The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 3.3% in June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.16 million (down 18.9% year over year). Total housing inventory at the end of June was 1.08 million units, the same as May but down 13.6% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.1-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 18 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types in June was $410,200, down 0.9% from one year ago. “The first half of the year was a…
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,434,000, which is 8% lower than May’s revised number and is 8.1% lower than one year ago. June’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 482k. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,440,000, which is 3.7% lower than May’s revised number and is 15.3.% lower than one year ago. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 467k in…
Citing Census data, Statista says demographic change has accelerated in the United States over the past 10 years – especially among those in the 65+ category. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!! Hat tip to Statista.
A group called the Rhode Island Association of Coastal Taxpayers (RIACT) filed a lawsuit in early July that challenges a law that takes private property from every coastal property owner in the state and gives it to the public for beach use. According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, the law, pushed by coastal activists, moves the public beach inland, and onto private coastal property, along the entire state shoreline. Below is the media release from the Pacific Legal Foundation: Rhode Island taxpayers challenge government’s beachfront land grab Washington County, Rhode Island; July 07, 2023: The Rhode Island Association of…
The Biden Administration announced in Mid-July that it has enlisted the help of several real estate platforms in taking on so-called “junk fees” in rental housing in order to “lower costs for renters.” These partnerships include Zillow, Apartments.com, and Affordablehousing.com. The statement concludes by saying that in the coming months the Biden Administration will work with Congress, state leaders, and the private sector to address these so-called “rental junk fees” in an effort to build “a fairer rental housing market.” Stay tuned… Below is an except from the White House’s release: July 19, 2023 FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes…
Redfin says that while the U.S. rental market has been slowing for more than a year, the median asking rent is still only $24 below its record high. In June, it was $2,029, little changed from $1,995 one month earlier, $2,019 one year earlier and a record high of $2,053 set in August 2022. In percentage terms, rents were up 0.5% year over year in June, not far from May’s 0.6% annual drop. Rents rose 1.7% from one month earlier in June. “The housing market tends to be ‘downside sticky,’ which means rents don’t typically fall much even when renter…
According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Insights (HPI) report, home price growth slowed for the 12th straight month in May, falling to a 1.4% increase year over year. CoreLogic said the last time their Home Price index saw annual growth fall to less than 2% was in early 2012. However, price appreciation still remained positive for the 136th straight month in May. In addition, their forecast indicates that home prices will increase on a month-over-month basis by 1% from May 2023 to June 2023 and increase on a year-over-year basis by 4.5% from May 2023 to May 2024. “After…
According to the ATTOM Data’s Midyear 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, here were a total of 185,580 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions) in the first six months of 2023. That figure is up 13% from the same time period one year ago and up 185% from the same time period two years ago. “Similar to the first half of 2022, foreclosure activity across the United States maintained its upward trajectory, gradually approaching pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2023…Although overall foreclosure activity remains below historical norms, the notable surge in foreclosure starts…
The Scotsman Guide is reporting that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will now require lenders that make FHA loans to ask for a mortgage applicant’s language preference. According to the report, lenders will be required to use the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Supplementary Consumer Information Form (SCIF) to collect a borrower’s language of choice for loan applications dated on or after Aug. 28, 2023. In addition, they say the new mandate follows the FHFA’s language preference collection requirement for lenders that sell loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which was enacted in March and proposed to codify as regulation in…
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 0.2% in June, 2023. The all items index was up 3% for the 12 months ending in June. Once again, the BLS says the index for shelter (housing costs) was the largest contributor (70%) to the monthly all items increase. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
