US Housing Market Update Will expensive home sales keep booming? Sales of expensive homes have done particularly well over the past year, with the share of existing homes sold for over $500,000 surging from 15% a year ago to a record high 26% in April. An extreme... 26th May 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Outlook bright for home improvement spending Booming home sales, record low inventory, the shift to working from home and a surge in savings have all helped boost home improvement spending over the past three quarters. While home sales are set... 19th May 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Increased demand for larger apartments to persist Increased demand for larger apartments to accommodate working from home is already evident in NYC, where the inventory of units with two or more bedrooms has seen a sharper decline compared to smaller... 14th May 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Surging house prices not bringing vacants to market There were 1.14m vacant homes not being used for any purpose in the first quarter, enough to double the inventory of existing homes for sale. Record low interest rates and the prospect of further... 28th April 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update High lumber costs won’t cut starts or boost prices Surging lumber prices have led to delays in housing starts and an increase in some new home prices. But, while we expect lumber prices to remain relatively high over the next couple of years, the... 21st April 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Is there still a bright future for Sunbelt apartments? The easing of virus restrictions and return to offices for many white-collar workers will mean that apartment markets in cities such as NYC and Washington D.C. will outperform this year. But we think... 15th April 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Is buying sentiment pointing to a crash in home sales? Record low inventory, surging house prices and stretched affordability have pushed the share of households who think now is a good time to buy a home to the lowest since 2010. But, at the same time... 25th March 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Rising rates will cool, not crash, the housing market We now expect mortgage interest rates will rise to 4.0% by the end of the year, and to 4.25% by end-2022. But housing demand will be supported by a reopening economy, the large fiscal stimulus... 19th March 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Rise in cash-out volume not a risk to the recovery With fewer spending options during the lockdown, the share of cash-out refinances is much lower than usual given the recent surge in house prices. And, while the volume of cash extracted has reached a... 12th March 2021 · 2 mins read
US Housing Reopening less of a positive for Boston apartments Greater availability, lower prices and proximity to NYC have supported demand for Boston apartments during the pandemic. That implies demand may edge back as the country reopens, and some workers... 5th March 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update High lumber prices force builders to delay Record high lumber prices are leading to delays in housing starts, and as result the share of homes for sale that have not been started reached a record high in January. While that will constrain... 26th February 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update High unemployment to benefit homebuilders An elevated unemployment rate, alongside some relaxation in immigration restrictions, will help ease labour shortages in the residential sector this year. Admittedly, not all parts of the economy are... 17th February 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Haus launches a new house price index As it is based on asking prices, the recently launched Common Haus Price Index (CHPI) could lead other house price indices by 1-2 months, which would make it a useful tool for forecasting short-term... 8th February 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update The future for city property In our Future of Property research, we identified important post-pandemic shifts in most real estate sectors. How these trends interact will be key to the outlook for the urban locations where most... 4th February 2021 · 6 mins read
US Housing Market Update Homeownership rate to hold steady in 2021 An improvement in the share of in-person interviews in the fourth quarter HVS survey helped bring the homeownership rate back down from its recent implausible highs. And, with home sales set to slow... 4th February 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update How big might the foreclosure wave be? We estimate a backlog of around 850,000 foreclosures will have built-up if the ban is extended until the end of September, similar to the peak seen during the financial crisis. However, not all those... 27th January 2021 · 3 mins read