April Fools’ may be over, but that hasn’t dampened recession fears from generating headlines. Broadly speaking, the U.S. economy is performing well. Wages are increasing and we’re near full employment. So, why are some experts raising recession concerns?
Throughout much of 2018, home prices were high, demand was rising and bidding wars were the new normal. As a result of the competitive market, buyers were under more pressure to seek qualification for larger loans. Fraud can come in many forms, but income falsification remains one of the most likely misrepresentations. By December 2018,...
Topics: Fraud, Loan Application Defect Index
First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming was interviewed on CNBC on Tuesday and discussed how the decline in mortgage rates over the last few months and continued tight housing supply are likely to impact the housing market.
Topics: Housing, New Home Buying, In The News, Interest Rates, Affordability
While 2018 was largely characterized by declining affordability, ending the year with a five percent yearly decline in house-buying power, this trend reversed sharply in early 2019. Moderating home prices, in conjunction with gains in household income and declining mortgage rates, boosted affordability for potential home buyers.
Topics: Interest Rates, Real House Price Index, Affordability, Insider
In February 2019, the housing market continued to underperform its potential, but showed signs of promise leading into the spring home-buying season. Actual existing-home sales are 2.5 percent below the market’s potential, according to our Potential Home Sales model. That means the market has the potential to support 127,000 more home sales at...
Topics: Interest Rates, Federal Reserve, Insider, homeownership, Potential Home Sales
First American’s most recent Potential Home Sales model for January 2019 found a 5.7 percent decline in the market potential for existing home sales, compared to the previous year. Increasing tenure length (the length of time a homeowner stays in their home before moving) was the most prominent factor leading to this decline.
Topics: homeownership, Potential Home Sales, tenure