Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that average hourly earnings increased in January by 2.9 percent compared with a year ago. This was a big splash of economic news that had ripple effects on the housing market, as the 2.9 percent increase in wages surpassed expectations.
Read More ›
This month, the market potential for existing-home sales increased to a 6.1 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase, and a gain of 210,000 (SAAR) sales from January 2017. The gap between actual market performance (existing-home sales) and market potential (potential home sales) has significantly ...
Read More ›
As we analyze yesterday’s housing starts data, it’s important to also consider the impact of construction labor on the velocity of new home construction. The employment situation report, released earlier this month, reported an increase of 5,000 residential construction jobs between December 2017 and January 2018. The number of residential ...
Read More ›
Whether you plan to buy a modest studio or a four-bedroom penthouse, how much you can afford to borrow primarily rests on two main factors: income and interest rates. Income growth seems to be increasing, thus increasing affordability. However, the near certainty of future rate hikes will likely be a drag on affordability.
Read More ›
We’ve posted the December First American Loan Application Defect Index, which estimates the frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications. The Defect Index remains the same as compared with the previous month, and increased 20.3 percent as compared with December 2016. The Defect ...
Read More ›
That nominal house prices are growing faster than household incomes is often used as the basis for arguing that we are facing an affordability crisis. It is true that unadjusted house prices grew faster than income between November 2016 and November 2017. Our Real House Price Index (RHPI) showed that unadjusted house prices increased by 6.0 ...
Read More ›