in Wednesday’s report and we have negative revisions to the previous months. The builders’ profit margins are dwindling, which means housing construction, which has been at early COVID-19 recession levels for some time, could worsen if mortgage rates stay elevated or head even higher. So, instead of focusing […]
US housing construction is dead with current mortgage rates Read More »
Homebuyers in 2025 are finally getting some good news. Active housing inventory is returning to the levels we experienced before the pandemic, which means the chaotic and unhealthy housing market of the last several years is finally a thing of the past. As someone who was concerned about home prices skyrocketing out of control between
Homebuyers finally catch a break with more inventory Read More »
Home prices continue to outpace last year, but at a pace that’s slowing down. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index for April rose 2.7% year over year, a deceleration from 3.37% in March, 3.9% in February and 4.1% in January. It’s the first data for the Case-Shiller that includes the period after President Donald
Home prices are still climbing, but the pace is slowing Read More »
Look at all the variables at play in the housing market and it’s hard not to feel pessimistic about the affordability crisis. Mortgage payments continue to increase thanks to high mortgage rates, home insurance premiums are on the rise in markets vulnerable to natural disasters and the rent is still too dang high for renters
Four charts that perfectly illustrate the housing affordability crisis Read More »
Global tensions between the United States and Iran have led many in the mortgage industry to wonder whether the bombing of Iran nuclear sites would move bond yields and lead to a drop in mortgage rates. On Monday, just as economists were factoring in the possibility of war with Iran, at least one member of
The mortgage market hopes for rate cuts amid war moves Read More »
The May existing-home sales report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows sales at just 4.03 million, a 0.7% decrease year over year and up 0.8% compared to April. It was the slowest May for existing home sales since 2009 and the fourth consecutive month with a year-over-year decline in sales. Unsold inventory also continues
Inventory is rising, but existing home sales remain in a major slump Read More »
After the weekend’s global events, many expected that the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities would influence bond yields, either up or down, today. However, the real surprise came from Michelle Bowman, Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision, who talked about a potential rate cut in July. In a speech she gave at a research conference
Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman supports July interest rate cut Read More »
On Saturday night, the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites, sending shockwaves around the world and leading people to ask me what this means for mortgage rates. This type of global event can lead to significant market movements in oil prices, the U.S. dollar and the 10-year yield in the short term. However, this year, we’ve
How will mortgage rates react to US bombing of Iran? Read More »
The most notable housing trend for me in 2024 and 2025 has been inventory growth, particularly the increase in new listings during this time. I had set a minimal target of 80,000 new listings per week for 2025 and we’ve met that goal two times this year. However, the data for new listings is losing
New listings slowdown shows lack of home seller stress in 2025 Read More »
FHFA Director Bill Pulte called for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to resign today, shortly after President Trump urged Powell to cut the Fed funds rate by 2.5% in a social post. This follows the Federal Reserve’s decision yesterday to keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged. Although Powell pointed out the challenges of finding a
FHFA Director Bill Pulte calls on Fed Chair Powell to resign Read More »