Building Wealth Brick by Brick

By Ksenia Potapov on December 4, 2023
Homeownership is often touted as one of the most effective ways to build wealth, especially for lower income households, for several reasons. Renters don’t capture the wealth generated by house price appreciation, nor do they benefit from the equity gains generated by monthly mortgage payments, which become a form of forced savings for homeowners. ... Read More

Housing Homeownership

What’s the Outlook for the Housing Market in 2024?

By Mark Fleming on November 29, 2023
The housing market has been on quite the roller coaster ride since the beginning of the pandemic. While it was strong prior to 2020, the onset of the pandemic and the societal changes it triggered redefined the role of a home. As work-from-home became the new normal, a house was no longer just a dwelling or a vehicle for wealth creation, but also ... Read More

Housing Interest Rates Affordability

When Boomers and Millennials Collide: Tectonic Shifts in Demographics are Coming

By Ksenia Potapov on October 6, 2023
Demographic trends are a fundamental driver of housing demand and supply and analyzing them can help us anticipate how many people will need housing, as well as roughly when, where and what kind of housing. During the pandemic, the peak of millennial demand for homeownership coincided with record-low mortgage rates and a shortage of homes for ... Read More

Housing Millennials Baby Boomers Homeownership

Will the Mortgage Rate Spread Narrow or Not? That is the Question

By Odeta Kushi on September 12, 2023
In August, the 30-year, fixed mortgage rate hit the highest level since the early 2000s. Higher mortgage rates have a dual impact on the housing market – reducing affordability for potential buyers and strengthening the rate lock-in effect for sellers. The outlook for the U.S. housing market is therefore heavily dependent on the path of mortgage ... Read More

Housing Interest Rates

1990s Nostalgia Hits the Housing Market, With One Key Difference

By Ksenia Potapov on August 29, 2023
The many twists and turns of the housing market over the last few years have made it difficult to contextualize current housing market conditions, especially as recency bias anchors us to the housing market of 2020 and 2021, which was anything but normal. Mortgage rates hit historic lows during these years yet have since increased to the highest ... Read More

Housing Housing supply

Are we Flirting with a Double-Dip Housing Recession?

By Odeta Kushi on August 2, 2023
What defines a housing recession? While some rules of thumb exist, there has never been general agreement on a definition. If you look at today’s housing market, existing-home sales have struggled to gain any momentum during what is usually the housing market’s busiest season. New home sales, on the other hand, have exceeded all expectations. So, ... Read More

Housing