Eye On Housing
Rising mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and limited existing inventory helped push housing affordability in the third quarter of 2023 to its lowest level in more than a decade. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), just 37.4% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of July and end of September… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘housing affordability’
Property Taxes by State – 2022
NAHB analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey data shows that New Jersey leads the nation with the highest average annual real estate tax (RET) bill ($9,285)—$8,425 more than yearly property taxes paid by Alabama’s homeowners ($860). The size of this disparity grew 1.1% in 2022 and has increased 9.3% since 2017. Vermont was the only state for which the… Read More ›
Property Tax Revenue Climbs as Income Tax Receipts Decline Sharply
NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau’s quarterly state and local tax data shows that $132 billion in taxes were paid by property owners in the second quarter of 2023 (not seasonally adjusted).[1] In the four quarters ending Q2 2023, state and local governments collected $727 billion of property tax revenue—a 7.4% increase over Q2 2022. The year-over-year growth rate of… Read More ›
Rising Mortgage Rates and Home Prices Put a Damper on Housing Affordability
Rising home prices and interest rates coupled with elevated construction costs, low existing inventory and solid demand resulted in a significant decline in housing affordability during the second quarter of 2023. According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 40.5% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable to families… Read More ›
Housing Affordability Expectations Slide Back, Again
After a reprieve in the first quarter of 2023, buyers’ outlook for housing affordability turned bleaker again in the second quarter. According to the latest Housing Trends Report, 76% of buyers are able to afford less than half the homes for-sale in their markets, up from 73% in the first quarter of 2023. On the flip side, the share able… Read More ›
Housing Affordability Posts Solid Gain but Still Much Lower from a Year Ago
Solid nominal wage gains (unadjusted for inflation) combined with lower mortgage rates and home prices helped to boost housing affordability in the first quarter of 2023, but ongoing building material supply chain issues and expected cooling of wage growth signal ongoing concerns for affordability conditions in the year ahead. According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 45.6% of… Read More ›
Improved Affordability Expectations Lead to More Engaged Buyers
Improvements in affordability expectations have led to an increase in the share of prospective buyers who have moved beyond just the planning phase of their home search: 56% report being actively engaged in the purchase process in the first quarter of 2023, up from 46% a quarter earlier. The share of prospective buyers actively searching for a home rose in… Read More ›
Housing Affordability Expectations Improve
Relatively lower interest rates (compared to fall 2022), slowing growth in home prices, and builder incentives are making an impact on buyers’ affordability expectations. In the first quarter of 2023, 73% of buyers reported being able to afford less than half the homes for-sale in their markets, down from a record high of 87% in the final quarter of 2022. … Read More ›
Housing Affordability Hits Record Low but Turning Point Lies Ahead
Mirroring a steep rise in mortgage rates that began in the early part of 2022 and coupled with ongoing building material supply chain bottlenecks that increased construction costs, housing affordability posted three consecutive quarterly declines in 2022 and now stands at its lowest level since the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) began tracking it on a consistent basis in… Read More ›
Housing Affordability Goes South
Buyers’ outlook for housing affordability took a sharp negative turn in the final quarter of 2022, when a record high of 87% reported being able to afford fewer than 50% of the homes for-sale in their markets. The remaining 13% can afford the majority of homes available, less than half the 31% who could in the third quarter. Affordability expectations… Read More ›