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☆ The housing market is heating back up. But only a small percentage of new homes are fully-built.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewNew-home sales rebounded in December, rising 8% as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of falling mortgage rates, US Census Bureau data shows. But while consumers appear eager to re-engage with the housing market, new purchases don't mean an immediate move-in for some. This decline from 8% peak levels in October was spurred by bets that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates. Of that, new homes took on a bigger share of the inventory, as high mortgage rates kept homeowners from selling. Still, NAHB's CEO Jim Tobin separately expects construction and demand to take off in 2024, once consumers realize ultra-low mortgage rates aren't coming back.

Persons: —, homebuyers, Skillington, Jim Tobin Organizations: Service, Business, Federal Reserve, National Association of Homebuilders

Notably, the report suggested that inflation was not as powerful a force as it had been a few months back. These numbers point to a strong spring, especially with the Fed getting more dovish. “Both changes would support the economy and extend growth, but also likely weaken the US dollar,” Khurana says. Businesses are entering 2024 in a positive mood, according to Dun & Bradstreet’s quarterly Global Business Optimism index released on Tuesday. The National Association of Homebuilders’ sentiment index improved in January to its highest level since September.

Persons: “, ”, David Russell, Chip, ” Brij, Khurana Organizations: Federal Reserve, “, Fed, Wellington Management, National Association of Locations: York, Dun

☆ Prefabricated home shipments on the rise in a pricey property market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Amina Niasse | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That appears to be boosting demand in the prefabricated housing market, a sector that has lost market share in the past decade. "There's going to be continued interest in prefabricated homes because it's a window to building." As of May, the most recent month for which data is available, the average price of a prefabricated home was $129,900, according to Census data. Most modular construction factories are concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, where modular market share outpaces the national average of 2%, said Devin Perry, executive director of business improvement programs at the NAHB. "This is providing opportunities for modular to grab more market share."

Persons: Brian Abramson, Abramson, Danushka Nanayakkara, Devin Perry, Perry, Amina Niasse, Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Census, Reuters, Homes, Mortgage, Association, National Association of Homebuilders, Thomson

☆ Brace for 8% mortgage rates to drag the US housing market into a 1980s-style recession, Wells Fargo warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US housing market looks like it's headed for a recession, Wells Fargo has warned. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate hikes could be about to trigger a housing-market recession that echoes the slowdown of the 1980s, Wells Fargo has warned. "Although mortgage rates may gradually descend once the Federal Reserve begins to ease monetary policy, financing costs are likely to remain elevated relative to recent norms," they added. Please Lower Interest Rates." AdvertisementAdvertisement"The plea for assistance from housing industry participants, both in the early 1980s and more recently, illustrates the severe impact higher interest rates can have on the residential sector," Dougherty and Barley wrote.

Persons: Wells Fargo, —, Charlie Dougherty, Patrick Barley, Freddie Mac, Jackson, Paul Volcker, National Association of Homebuilders, Jerome Powell, Dougherty, Barley Organizations: Service, Federal, Fed, Wells, National Association of Realtors, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Locations: Redfin

☆ The fate of this consumer watchdog is in the hands of the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —On Tuesday, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in a case that will determine the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Supreme Court will have the final say on that, however. The consumer watchdog agency was created after the 2008 financial crisis by way of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. If the Supreme Court finds the CFPB’s funding structure unconstitutional, it could shutter the agency and invalidate all of its prior rulings. From listening to the case on Tuesday, though, Lynyak believes the Supreme Court will rule that the CFPB’s funding structure is constitutional.

Persons: Dodd, Frank Wall, Democratic Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Ting Shen, Wells, Sam Gilford, ” There’s, Joseph Lynyak III, Lynyak, ”, Noel Francisco, Francisco, “, Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: New, New York CNN, Supreme, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Community Financial Services Association of America, Appeals, Fifth Circuit, Frank Wall Street Reform, Consumer, Democratic, Harvard Law School, Federal Reserve, Bloomberg, Getty, “, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Homebuilders, National Association of Realtors, Bank of America, Court, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Congressional, CNN, Dorsey & Whitney, Republican Locations: New York, New Orleans, United States

☆ The last, best hope for homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But there may be one last hope for salvation for these hard-pressed homebuyers: brand-spanking new houses. Many builders are even dangling perks like cheaper loans or other discounts to ease the pain of higher mortgage rates. Homebuilding is typically a cyclical industry, following the ups and downs of the broader housing market. Of course, people will always move for reasons that have nothing to do with mortgage rates. Even if buyers get some relief from new housing construction, builders are still a long way off from bridging the housing shortfall.

Persons: Richard de Chazal, William Blair, de Chazal, Realtor.com, bottoming, John Burns, Black Knight, Mike Simonsen, Simonsen, bode, it's, Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison, Palmer, Cristian deRitis, Jay Parsons, Matthew Walsh, Walsh, Freddie Mac, Lawrence Yun, They're, production's, James Rodriguez Organizations: Federal Reserve, National Association of Realtors, John Burns Research, Consulting, Altos Research, National Association of Homebuilders, Builders, Moody's

☆ Homebuyers rejoice: There are more homes coming soon to a neighborhood near you
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Housing starts — also known as new home construction — rose at the fastest monthly rate since 2016. As the Fed pauses its rate hikes, mortgage rates are trending lower and consumer sentiment is rising. Between April and May, housing starts rose by the fastest month-over-month rate since 2016. Single-family housing starts increased 18.5% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 997,000 and multi-family housing starts climbed 27.1% to an annualized 634,000 pace. However, as the Fed adjusts its monetary policy and pauses its rate hikes, mortgage rates are trending lower and more homebuyers are returning to the market.

Persons: —, Alicia Huey, Robert Dietz, NAHB, bode, Dietz, it's Organizations: Housing, Service, Census Bureau, Bloomberg, Federal, Builders, National Association of homebuilders, National Association of Home Builders, Federal Reserve Locations: Wells Fargo

☆ Morgan Stanley's chief US economist now says home prices are likely to drop only 2% in 2023. Here's why she thinks the housing downturn is virtually over.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Morgan Stanley's Ellen Zentner says housing activity has bottomed. After a huge drop off in activity, demand is starting to stabilize. Yardeni ResearchThe pickup in activity has likely been due to housing affordability stabilizing. Zentner's view that the housing market is stabilizing is a big contributing factor to her call for a soft-landing scenario, where the US economy avoids a recession. But nevertheless, housing activity has bottomed, and that's probably the most important pillar to a soft-landing."

Persons: Morgan, Ellen Zentner, Morgan Stanley's Ellen Zentner, Zentner, that's, Goldman Sachs, Jonathan Woloshin, Suisse's Ray Farris, Ian Shepherdson, undershoots, David Rosenberg Organizations: National Association of, National Association of Homebuilders, UBS Wealth Management, Rosenberg Locations: Zentner

☆ Republicans dismiss fears that their debt ceiling bill would make the housing crisis worse for 1 million families as 'scaremongering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

House Republicans' debt ceiling bill would cut significant funding from federal housing services. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said the agency would suffer "the most devastating impacts in HUD's history" if the funding cuts in the bill are made law. He went on, "It's being positioned as congressional Republicans are heartless because they want to pass these spending cuts. "The House bill reduces spending to the levels we had in 2022. The last I checked, 2022 was not a horrid apocalypse sweeping across our country," Cruz told Insider on Wednesday.

☆ Homebuilders may finally be turning a corner as inflation stabilizes and lower mortgage rates bring buyers back into the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This led to a downturn in the US housing market as housing activity dramatically faded. But, as inflation slows and interest rates fall, an economist says that the US housing market may get back on track in 2023. Sam Khater, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, also expects lower inflation to entice more Americans to return to the housing market — especially millennials. "While mortgage market activity has significantly shrunk over the last year, inflationary pressures are easing and should lead to lower mortgage rates in 2023," Khater said in a January mortgage report. Indeed, lower mortgage rates are already reviving interest from potential home buyers.

☆ The CEO of one of America's biggest homebuilders said we're already in a 'housing recession,' and there are two other key signs that the real-estate market is still cooling
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sheryl Palmer, CEO of Taylor Morrison, says the US is already in a housing recession. Some economists still aren't buying into the housing recession narrative. In 2023, Palmer said homebuyers should expect overall inventory volumes to drop as buyers scoop-up existing homes. Palmer's comments come on the heels of other business heads who expect the US housing market to have a tough year in 2023. But not everyone agrees that the US housing market is in a recession, or that it will face one in 2023.

☆ JPMorgan is about to spend $1 billion on hundreds of rental homes across the US on the way to becoming a megalandlord
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Haven Realty Capital and JPMorgan Chase's asset management arm said they will invest up to $1 billion to develop build-to-rent single-family homes across the country, according to a November 15 announcement. It refers to a process where developers construct an entire community of typically detached single-family homes that are later rented out by an operating partner. The trend gained steam during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for single-family homes and suburban living skyrocketed. Institutional investors like Fundrise as well as pension funds, and public companies have been steadily acquiring single-family homes to rent for a profit. He told Insider in early November that the build-to-rent trend is a "useful response to the market's needs."

☆ Housing isn't getting any cheaper. But an expensive mortgage is not the only thing making homes so unaffordable.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Everyone's talking about how the Fed's rate hikes have sent mortgage rates skyrocketing. But even as mortgage rates have climbed above 7%, my colleague Alcynna Lloyd and I report that there's more to the story. The general gist is that the surge in home prices — fueled by the low rates of the pandemic era — hasn't come down as fast as mortgage rates have come up. There's a saying, "all real estate is local." This self-made millionaire who made his money investing in real estate isn't interested in taking out a mortgage right now.

☆ Housing Outlook: Low Supply Is Making Home Prices Unaffordable
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mortgage rates have climbed above 7% for the first time since 2001, but that's only half the story of the affordability crisis. The deeper issue is that there aren't enough homes to fulfill every would-be buyer's dream, which means people are competing with their wallets and driving prices higher and higher. Mortgage rates are above 7% for the first time in over two decades for the most popular type of mortgage, and are only expected to keep rising. So far in 2022, US housing construction has fallen in four out of nine months. It's a decision that Dietz said could result in housing supply dwindling further.

☆ Homebuilders aren't helping to lower home prices because they too are sitting on the sidelines waiting for inflation and mortgage rates to fall
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Like prospective homeowners, homebuilders aren't happy with the housing market, either. The housing market isn't working for most Americans. In September, residential homebuilding slowed as housing starts decreased 8.1% from August levels, according to a report from the US Census Bureau that was released on Wednesday. During the month, single-family housing starts decreased 4.7% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 892,000. "This will be the first year since 2011 to see a decline for single-family starts," Robert Dietz, the chief economist for the National Association of Homebuilders, said.

☆ Homebuilder sentiment drops eight points in October
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Diana Olick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHomebuilder sentiment drops eight points in OctoberCNBC's Diana Olick joins 'Squawk on the Street' to report homebuilder sentiment dropped eight points in October to 38, according to the National Association of Homebuilders Index.

With mortgage rates on the rise and buyer demand collapsing, home prices are poised to stay high into 2023. Soaring interest rates have ripped through the housing market in 2022, driving mortgage rates to highs not seen since the peak of the mid-2000s housing bubble. Demand for rental properties has rallied as Americans shy away from buying, leading costs to soar at apartments and rental homes, too. For those who don't own their home and haven't locked in a low mortgage rate, shelter is as expensive as it's ever been. Rate hikes have lifted mortgage rates and generally made housing far less affordable.

☆ Homeowners still want space to quarantine and take Zoom calls, even though the worst of the pandemic is over. 3 real-estate experts explain the trends they're seeing.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Abigail Bassett | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Quarantine spaces, flexible rooms, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs), are hot trends right now. The lower level matched exactly the kind of space Trevett was looking to build out. Additional data from the NAHB shows that demand for things like flexible living spaces, dedicated office or Zoom spaces, outdoor spaces, laundry rooms, and home technology has risen during the pandemic. Adding more living space separate from the main home has also become more important for families considering the needs of aging parents and boomerang kids. "Having a dedicated quarantine space gives me a sense of relief," Trevett said.

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