Author: Brad Beckett

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says homeowner & rental vacancy rates are one of the key statistics used to judge the health and direction of the housing market.  Using 2021 data from the American Community Survey (ACS), they point out that abnormally low vacancy rates signal a greater housing shortage – with U.S. vacancy rates hitting their lowest readings in decades in 2021.  They estimate that 1.5 million units are required to close the gap and bring the current vacancy rates back to the long-run equilibrium levels.  Indeed… “…estimates only evaluate shortages of vacant units needed to bring the current…

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 December 30, 2022 New home price data show that the boom is over. Although prices in the third quarter were up 16 percent from last year, they were up only 1 percent from the second quarter. And prices in September were actually down from the peak in May-June. Most local markets are over-priced compared to local income, so the question now becomes whether home prices come down…

Could this be called a “snow premium?”  A recent report from LendingTree (citing U.S. government data) compared the cost of median-priced homes in the states that got the most and least amount of snow in December, 2021.  Interestingly, they found that median-priced homes in the states with the most snow are more expensive, on average, than median-priced homes in the states with the least snow.  Indeed… “As our study illustrates — barring exceptions like Hawaii and California — buying a home in a snowy state is likely to cost more than doing so in a warmer part of the country.…

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 9.2% annual gain for October, 2022.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 8% and their 20-City Composite posted a 8.6% year-over-year gain.  The increases in both measures continued to be down from previous months. “October 2022 marked the fourth consecutive month of declining home prices in the U.S….As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be a headwind for home prices…prices may well continue to weaken.”  Said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. Click here to read the…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were down 4% in November, 2022 – the sixth consecutive month of declines.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) dipped to 73.9. “Pending home sales recorded the second-lowest monthly reading in 20 years as interest rates, which climbed at one of the fastest paces on record this year, drastically cut into the number of contract signings to buy a home… [in addition] …Falling home sales and construction have hurt broader economic activity.”  Said the NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun. Click here to…

This weekend will close out 2022 and welcome in 2023.  We hope you had a great 2022 and wish you nothing but the best for whatever 2023 has in store!  Today’s infographic from WalletHub shares over 50 New Years Facts – which are perfect to spark a conversation or keep one going while you’re waiting to ring in 2023!  As always, have a Happy Friday and Happy New Year! Hat tip to WalletHub.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices 9.8% from October 2021 through October 2022. However, house prices were flat nationwide experiencing a 0.0%  change from the September to October, 2022.  The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. “U.S. house prices have seen two consecutive months of near-zero appreciation…Higher mortgage rates continued to put downward pressure on demand, weakening…

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing recently analyzed data from the Federal Reserve’s Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States, which shows a sharp slowdown in the quarter-over-quarter growth of households’ real estate assets. They say that after six consecutive quarters of above 3% growth quarter-over-quarter, Q3 of 2022 only saw a 1.74% increase in households’ real estate asset value. Some key points: The level of households’ real estate assets increased by $0.72 trillion from $41.19 trillion in the second quarter of 2022 to $41.91 trillion in the third quarter of 2022. The market value of owner-occupied real estate increased 13.82%…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in November, 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640k, which is 5.8% higher than October’s revised rate and is 15.3% lower than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in November was $471,200 with an average sales price of $543,600.  There were an estimated 461k new houses for sale at the end of November representing a 8.6-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Let’s face it, the U.S. Census Bureau publishes a lot of interesting data and charts.   Likewise, when you’re working hard to ensure that there’s an adequate supply of housing for all income groups and familial situations, data like the chart below can be very useful.  The full data set can be analyzed as well. Click here to read the full data set at the U.S. Census Bureau.