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 ... Read More

Interest Rates Potential Home Sales tenure

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. ... Read More

Interest Rates Potential Home Sales tenure

Why Home Buyers May Find More Opportunities with New Homes this Spring

By Mark Fleming on March 21, 2023
The spring season is typically the busiest time of the year for the housing market. According to data from First America Data & Analytics, historically approximately 36 percent of existing-home sales for the year occur from March through June. The housing market’s seasonal pattern is driven by factors such as weather, holidays and the ... Read More

Interest Rates Potential Home Sales tenure

How Will Recent Uptick in Mortgage Rates Impact Spring Home-Buying?

By Mark Fleming on February 22, 2023
There’s no question that the housing market fell into a deep freeze in the second half of 2022. Excluding the early months of the pandemic, the pace of existing-home sales fell below 5 million seasonally adjusted sales for the first time since 2014. Yet, signs have emerged that sales activity may pick up in the months ahead. Purchase mortgage ... Read More

Interest Rates Potential Home Sales tenure

Why Housing Market Potential Increased for the Second Straight Month

By Mark Fleming on January 20, 2023
Housing market potential closed 2022 on a two-month upswing, increasing by 3.0 percent relative to November. Despite the second consecutive month-over-month uptick, housing market potential remained down 17 percent compared with December of last year, a decline of 1,065,000 potential existing-home sales. The steep annual decline in market ... Read More

Interest Rates Potential Home Sales tenure

The Case for Optimism for Housing Market Potential in 2023

By Mark Fleming on December 20, 2022
Housing market potential in 2023 will remain largely dependent on the path of mortgage rates, which will be heavily influenced by inflation. In November 2022, housing market potential increased by 2.5 percent relative to October, boosted by a slight month-over-month decline in mortgage rates. Even with the modest monthly increase in housing market ... Read More

Interest Rates Potential Home Sales tenure