Tag Archive for ‘housing affordability’

Lot Shortages Ease Slightly, But Remain a Problem

The shortage of lots that has been hindering the housing recovery eased somewhat in 2019, but remains elevated by historical standards, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The survey consisted of a set of special questions included on the instrument for the September 2019 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The survey asked… Read More ›

Fixed-Rate Mortgage Activity Shows Upswing

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey, for the week ending November 8, 2019, showed a 5% increase in its Purchase Index and 13% increase in its Refinance Index from a week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis. This increase occurred despite the slight increase in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.03%, thus reflecting growing optimism concerning the economy… Read More ›

Existing Home Sales Continue to Strengthen in August

Boosted by low mortgage rates, existing home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), rose to 17-month high in August. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, climbed 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in August, the largest gain since March 2018. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 2.6% up than… Read More ›

New Home Price Data Underscore Affordability Problems

New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, combined with recent NAHB survey data, show a mismatch between the actual prices of new homes and the prices buyers expect to pay—providing further evidence for the growing problem of housing affordability. At the end of August, the Census Bureau released 2018 data from… Read More ›

Home Construction in Manufacturing Areas Weakened after 2017 Strength

The second quarter 2019 edition of the NAHB Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) introduces a new analysis of residential construction in manufacturing-intensive areas, in addition to updating trends for previously-defined areas of the exurbs, suburbs and rural markets. The HBGI data find that manufacturing areas experienced above-trend growth for single-family construction in 2017, followed by declines in 2019 as the… Read More ›