Author: Brad Beckett

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were up 6.7% in January to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.50 million (down 2.3% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of January was 860k units, down 16.5% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 1.6-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 19 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $350,300, which was up 15.4% from one year ago.  The NAR says this marks 119 consecutive months of year-over-year increases,…

We continue to post about rising lumber prices and their impact on the housing industry.  In a recent report, CNBC’s Diana Olick says the price of lumber has been on a roller coaster since the start of the pandemic, and it’s disrupting the housing market.  As we have seen, not only are soaring costs increasing the price of a new home, they are also adding nearly $7,300 to the average cost of a new multifamily home, translating into an additional $67/month to the rent. Click here to read the full story at CNBC.com.

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,638,000, which is 4.1% lower than December’s revised number and 0.8% higher than one year ago.  January’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 510k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,899,000, which is 0.7% higher than December’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 629k in December. Click here to read the full report at…

What are the metro areas seeing the largest percent gain in single-family home prices?  Today’s graphic from the NAR shows identifies the top 10 cities with the biggest gains.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! The top 10 metro areas with the largest gains in existing single-family home prices in Q4, 2021: Punta Gorda, FL Ocala, FL Austin/Round Rock, TX Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, AZ Sherman/Denison, TX Tucson, AZ Las Vegas/Henderson/Paradise, NV Ogden/Clearfield, UT Salt Lake City, UT 10. Boise City/Nampa, ID Hat tip to the National Association of Realtors.

According to Auction.com’s Daren Blomquist, most REO auction buyers in 2021 were owner-occupants or local community developers.   Of those buyers, 99% purchased five or fewer properties with 74% of those properties being located within 100 miles of where they live.  The U.S. states with the highest share of owner-occupant REO auction buyers in 2021 were Idaho (43%), Hawaii (25%), Maine (23%), New Mexico (22%), and Washington (21%). The top three states in terms of sold REO auction volume in 2021 all posted owner-occupancy rates above the national average: Illinois (15%), New York (17%), and Florida (17%). Interestingly, Blomquist said bank-owned…

Apartment List says rent growth has cooled substantially from last year’s peak with year-over-year rent growth currently standing at a record-setting 17.8%.  However, over the past four months, rents only increased by a total of just 0.9%.  In February, 41 of the nation’s 100 largest cities saw rents fall with just five cities seeing an increase by more than 1%.  Apartment List says it remains to be seen if rapid rent growth will return as moving activity picks back up in the spring and summer.  Indeed… “After the first and only national rent decline of 2021, January brought a return…

According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index, price appreciation averaged 15% for 2021, up from 2020’s full year average of 6%.  They point that home price growth started off 2021 at 10% in Q1, steadily increasing and ending the year with an increase of 18% by Q4.  CoreLogic says that homeownership demand ran up against persistently low supply of for-sale homes, which in turn created one of the hottest housing markets in decades.  However, they do predict that in 2022, price gains will start above 10%, but slow to 3.5% by the end of the year.  Indeed… “Much of…

A new report from Redfin says the share of newly built single-family homes on the market at the end of 2021 was at a record high as builders try to keep up with surging demand.  In addition, Redfin said that more than 34.1% of single-family homes for sale in December were new construction, up from 25.4% a year earlier and the highest share on record. “A lot of pre-owned homes are being listed, but they are just selling off so quickly–typically in a matter of days–while new homes take longer to sell…So as a homebuyer, you’re increasingly likely to see…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook By Ingo Winzer February, 2022 Revised data show steady improvement but an economy still down 3 million jobs from before the pandemic. Similarly, Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter was 3 percent higher than pre-covid, but a big chunk of that was due to higher inventories, not actual consumption. We seem to be looking at an economy that is different than before, but in ways we don’t quite…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was 0.6% in January, 2022.  However, the all items index was up 7.5% for the 12 months ending in January.  Buckle up… Click here to read the full release at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.