Affordability Declined for Third Month in a Row
By
Mark Fleming on July 27, 2021
Housing affordability declined on a year-over-year basis for the third month in a row in May, following a two-year streak of rising affordability. The decline in May occurred even as two of the three key drivers of the Real House Price Index (RHPI), household income and mortgage rates, swung in favor of greater affordability relative to one year ...
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Is it a Good Time to Buy a Home?
By
Mark Fleming on June 28, 2021
In today’s housing market, the power is very clearly in the hands of the seller. In April, First American Data & Analytics’ nominal house price index increased 16.2 percent year over year, the fastest pace since 2005. Rapid appreciation is driving declines in affordability, despite rising incomes and lower mortgage rates. Nationally, according ...
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Housing Inflation is Not What You Think It Is
By
Mark Fleming on June 9, 2021
One of the most closely watched indicators of inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped 4.2 percent year over year this April. This is a faster pace than most economists anticipated, and was a result of base effects, combined with the numerous supply chain bottlenecks driving up prices as the economy reopens. One of the most important ...
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Why Housing Affordability Sank for the First Time in Over Two Years
By
Mark Fleming on May 24, 2021
Housing affordability on a year-over-year basis declined in March for the first time since January 2019, ending a more than two-year streak of rising affordability. The long run of increasing affordability snapped, even as two of the three key drivers of the Real House Price Index (RHPI), household income and mortgage rates, swung in favor of ...
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Will Rising Equity Levels Mean More Homeowners Will List Their Homes for Sale?
By
Mark Fleming on April 27, 2021
The three components of the Real House Price Index (RHPI) are household income, mortgage rates and a nominal house price index. The RHPI adjusts nominal house prices according to changes in income and interest rates, which together make up consumer house-buying power. When incomes rise, house-buying power rises as well. However, when mortgage ...
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Why Affordability Improved Amid Soaring House Prices
By
Mark Fleming on March 31, 2021
Soaring nominal house prices dominate recent headlines and for good reason. It is true that nominal house prices are the highest they have ever been, over 22 percent higher than the housing boom peak in 2006, according to the First American Data & Analytics House Price Index. The acceleration in the pace of annual house price growth began in ...
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