US Housing Market Update Surge in new home supply won’t crash house prices On past form the jump in the months’ supply of new homes to an eight-year high would be consistent with outright falls in national house prices. However, the existing home inventory is not far off... 6th December 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Amazon HQ2s will give small boost to rental demand Amazon’s decision to base its new, secondary HQs in New York City and Northern Virginia does not mean that rental markets in these cities will enjoy the kind of surge seen in Seattle. At the margins... 15th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update It’s not all bad news in the housing market Amongst all the housing market gloom it is easy to overlook the fact that homes are selling quickly, prospective buyer traffic volumes are high and mortgage lenders are approving a high share of... 13th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Under-35 homeownership rate will soon flatten out Unlike some, we do not think that the latest rise in homeownership among the under 35s heralds an imminent revival in housing market activity. In fact, it tells us more about the previous strength of... 9th November 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Rise in adjustable-rate mortgage share not a concern Rising interest rates have led to an increase in the share of mortgages originated with an adjustable rate (ARMs). But the market share is still small, and the products have not been targeted at... 25th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update House price crash unlikely A sharp drop in the share of homes seeing an increase in value over the past year is ringing alarm bells in some quarters. But the fact that housing demand is flat lining, rather than contracting and... 18th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Is rate lock-in weighing on home sales? Households electing not to move to avoid giving up a record low, fixed mortgage rate provide one potential explanation for the slowdown in home sales in recent months. However, the available evidence... 1st October 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Hurricane Florence and mortgage delinquencies Experience from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma last year suggests the share of delinquent mortgages in the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia will rise following Hurricane Florence. However, with the... 14th September 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Drop in lumber price a small positive for housing starts There are a couple of reasons to hope that the drop in lumber prices over the past couple of months will be a positive for the housing market. First, it should encourage builders to start work on the... 15th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Affordability at 10-year low, but no need to panic Housing affordability has reached a 10-year low. Even so, homes are still more affordable now than at any time prior to 2009. Accordingly, improving inventory levels and further gradual easing in... 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Slowing demand a downside risk for housing starts Alongside lot, labour and material shortages, builders are now having to contend with growing evidence that the sales environment is becoming more testing. While the strong labour market, and lack of... 20th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Americans have not forgotten that house prices can fall The share of Americans who point to high house prices as a reason not to buy looks elevated in relation to the level of real house prices and mortgage affordability. That may reflect memories of the... 13th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Rise in natural vacancy rate may support rental growth It is possible that the large number of new apartments entering the market over the past year has acted to increase the ‘natural’ vacancy rate. Uncertainty about achievable rents in new buildings... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Californian inventory rises, but for the wrong reasons The rise in the number of homes for sale in California, to its highest level in a year, is not the good news it first appears. The increase is due to a drop in home sales, rather than a rise in... 29th June 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Banks report rise in demand from riskier borrowers We doubt the rise in mortgage demand from higher risk borrowers reported in the latest Fannie Mae survey will lead to a surge in mortgage lending. Cautious lenders and regulations mean that this... 14th June 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Rising incomes good news for rental growth After eight years of stagnation, earnings growth finally looks set to accelerate. Household incomes have also received a boost from the tax cuts, which has helped raise rental growth expectations... 11th June 2018 · 1 min read