The dominant theme in the housing market nationally in 2019 has been the ongoing challenge of a dearth of housing supply amid rising demand. A natural solution to the challenge is to build more homes. Yet, nationally, supply headwinds still make it hard for builders to ramp up new construction, especially at the entry-level, where first-time home ... Read More ›

Thus far in 2019, the story of the housing market has been a tale of strong housing demand and limited supply. On the demand side, steadily rising house-buying power has fueled greater demand. Falling mortgage rates and rising household income sparked a nearly 12.6 percent increase in house-buying power year to date through September. The impact ... Read More ›

Important, but easy to overlook shifts in investment trends may be contributing to our current era of low interest rates. An excess supply of global savings relative to the demand for that money for investments is driving down interest rates, which can be thought of as the price of money. The neutral rate of interest, which is monitored by the ... Read More ›

Whether it’s parents shuttling their children off to elementary school or students starting their final year of college, back-to-school season is here. We generally spend a minimum of 12 years as a student, more if you pursue a college degree. Along the way, we’re told that education is critical to your ability to earn a decent living. Read More ›

Traditional measures of affordability can be misleading to potential first-time home buyers because they compare overall median household income with the income required to purchase a median-priced home. However, median household income includes existing homeowner households, which have significantly higher median income than renter households, so ... Read More ›

Since hitting a low point of 63 percent in 2016, the homeownership rate has rebounded, largely driven by millennial households purchasing their first homes. Many surveys, like one by Bank of the West, indicate that millennials are no different from previous generations – they view homeownership as a main tenet of the American Dream. Read More ›