According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, increasing demand and limited availability caused home prices to increase at a reported 5.7% annual gain in August, up from 4.8% in the previous month.
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Potential Home Buyers Believe Availability Will Improve in the Months Ahead
According to the latest National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Housing Trends Report (HTR), 28% of prospective buyers in the third quarter of 2020 expected their search for a new or existing home would be easier in the months ahead.
New Home Sales Taper Off in September – Year-Over-Year Up 32.1%
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the sales of new single-family houses in September 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 959,000.
Share of Americans Contemplating the Purchase of a New Home Increases in Q3 2020
The share of Americans who are considering the purchase of a new home in the next 12-months increased.
Mortgage Bankers Association Expects Purchase Originations to Grow Further in 2021
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that they expect purchase originations to grow 8.5% to a new record of $ 1.54 in 2021.
Weekly Jobless Claims Increased in the Week Ending 17th October 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 787,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, October 17th. A decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Canada’s Inflation Rate up in September but Retail Sales Remain a Concern
According to a report from Statistics Canada, Canada’s annual rate of inflation accelerated in September. The annual rate of inflation to 0.5% in September, up from 0.1% in August and just ahead of analyst expectations of 0.4%, driven by transportation, recreation and higher prices for new housing.
Mortgage Rates Hit New Record Lows in Week Ending 22nd October 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 22nd October 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.80% with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.81%.
FEA’s Weekly Orders Survey Participants Encouraged by Another Increase in Builder Confidence and Strong September Housing Starts and Permits
Dealers responding to FEA’s Weekly Orders Survey could not help but comment favorably on the Builder Confidence report for October, with the reading moving to a new record high of 85.
Existing-Home Sales Climb 9.4% in September to 6.5 Million
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is reporting that total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 9.4% from August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.5 million in September.