Filtered by Subscriptions: US Housing Use setting US Housing
House prices benefit from lower mortgage rates Both the FHFA and Case-Shiller reported a rise in annual house price growth in September, as low mortgage interest rates and tight existing home inventory supported values. But inventory is healthier in the …
26th November 2019
Homes sales edge up, but faltering confidence rules out sustained growth Existing home sales saw a marginal rise in October, but the gain wasn’t enough to reverse September’s dip and sales are still below their level in 2017. With the inventory of homes …
21st November 2019
Single-family building permits hit 12-year high A steady rise in new home sales since the start of the year helped single-family building permits reach a 12-year high in October. A gradual move toward constructing starter homes, which are in short supply, …
19th November 2019
Applications for home purchase drop back as economy slows Despite stable interest rates, demand for home purchase mortgages dropped back in October, and had reached a two-month low by the end of the month. Concerns around the economic outlook, a shortage …
6th November 2019
Annual house price growth stable The rise in month-on-month house price growth in August largely reflects issues with the seasonal-adjustment of the Case-Shiller index, rather than a sign that growth is once again accelerating. Annual gains were stable, …
29th October 2019
New home sales unchanged in September New home sales more-or-less held their ground in September, leaving them close to 12-year highs. Healthy levels of inventory will help sales make further progress over the next year or so but, given overall flat …
24th October 2019
House price growth resumes its downward trend Annual house price growth on the FHFA measure resumed its downward trend in August, slowing to a five-year low of 4.6%. Lower mortgage interest rates should help price growth stabilise over the remainder of …
23rd October 2019
Homes sales drop back due to lack of inventory Following two months of gains, existing home sales dropped back in September. Given mortgage applications for home purchase have been more-or-less flat over the past few months, that decline in activity was …
22nd October 2019
Single-family starts make steady upward progress Strong new home sales have helped boost homebuilder confidence to a 20-month high, and single-family building permits and starts both recorded a small rise in September. The lack of existing home inventory …
17th October 2019
Rise in mortgage rates dampens refinancing demand The first rise in mortgage rates since November last year dampened refinancing demand in September, but applications for home purchase saw a small gain. However that rise merely took home purchase demand …
2nd October 2019
New home sales bounce back from weak July The volatility in new home sales continued into August, with a rise of 7.7% m/m not quite reversing the fall recorded in July. Flat demand for home purchase mortgages over the past couple of weeks argues against …
25th September 2019
House price growth stabilises The gradual slowdown in house price growth seen over the past year came to a halt in July. Case-Shiller reported annual growth was unchanged at 3.2%, and the FHFA recorded a slight acceleration to 5.0%. Lower mortgage …
24th September 2019
Homes sales surprise on the upside Existing home sales increased for the second consecutive month in August, to reach an 18-month high. But a number of factors argue against a sustained rise in activity. Demand for home purchase mortgages has seen only a …
19th September 2019
Low mortgage interest rates give starts a boost Even ignoring the surge in volatile multifamily starts, August was a good month for homebuilding. Single-family starts and permits both saw decent gains, as low mortgage interest rates, a solid labour market …
18th September 2019
Home purchase demand drops despite further fall in mortgage rates August’s rebound in overall mortgage applications was driven by buoyant refinancing activity, while home purchase applications fell. A further drop in the 10-year Treasury yield means that …
4th September 2019
Annual house price growth continues to ease Both the FHFA and Case-Shiller reported a further slowdown in annual house price growth in June. But with mortgage interest rates falling to near three-year lows and inventory tight, we doubt growth on the …
27th August 2019
New home sales volatile over the summer The substantial drop in new home sales in July is not as bad it looks, as a large upward revision to the previous month’s estimate meant that decline came from a 12-year high. A slowing economy rules out a strong …
23rd August 2019
Inventory falls to a 15-month low Existing home sales managed their first year-on-year rise for 17-months in July, but that is not the start of a sustained upward trend. Home purchase mortgage demand has not received much of a boost from lower interest …
21st August 2019
Single-family starts continue their slow recovery Single-family starts and building permits both increased in July, as lower interest rates, a tight existing home market and the decline in the backlog of previously authorised homes have encouraged …
16th August 2019
Lower rates fail to attract more buyers to the market Despite a steady decline in mortgage interest rates, mortgage applications for home purchase had dropped to a five-month low by the end of July. The recent drop in the 10-year Treasury yield means …
7th August 2019
Subdued demand leads to further slowdown in house price growth Annual house price growth edged back once again in May, with subdued demand and lender caution taking some of the heat out of the market. That slowdown is set to continue as the economy …
30th July 2019
New home sales recover some lost ground New home sales rose by a solid 7.0% m/m in June, making up some of the ground they lost over April and May. A healthy new home inventory will continue to support sales, but the dip in mortgage applications for home …
24th July 2019
Lower interest rates fail to boost existing home sales A steady fall in mortgage interest rates has not given a boost to existing home sales, which dropped back in June and have now recorded year-on-year declines for the past 16-months. A slowing economy …
23rd July 2019
Rise in single-family starts to continue The volatile multifamily sector was responsible for the overall decline in both housing starts and building permits in June. Single-family starts and permits both edged out a small gain and, with new home sales set …
17th July 2019
Refinancing drives surge in mortgage applications Mortgage applications surged in June, as existing borrowers took advantage of declining mortgage interest rates. Meanwhile, house purchase applications also rose, but only modestly. Looking ahead, we …
3rd July 2019
New home sales set to rebound over next couple of months A healthy level of inventory means the new home market is well placed to benefit from the recent rise in housing demand, and we therefore expect sales will rebound from the drop seen in May over the …
25th June 2019