Eye On Housing
Average New Home Loan Rate Dips Below 4 Percent
Earlier today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 10 basis point decline in mortgage interest rates for the month of January. Looking into the data a little further shows that the story was essentially the same for the subset of mortgages used to purchase newly built homes, On conventional mortgages for new homes, FHFA tables show the average… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Builder Sentiment about Multifamily Remains Positive
Builder and developer sentiment about the multifamily market held steady in the fourth quarter, according to results from NAHB’s Multifamily Production Index (MPI) released earlier today. The overall MPI—a composite measure of sentiment about production of low-rent apartments, market-rate rental apartments and condominiums—was unchanged at 54 in the fourth quarter. The MPI and each of its components is an index… Read More ›
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Consumers Prices Fall 0.7% in January
The consumer price index fell for the third straight month as the price of gasoline continued its sharp decline. The prices on expenditures made by urban consumers decreased 0.1% over the past twelve months before seasonal adjustments. According to the latest release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the consumer price index decreased 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted month-over-month… Read More ›
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Share of Delinquent Mortgages Continues to Fall
According to the most recent release of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey, the share of mortgages that are considered delinquent continued to fall. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the share of mortgages past due declined to 5.68% in the fourth quarter of 2014, 17 basis points from the third quarter of 2014 and 71 basis less than its… Read More ›
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Eye on the Economy: A Slow Start for 2015
Housing and residential construction have gotten off to a slow start at the beginning of the year. January data have been disappointing, although current indicators continue to suggest home building will grow in the year ahead. In particular, solid job growth and historically low mortgage rates should help unleash growing pent-up demand and keep the housing market moving forward. Home… Read More ›
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January New Home Sales Maintain December Pace
Despite some analysts’ expectations of a monthly decline, the rate of new home sales in January maintained the gains reported in the December report. Combined with upward revisions, the effectively flat monthly change from December to January keeps new home sales near post-recession highs. According to estimates from the joint Census Bureau and HUD release, the January pace of new… Read More ›
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AD&C Loan Volume Grew 2.3% at End of 2014
Posting the seventh consecutive quarter of growth, the volume of residential AD&C loans outstanding expanded 2.3% for the final quarter of 2014. The tight availability of acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans has been a factor holding back a stronger rebound in home construction. However, the stock of residential AD&C loans has been rising over the last two years. According to… Read More ›
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Hints of Growth in Typical Multifamily Unit Size
An elevated market share for rental multifamily homes is holding typical new apartment size below levels seen during the housing boom. However, as multifamily developers build more for-sale housing units in the years ahead, the average size of multifamily homes is likely to rise. The recent pattern of change in the size of new multifamily units stands in contrast to the post-recession increase in the size of… Read More ›
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Federal Open Market Committee – Leaning Toward Later Liftoff
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting January 27-28 reveal an as yet unsettled discussion regarding the timing of the first increase in the federal funds rate, but the weight of the conflicting views appears to be shifting toward a liftoff later than the current expectation of mid-2015. Declining energy prices were viewed… Read More ›
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Existing Sales Disappoint
Existing home sales decreased 4.9% in January, and the share of sales for first-time buyers continued to disappoint. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported January 2015 total existing home sales at a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.82 million units combined for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, down from a revised 5.07 million units in December. January existing sales… Read More ›