Mind the Gap Between Mortgage Rates and the 10-Year Treasury Yield
By
Odeta Kushi on May 24, 2023
The popular 30-year, fixed mortgage rate is loosely benchmarked to the 10-year Treasury bond. Since the end of the Great Recession, the 30-year, fixed mortgage rate has on average remained 1.7 percentage points (170 basis points) higher than the 10-year Treasury bond yield. Yet, this spread is not always consistent. It usually widens during ...
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The REconomy Podcast™: Where are mortgage rates headed and what makes them so hard to forecast?
By
FirstAm Editor on May 18, 2023
In this episode of the REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss why mortgage rates are notoriously difficult to forecast and how post-pandemic dynamics are influencing the direction of mortgage rates in 2023.
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Two Dynamics Locking Existing Homeowners into their Homes
By
Mark Fleming on May 17, 2023
The housing market remains sluggish heading into the spring home-buying season. While mortgage rates have retreated from recent peaks, they remain elevated compared with one year ago. Higher mortgage rates have a dual impact on sales – pricing out buyers who lose purchasing power and keeping some potential sellers rate-locked in. There are plenty ...
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The REconomy Podcast™: What Would the Economy and Housing Market Look Like if the Pandemic Never Happened?
By
FirstAm Editor on May 4, 2023
In this episode of the REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss what may have happened to the economy and the housing market if the COVID-19 pandemic had never occurred.
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Why Declining House Prices and Softening Labor Market Will Not Trigger a Foreclosure Tsunami
By
Mark Fleming on April 21, 2023
Affordability has now improved for four straight months, yet remains down 32 percent since February 2022, according to the Real House Price Index (RHPI). Recently falling mortgage rates have overpowered the affordability-dampening effects of higher nominal house prices. Nominal house price appreciation has slowed dramatically in response to ...
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The REconomy Podcast™: Underutilized Office Buildings Pose Challenge to Commercial Real Estate Sector
By
FirstAm Editor on April 20, 2023
In this episode of the REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss how underutilized office space may impact the commercial real estate industry with special guest Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder
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Will there be a Residential Real Estate Credit Crunch?
By
Mark Fleming on April 18, 2023
The housing market has faced its fair share of headwinds leading up to this year’s spring home-buying season. While mortgage rates have retreated from recent highs, they remain elevated compared with one year ago, and house prices, while down from the peak, also remain elevated. All while housing supply remains historically and unseasonably low. ...
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The REconomy Podcast™: What Do the Recent Bank Failures and Federal Reserve Actions Mean for the Housing Market?
By
FirstAm Editor on April 7, 2023
In this episode of the REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi break down the housing market implications from an eventful month of March, which included ongoing inflationary pressure, bank failures and a Federal Reserve rate increase.
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