House Price Appreciation Poised to Accelerate as Pandemic Intensifies Housing Supply Shortage

By Odeta Kushi on June 2, 2020
In April, pandemic-related pressure drove the supply of homes for sale to its lowest April supply level ever. Even in the years prior to the pandemic, the lack of housing supply for sale was a significant headwind to the housing market. A major reason for the lack of homes for sale is increasing tenure – the length of time a homeowner lives in ... Read More

Housing tenure Housing supply

Interview with Yahoo! Finance: Existing-Home Sales Poised for Rebound in May Following April Plunge

By FirstAm Editor on May 26, 2020
First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming was interviewed on Yahoo! Finance last week, explaining why the April existing-home sales numbers are likely the trough in this cycle and that signs point to a strong May rebound for the housing market. Read More

Housing In The News Homeownership

What a Service Sector-Driven Recession Means for Homeownership Demand

By Odeta Kushi on May 14, 2020
The shutdown of large discretionary consumption segments of the U.S. economy, with the intent to slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19, has triggered one of the fastest contractions in U.S. economic activity ever observed. As a result, millions of Americans have filed for jobless benefits and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent in April, ... Read More

Housing Homeownership

Interview with Gary Acosta, NAHREP: Why the Housing Market May be Better Positioned than Many Believe Amid the Pandemic

By FirstAm Editor on April 29, 2020
First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming was interviewed by Gary Acosta, co-founder and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, last week and discussed his perspective on the state of the housing market amid the pandemic and why the housing market may be better positioned than many believe. Read More

Housing In The News

Why Today’s Housing Market May Be a Recession Buster

By Odeta Kushi on February 4, 2020
In the third quarter of 2019, the United States reached its longest economic expansion in history, which caused some people to wonder whether we were overdue for a correction. Additionally, global uncertainty resulted in a flight to safety of U.S. Treasury bonds, prompting the dreaded inversion of the yield curve. When that happened, we discussed ... Read More

Housing Interest Rates Wage Growth

Interviews on CNBC and Yahoo! Finance: 2020 Housing Outlook – Why Persistently Low Mortgage Rates May Help and Hurt Home Buyers

By FirstAm Editor on December 23, 2019
First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming was interviewed on CNBC and Yahoo! Finance last week, discussing the 2020 outlook for the housing market and how persistently low mortgage rates may both help and hurt home buyers in the year ahead. Read More

Housing In The News Interest Rates Affordability