Room for Rent: Exploring Rental Vacancy Rates in Urban, Suburban and Rural America
Rental vacancy rates in the country’s largest cities reached historic lows in 2016, even as rental vacancies remained stubbornly high in the nation’s rural communities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Key Takeaways from the January New Home Sales Report
January new home sales rose 3.7 percent from December, to 555,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The rebound in new home sales was expected to some degree, given weak December sales which were likely impacted by unseasonably cold weather across much of the country. However, sales were weaker than the consensus forecast, suggesting a modestly disappointing report.
January Existing Home Sales Key Takeaways: Strong Start to 2017
Existing home sales rebounded strongly in January from after a weak, unusually wintry December, the fourth month in the past five in which existing sales beat expectations.
January Home Sales Forecast: Seasonal Adjustment Disorder
Tight inventory will continue to weigh on existing home sales, according to our January home sales forecast, while new home sales should rebound from a slow December. Looking farther ahead, shifting behaviors among home sellers, buyers and builders make it trickier to read definitive trends in seasonally-adjusted home sales data.
Q4 2016 Homeownership Rate: Western Home Buyers Help 2016 End on a High Note
After reaching its lowest point in decades mid-way through 2016, the U.S. homeownership rate registered two straight quarterly gains and finished the year at 63.7 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau.
Key Takeaways from the December New Home Sales Report
New home sales fell 10.4 percent in December to 536,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), the largest month-over-month decline since March 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau
December Existing Home Sales Key Takeaways: Mid-Winter Blues
After seeming to defy gravity over much of the fall – consistently beating expectations despite ever-tightening for-sale inventory and rising mortgage rates – existing home sales seemed to come part of the way back down to earth in December.
December Home Sales Forecast: Will Buyer Resilience Continue?
Unseasonably cold weather across much of the country along with still-tight inventory and rising mortgage rates weighed on home sales in December according to Zillow’s December home sales forecast. We expect existing home sales, which will be published on Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors, to fall 1.2 percent in December to 5.54 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR)
Home values in counties that voted for Hillary Clinton had a more exaggerated boom and bust than in those that voted for Donald Trump, and homes in counties that voted for Trump are generally more affordable, according to a Zillow analysis of county-level home values, negative equity and affordability.
November Home Sales Forecast: Rising Rates, Cooling Markets?
November home sales data will be a critical test of the resiliency of the American housing market. After falling steadily for much of the past two years, mortgage rates rose in mid-November as markets responded to the results of the U.S. presidential election. By the end of the month, rates were about 50 basis points above where they stood in October.
