Rapid Reaction: April Existing Home Sales
The April existing home sales report adds fuel to a fire we know has been burning for several years now: Home buying demand is incredibly high, and the supply of homes to buy is incredibly low, which serves to push prices up and only piles on the frustration for buyers struggling to find an appropriate home at the right price.
Rapid Reaction: April New Home Sales
April new home sales fell 11.4 percent from a strong March, to 569,000 units (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales of new homes were up 0.5 percent from a year ago. A dramatic decline in sales activity in the West largely drove the big monthly drop, accounting for roughly 2/3 of overall the national fall.
Rapid Reaction: April 2017 Jobs Report
After a late bout of wintry weather put a damper on hiring in March, employers bounced back strongly in April, adding enough jobs to bring the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in a decade.
Rapid Reaction: Q1 2017 Homeownership Rate
The Q1 2017 homeownership rate ticked down to 63.6 percent from 63.7 percent at the end of 2016, a statistically insignificant dip largely driven by a small drop in the number of owner households and small increases in the number of renter households.
March Case-Shiller Forecast: The Home Price Party Rages On
The national Case-Shiller index is projected to climb 5.9 percent year-over-year in March, following a 5.8 percent gain in February.
February Case-Shiller Results: My, What Big Home Prices You Have
Home prices continued their upward climb in February, as expected, with the national Case-Shiller home price index reaching a four consecutive all-time high.
Rapid Reaction: March Existing Home Sales
March existing home sales rose 4.4 percent from February and 5.9 percent from a year ago, to 5.71 million units (SAAR), according to the National Association of Realtors. March was the strongest month for existing home sales in more than a decade.
March 2017 Market Report: Rents Rise at Slowest Pace in Five Years
U.S. rents rose 0.7 percent over the past year, to a Zillow Rent Index (ZRI) of $1,408 per month, the slowest rate of appreciation since November 2012.
Rent Growth Is Flat. Now What?
Slower rental growth may take some heat off renters thinking of buying a home just to escape the volatility of steep annual rent hikes.
Down Payment the Top Hurdle Holding Back Would-Be Home Buyers
Saving a sufficient down payment is the biggest obstacle for renters looking to transition to homeownership, regardless of their age, income, gender or geography – a hurdle likely to get worse for many before it gets better.
