Eye On Housing
Supported by historically low interest rates and rising demand, existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), surged to 13-year high in February after a slight decline in January. Unfortunately, this will mark the high water mark for some time due to virus concerns. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.5%… Read More ›
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey shows a weekly increase in the Market Composite Index by 15.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The Refinance Index soared 26.0% from the previous week and the Purchase index decreased 2.7%. Looking at the Refinance series since its inception, the latest 10-week sprint of over 160% is the largest since January 2009 when… Read More ›
Following a 4.3% slump in December, pending home sales saw a strong monthly gain in January, supported by solid job growth and low mortgage rates. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI grew 5.2% from 103.4 in December to 108.8 in January, the… Read More ›
After hitting a near two-year high in December, existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), dropped in January amid tight inventory and rising prices. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million in January. However, on a year-over-year basis, sales were 9.6%… Read More ›
Last Friday’s Eye on Housing blog post announced the release of NAHB’s “priced out” estimates for 2020, showing that—if the median new home price goes up by $1,000—it prices 158,857 U.S. households out of the market, in the sense that they would qualify for a standard mortgage to purchase the home before the price increase, but not afterward. The same… Read More ›
Pending home sales unexpectedly dropped in December as housing shortage has offset the benefit of lower mortgage rates. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI fell 4.9% from 108.5 in November to 103.2 in December, the lowest reading since March 2019. However, sales… Read More ›
After a slight decline last month, existing home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), surged to near two-year high in December. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million in December, the highest level since February 2018. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 10.8%… Read More ›
After hitting a nearly two-year high last month, pending home sales fell slightly but remained solid in October. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI declined 1.7% from 108.6 in September to 106.7 in October. However, sales were still 4.4% higher than a… Read More ›
Despite the slowdown last month, existing home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), climbed more than expected in October. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million in October. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 4.6% higher than a year ago. The first-time buyer… Read More ›
Benefitting from lower mortgage rates, pending home sales increased for the second straight month in September. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI rose 1.5% from 107.1 in August to 108.7 in September, highest level since December 2017. On a year-over-year basis, sales… Read More ›