Softwood Lumber Tariff Could Lift New Home Premiums by $2,000
An announced 20 percent tariff on Canadian lumber imports could cost buyers of new homes thousands of dollars in added materials costs, according to a Zillow analysis of lumber and home prices over time.
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.
March New Home Sales: The West Leads the Pack
The West – which saw an increase of 25,000 units (16.7 percent) – accounted for nearly three-quarters of the nationwide jump in new home sales.
After Georgia’s Strict 2011 Immigration Law, New Home Premiums Surged
After Georgia enacted a law to crack down on illegal immigration and unauthorized immigrants, the new-home premium jumped sharply there while remaining flat in the rest of the country.
March Existing Home Sales: Speed Shopping
Existing home sales climbed to 5.71 million, the largest monthly number since February 2007 -- and the fifth time in the past seven months that existing home sales have beat expectations.
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 Home Sales Forecast: Blame It on the Cold
Our forecast suggests a year-over-year new home sales growth of 5.7 percent in March – the slowest pace of annual growth in new home sales since early 2014 (the weather-related drop in December 2016 aside). However, if recent trends continue, the year-over-year growth rate of new home sales could slow to 0.6 percent in May.
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.
