April New Home Sales: Up 12 Percent From 2017, With the Lowest Median Price in a Year
New home sales fell 1.5 percent from March to 662,000 units (SAAR) in April but remain up 11.6 percent from a year earlier. The median seasonally adjusted price of new homes sold in April fell 6.5 percent from March to $312,700, its lowest level in a year.
Rapid Reaction: April New Home Sales
April new home sales fell 1.5 percent from March to 662,000 units (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and were up 11.6 percent from a year ago. Data from the first three months of the year was downwardly revised by a combined 41,000 units.
Construction Worker Wages Are Growing Incredibly Fast
Residential construction worker wages are growing at a 5 percent annual pace, almost double the 2.9 percent pace of wage growth for all workers -- as clear a signal as any of the depth of labor shortages home builders face as they struggle to ramp up building as their costs keep rising.
2020 Vision: Experts Say Next Recession Looms at Decade’s End
Experts largely expect the next recession to begin in 2020, in line with prior expectations expressed in the latter half of 2017. But unlike last year, experts these days are less worried that geopolitical events might tip the economy into the red, and more concerned over monetary and trade policy.
Memphis and Other Southeast Markets Have the Shortest Buy-Rent Breakeven Horizons
The amount of time it takes for owning a typical U.S. home to make more financial sense than renting an identical home is now 1.96 years – or a little under a year and 11 months. It's a year and almost four months in Memphis.
Americans Likely to Reinvest Billions in Tax Savings Back into Housing
Zillow estimates homeowners and renters could put $13.2 billion in tax savings directly into the American housing market in 2018, using some of their tax cut to rent or buy a bigger home.
April Home Sales Forecast: Retreat From Recent Highs
New home sales have surged since the start of the year, rising in March to their second-highest level since the housing bust. We expect this three-month trend ended in April.
Oil Prices, Fed Comments Push Mortgage Rates to Five-Year High
A combination of strong data, geopolitical risk and comments from several Federal Reserve officials contributed to the jump.
Having low credit can come with a lot of high costs. A borrower with a “fair” credit score could pay 7 percent more over the life of a 30-year mortgage for the same home as an otherwise identical borrower with an “excellent” score.
Why a Growing Share of Young Adults Live With Mom
Despite a strong economic recovery, the share of young adults living with their moms continues to rise, demonstrating the scars left by the economic downturn and housing bust.
