Catherine Koh

Catherine Koh is an economist at NAHB with the Forecasting and Analysis Department where she analyzes housing-related data and trends to produce industry forecasts and analysis. She has worked at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank prior to joining NAHB and focuses on economic and financial research. She has published an IMF Working Paper on migration as well as several IEO background papers. She holds a master’s in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University.

MBA Weekly Application Survey of Mortgage Activity and Interest Rate

Mortgage Activity Declines in November as Rates Continue to Increase

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, decreased 14.5%, month-over-month, in November on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. The slowdown in mortgage activity can be attributed to higher mortgage rates as the ten-year Treasury yield increased in November, reflecting uncertainties surrounding the elections….

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Mortgage Bankers Association Market Indices

Mortgage Activity Declines in October as Mortgage Rates Increase

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, decreased 13.9% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis due to higher mortgage rates. This decline was reflected in both the Purchase and Refinance Indices, which fell by 4.4% and 23%, respectively. However, compared to October…

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Distribution of multifamily homes across US

Multifamily Housing: Distribution, Building Size, and Gross Rent Across Congressional Districts

Approximately 27% of the national housing stock consists of multifamily homes—defined as residential buildings with multiple separate housing units within one structure. According to the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, these units range from small duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes (2 to 4 units) to medium-sized buildings (5 to 49 units) and large complexes (50…

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Minority Homeownership by Congressional District

Homeownership is an important voter issue for the upcoming election with both presidential candidates putting forth housing policies to tackle the housing affordability crisis. In a recent NAHB post, the national homeownership rate sat at 65%, but there are large disparities in homeownership when broken down by race. For Black/African American households, the homeownership rate…

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