October Existing Home Sales Key Takeaways: When Do Surprises Stop Being Surprising?
October existing home sales defied gravity for the second consecutive month, beating expectations for flat to negative growth and instead rising 2 percent from September to 5.6 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) according to the National Association of Realtors.
Rapid Reaction: October Existing Home Sales
The existing home sales market continues to show surprising strength, defying expectations for a modest fall and instead delivering the strongest month in almost a decade. Clearly, the market continues to underestimate just how much demand for homes is out there, even in the face of tight inventory and rising existing home prices that are now the highest on record.
California’s Dry Spell Leads to Flood of Drought-Related Listing Terms
The past five years have been the driest in California’s history, leading to a statewide water emergency and the imposition of water-use reduction targets. Homeowners have responded both by cutting their per-capita water use, and by changing how they market their homes.
October Home Sales Forecast: Sooner or Later, Gravity Wins
Home sales have been surprisingly robust in 2016, despite steadily contracting for-sale inventory. Existing home sales have grown on average by about 1.1 percent each month in 2016, even as inventory has fallen by about 1.7 percent each month over the same time. Higher velocity – homes spending less time on the market and buyers spending more – has allowed the market to seemingly defy gravity. But sooner or later, gravity wins.
Q3 2016 Housing Affordability: Renting More Affordable Than It’s Been in Two Years
Incomes are growing, and growth in rents is slowing – leading to a (very) modest, but welcome, improvement in overall U.S. rental affordability in the third quarter.
Going Green: Cities with Large Carbon Footprints Are Hot Spots for Eco-Friendly Home Tech
As it turns out, cities with the most homes for sale that advertise eco-friendly amenities – think solar panels, double-paned windows and energy-efficient appliances – are also the cities that need those amenities most, because their carbon footprints tend to be larger.
Rapid Reaction: October Jobs Report
The number of nonfarm U.S. jobs rose by 161,000 in October, versus consensus expectations for a gain of 175,000 jobs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' October jobs report.
Getting a Mortgage Was Easier Overall in 2015, But Remains More Challenging for Minorities
Newly released mortgage application, approval and denial data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act show that getting a mortgage continued to get somewhat easier in recent years, a boon to buyers otherwise concerned with fast-moving inventory and intense competition. But despite improvement overall, there remain stark differences in mortgage denial rates and the ease of getting a mortgage between whites and minorities.
It’s True: The Country’s Most Expensive Housing Markets Are Creating the Most Jobs
However you look at it, the nation’s most expensive housing markets are home to a growing share of the nation’s jobs.
How Affordable is Housing in Your Congressional District?
In looking at housing affordability across the nation’s congressional districts, we found home values and rents tend to be higher along the coasts and in denser, urban communities, regardless which party represents a given community in Congress.
