Two of the three key drivers of the Real House Price Index (RHPI), household income and mortgage rates, modestly swung in favor of increased affordability in September, yet affordability declined month over month. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell by 0.01 percentage points and household income increased 0.03 percent compared with August 2019. ...
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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 ...
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In October 2019, the housing market exceeded its potential, as actual existing-home sales exceeded market potential by 4.6 percent, or an estimated 239,000 seasonally adjusted annualized sales. Housing market potential decreased relative to last month, but increased 0.6 percent compared with October of last year.
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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 ...
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Declining for the sixth consecutive month, the Loan Application Defect Index for purchase transactions fell 2.6 percent in September compared with August. The Defect Index for refinance transactions also fell, declining 4.5 percent compared with the previous month. The overall Defect Index, which includes both purchase and refinance transactions, ...
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Understanding the dynamics that influence consumer house-buying power, how much home one can buy based on changes in income and interest rates, provides a helpful perspective on the housing market. When incomes rise, consumer house-buying power increases. When mortgage rates or nominal house prices rise, consumer house-buying power declines. Our ...
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