Who Can Still Afford to Buy a Home?

The Mortgage Corner

 

MarketWatch

That question of who can still afford to buy a home is up in the air, as we say, since home sales have been trending lower of late and there is still a housing shortage. MarketWatch’s Andrea Riquier believes housing sales peaked in 2018, dropping below combined sales of 6 million for the first time in two years, per her graph of existing and new-home sales, and won’t go higher this year—in the 11^th year of the recovery from the housing bubble.

Sales are falling because Ms. Riquier maintains home buying is still out of the price ranges most young adults can afford for various reasons, including a low inventory of affordable homes for sale, and lower earning potential than in past recoveries for young adults with college degrees still digging out from under student loans.

Yet total existing-home sales’, https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, jumped 2.5 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million in May, per the NAR.

The share of first-time home buyers continued a three-year decline, falling 33 percent (34 percent last year), for homes at or below the $277,000 median home price. This number has not been 40 percent or higher since the first-time home buyers credit ended in 2010.  It was a 2-year Obama initiative that gave a $7,500 tax credit to first-time buyers.


Total sales are down 1.1 percent from a year ago (5.40 million in May 2018), but when combined with surging May new-home sales of 673,000 reported by the Census Bureau, the total is 6.01 million. So total sales are rising again; maybe because of the recent interest rate decline to post-recession lows?   

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the 2.5 percent jump shows that consumers are eager to take advantage of the favorable conditions. “The purchasing power to buy a home has been bolstered by falling mortgage rates, and buyers are responding.”

Rates are down because the 10-year Treasury bond benchmark yield that most lenders use to set mortgage rates has fallen to 2 percent at this writing, which puts it back to yields that prevailed during the Great Recession, and the 30-year fixed conforming mortgage is holding at 3.50 percent for less than one origination point.

But can builders keep up with the declining inventory of homes for sale? Residential investment has fallen for five straight quarters though the second quarter for starts is up overall with the new May report.

Econoday.com

Privately‐owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,269,000, said the Census Bureau. This is 0.9 percent (±12.9 percent) below the revised April estimate of 1,281,000 and is 4.7 percent (±8.9 percent) below the May 2018 rate of 1,332,000. Single‐family housing starts in May were at a rate of 820,000; this is 6.4 percent (±9.5 percent) below the revised April figure of 876,000.

Single-family homes starts were actually very weak in May, in other words, for a 12.5 percent year-on-year decline, as I said. Multi-units, in contrast, are up a yearly 13.7 percent at a 449,000 rate.
So it really looks like more new households are opting to rent, even with record-low interest rates.

What else can they do with fewer purchasing options? One problem highlighted by Ms. Riquier is current homeowners are staying longer in their residence, thus reducing the housing supply—up to 10 years in recent surveys, says Riquier, vs. staying put for the more normal average 4 years before moving on..

It sounds like we need those record-low interest rates to keep the housing market alive. All the predictions are they could even go lower this year, but for how long?  It also looks like another first-time home buyers tax credit is needed to make homes more affordable to first-timers.

Harlan Green © 2019

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Home Sales Rise for the Holidays

The Mortgage Corner

Econoday.com

Existing-home sales increased in October after six straight months of decreases, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three of four major U.S. regions saw gains in sales activity last month.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says increasing housing inventory has brought more buyers to the market. “After six consecutive months of decline, buyers are finally stepping back into the housing market,” he said. “Gains in the Northeast, South and West – a reversal from last month’s steep decline or plateau in all regions – helped overall sales activity rise for the first time since March 2018.”

It’s really been almost a year (November 2017) since sales last peaked. And that was when interest rates had dipped to 4.0 percent for 30-year conforming fixed rates. So it is further evidence that sales are interest-rate sensitive, and homebuyers will wait for a dip in mortgage rates.

Today’s benchmark 10-year T Bond has fallen back to 3.06 percent, for instance, and the 30-year conforming fixed rate to 4.375 percent for those with the best credit scores.

It’s another manifestation of the flight to quality from a very unstable stock market worried about trade wars and outright wars, as the Trump administration stirs up the domestic and geopolitical temperatures again. Unilateral withdrawals from trade and Intermediate Nuclear Missile treaties do not hearten confidence this administration is interested in keeping the peace.

“Total existing-home sales, https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 1.4 percent from September to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.22 million in October. Sales are now down 5.1 percent from a year ago (5.5 million in October 2017), said the NAR.

This may be due to increased inventories of homes for sale, as Yun said. Buying has slowed, but new-home building has increased. Total housing inventory at the end of October decreased from 1.88 million in September to 1.85 million existing homes available for sale, but that represents an increase from 1.80 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.4 last month and up from 3.9 months a year ago.

Econoday.com

Meanwhile nationwide housing starts rose 13.7 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million units after a slight upward revision to the September reading, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. This is the highest housing production reading since October 2016, when total starts hit a post-recession high of 1.33 million.

“We are seeing solid, steady production growth that is consistent with the National Association of Homebuilders forecast for continued strengthening of the single-family sector,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “As the job market and overall economy continue to firm, we should see demand for housing increase as we head into 2018.”

Single-family production rose 5.3 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 877,000. Year-to-date, single-family starts are 8.4 percent above their level over the same period last year. Multifamily starts jumped 36.8 percent to 413,000 units after a weak September report.

Hurricane Michael hit Florida and Georgia in October though existing-home sales in the South nevertheless managed a 1.9 percent monthly rise. Sales in the West were strongest at plus 2.8 percent with the Northeast at plus 1.5 percent but the Midwest at minus 0.8 percent.

“(Existing-home) Sales may have gotten a boost from discounting as the median price fell 0.6 percent to $255,400, said Econoday. “Year-on-year, the median is up 3.8 percent which is sizably above the decline in sales which points to further discounting ahead.”

More price discounting and lower (not higher) interest rates and inflation may lie ahead, as real estate becomes the more dependable asset in such times of uncertainty.

Harlan Green © 2018

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Housing Market Slows

The Mortgage Corner

Existing-home sales decreased for the third straight month in June, as declines in the South and West exceeded sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest, reports the National Association of Realtors. The ongoing supply and demand imbalance helped push June’s median sales price to an existing-home new all-time high.

“Total existing-home sales, https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, said the NAR, “which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, decreased 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million in June from a downwardly revised 5.41 million in May. With last month’s decline, sales are now 2.2 percent below a year ago.”

Graph: Econoday

Pending home sales that measure future sales also decreased modestly in May and have fallen on an annualized basis for the fifth straight month, according to the NAR. This seems to show a slowing of demand for housing, though the Realtors' economist Yun believes it’s more due to lack of supply, and fewer entry-level homes available.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said closings inched backwards in June and fell on an annual basis for the fourth straight month. “There continues to be a mismatch since the spring between the growing levels of homebuyer demand in most of the country in relation to the actual pace of home sales, which are declining,” he said.

“The root cause is without a doubt the severe housing shortage that is not releasing its grip on the nation’s housing market. What is for sale in most areas is going under contract very fast and in many cases, has multiple offers. This dynamic is keeping home price growth elevated, pricing out would-be buyers and ultimately slowing sales.”

Why do we still have a housing shortage 9 years after the Great Recession? For the first half of 2018, a steady job market and a shortage of existing homes for sale has bolstered housing starts, said the Commerce Department. New home construction has climbed 7.8 per cent year-to-date.

And homebuilders are also relatively confident that the expansion will continue. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index declined slightly to a reading of 68 in June, but any reading above 50 signals growth.

So another ‘root cause’ has to be affordability, as prices continue to climb. The report was mixed good news, as prices continue to rise, up 4.5 percent for the median to $276,900, while buyers saw a 4.3 percent rise in the number of homes on the market, at 1.950 million relative to sales, a gain to 4.3 months from 4.1 months.

Graph: Calculated Risk

It was thought new-home sales would give a boost to housing, but even new- homes sales are slower in June. The Calculated Risk graph shows new-home sales lagging historically from other recoveries, when sales reached 800,000 units annually.

“Sales of new single-family houses in June 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 631,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.3 percent below the revised May rate of 666,000, but is 2.4 percent above the June 2017 estimate of 616,000."

The sales slowdown has to be from after-effects of the Great Recession, what was also the Great Housing Bust when so many homeowners lost their home and life-savings. It’s a combination of lenders being much more cautious and consumers earning much less these days. For instance, first-time buyers totaled just 31 percent of existing homebuyers, vs. the 40 percent long term average.

Household incomes have been stagnant since the 1980s after inflation, and both incomes and net worth have actually declined since the Great Recession, so we are seeing the results in the housing market, as the costs of home-building continue to climb with inflation.

For example, the just enacted Canadian lumber tariffs are adding $9,000 on average to building costs, according to the National Association of Home Builders. "Not only are consumers and builders concerned about the current lumber tariffs, but also the next round of proposed tariffs on a number of goods and services," said NAHB Chair Randy Noel.

In fact, there has not been a concerted effort to boost consumers’ incomes at all since the Great Recession. Rather, the effort has been to suppress wages, with more states restricting collective bargaining rights of both union and non-union employees. There are now 28 right-to-work states that restrict the amount of dues unions can collect, and even the Supreme Court has just rescinded a 40-year old precedent that allowed public employee unions to collect dues from non-union members that enjoy the same benefits.

Do we need any more reasons to understand the slowdown in home buying?

Harlan Green © 2018

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Lower Inventory = Fewer Home Sales

The Mortgage Corner

WASHINGTON (February 21, 2018) — Existing-home sales slumped for the second consecutive month in January and experienced their largest decline on an annual basis in over three years, according to the National Association of Realtors. All major regions saw monthly and annual sales declines last month.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, sank 3.2 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million from a downwardly revised 5.56 million in December 2017. After last month’s decline, sales are 4.8 percent below a year ago (largest annual decline since August 2014 at 5.5 percent) and at their slowest pace since last September (5.37 million).

Graph: Econoday

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says January’s retreat in closings highlights the housing market’s glaring inventory shortage to start 2018. “The utter lack of sufficient housing supply and its influence on higher home prices muted overall sales activity in much of the U.S. last month,” he said. “While the good news is that Realtors in most areas are saying buyer traffic is even stronger than the beginning of last year, sales failed to follow course and far lagged last January’s pace. It’s very clear that too many markets right now are becoming less affordable and desperately need more new listings to calm the speedy price growth.”

Total housing inventory at the end of January rose 4.1 percent to 1.52 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 9.5 percent lower than a year ago (1.68 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 32 consecutive months. Unsold inventory is at a 3.4-month supply at the current sales pace (3.6 months a year ago).

Graph: Calculated Risk

“Another month of solid price gains underlines this ongoing trend of strong demand and weak supply. The underproduction of single-family homes over the last decade has played a predominant role in the current inventory crisis that is weighing on affordability,” said Yun. “However, there’s hope that the tide is finally turning. There was a nice jump in new home construction in January and homebuilder confidence is high. These two factors will hopefully lay the foundation for the building industry to meaningfully ramp up production as this year progresses.”

First-time homebuyers are being squeezed because of the housing shortage, as just 29 percent were buyers, down from 32 percent last month.

The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $240,500, up 5.8 percent from January 2017 ($227,300). January’s price increase marks the 71^st straight month of year-over-year gains, according to the NAR.

New-home sales and construction are beginning to catch up with demand, but interest rates have to remain at their historic lows for this to continue. The 30-year fixed conforming rate is still 4.0 percent for 1 origination point, just 0.50 percent above its historic low. And several Federal Reserve Governors have said the Fed may not hike short term rates anytime soon, if inflation rates don’t move above the current 2 percent target rate.

Harlan Green © 2018

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Existing-Home Inventory Lowest in 18 years

The Mortgage Corner

There aren’t enough home to sell. Sales of previously-owned homes tumbled in December as an ongoing inventory crunch became more worrisome with few homes to sell in parts of the country. Existing-home sales were down 3.6 percent for the month, though they were up 1.1 percent from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR said November’s selling pace was revised down to 5.78 million.

The housing market performed remarkably well for the U.S. economy in 2017, said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

“Existing sales concluded the year on a softer note, but they were guided higher these last 12 months by a multi-year streak of exceptional job growth, which ignited buyer demand,” said Yun. “At the same time, market conditions were far from perfect. New listings struggled to keep up with what was sold very quickly, and buying became less affordable in a large swath of the country. These two factors ultimately muted what should have been a stronger sales pace.”

Graph: Econoday

There are two major reasons for the lack of inventory. Homebuyers are rushing to close deals before interest rates rise further. The 30-year conforming fixed rate is now 3.75 percent for a one point origination fee and climbing, with its maximum single-unit amount raised to $453,100 this January.
And there is a labor shortage with many workers having left the construction industry during the Great Recession, which is slowing the construction of new homes. The lack of inventory has also been driving up home prices, putting many first-time homebuyers out of the market.

“The lack of supply over the past year has been eye-opening and is why, even with strong job creation pushing wages higher, home price gains – at 5.8 percent nationally in 2017 – doubled the pace of income growth and were even swifter in several markets,” said Yun.

Those high-end markets include California, where the median home price now tops $500,000, vs. the new national median price for all housing types at $246,800. So who can afford to live in California these days?

That’s the reason Facebook unveiled plans for the massive new construction project at its Menlo Park, California corporate campus, which is part of Facebook's plans to expand its home base. The 56-acre site, which Facebook bought in 2015 for about $400 million, is located directly across the street from Facebook's headquarters. It will offer 1.6 million square feet of housing, or 1,500 units.

"Facebook is a strong supporter of its local community and consistently recognized as one of the best places in the world to work," said a Facebook spokeswoman. "This project advances both goals, by providing our employees an excellent new housing option within walking distance to campus while investing in new housing opportunities in our local community."

Must any new affordable housing in California and other high cost regions now depend on private corporations? California’s state legislators just passed a bill that would ask voters in November 2018 to approve $4 billion in general obligation bonds to build rental housing for low-income families and fund other existing housing programs. The bond would set aside $1 billion for the state’s veteran home-loan program, which would otherwise run out of money in 2018, according to SF Gate.

But that’s a drop in the bucket for what’s needed to keep up with the state’s population growth. The nonprofit California Housing Partnership estimates that California still needs about 1.5 million more subsidized housing units to meet current demand.

Harlan Green © 2018

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Housing Shortage Continues

The Mortgage Corner

Existing-home sales increased in October to their strongest pace since earlier this summer, but continual supply shortages led to fewer closings on an annual basis for the second straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors.

There just are not enough homes to satisfy the surging demand for housing in a fully employed economy with wages and household incomes rising substantially for the first time since the Great Recession. Part of the reason for higher demand—the Gen Y-er, millennial generation now wants their own living space.

Graph: Econoday

Total existing-home sales, https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million in October from a downwardly revised 5.37 million in September. After last month's increase, sales are at their strongest pace since June (5.51 million), but still remain 0.9 percent below a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says sales activity in October picked up for the second straight month, with increases in all four major regions. "Job growth in most of the country continues to carry on at a robust level and is starting to slowly push up wages, which is in turn giving households added assurance that now is a good time to buy a home," he said. "While the housing market gained a little more momentum last month, sales are still below year ago levels because low inventory is limiting choices for prospective buyers and keeping price growth elevated."

Why has it taken so long for the housing market to recover, as I said last week? Fewer new households are being formed that would require a home of their own

A 2016 San Francisco Fed study by economist Fred Furlong on household formation concluded that many young adults chose alternative residential choices such as living with parents, other relatives, or friends, until now, as I noted.

“But there are signs that a readjustment is imminent,” said Furlong. “The current population share of young adults is fairly close to the share that existed at the start of the most recent housing boom. Also, while more young people are living with their parents, they are forming their own households, albeit later in life, leading to higher headship rates over time. Mr. Furlong notes that U.S. Census Bureau projections suggest that household formations will average about 1.5 million per year through 2020, which is much better than the 900,000 annual averages of the last 5 years.”

It will be the largest jump in household formation since the Great Recession, which means many more homes will have to be built to satisfy the demand, when there is already a labor shortage in the construction industry.

This is while total housing inventory at the end of October actually decreased 3.2 percent to 1.80 million existing homes available for sale, and is now 10.4 percent lower than a year ago (2.01 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 29 consecutive months, said NAR. Unsold inventory is at a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace, which is down from 4.4 months a year ago.

Better news is that nationwide housing starts rose 13.7 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million units the highest housing production reading since October 2016, when total starts hit a post-recession high of 1.33 million.

So what needs to be done to increase housing inventories? Marketwatch’s Andrea Riquier says we need double the construction workers we now have to boost construction—another 750,000, at least, enough to meet the surging demand from the millennial generation. They are the 18 to 34 year-olds—now the largest buyer group, comprising 42 percent of homebuyers, according to a September study by the Zillow Group.

The housing shortage is also exacerbated by many existing homes being kept off the market—Marketwatch estimates some 300,000—by investors that scooped up bargains from the housing bubble bust, and continue to rent them out.

Harlan Green © 2017

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Rising Existing-Home Sales Not Enough

WASHINGTON (October 20, 2017) — After three straight monthly declines, existing-home sales slightly reversed course in September, but ongoing supply shortages and recent hurricanes muted overall activity and caused sales to fall back on an annual basis, reports the National Association of Realtors.

There aren’t enough homes for sale, in other words, at a time when many more homes are needed.  The inventory for sale is down to 4.2 months’ supply at the current sales rate. How will all the homes lost in the hurricanes and California wild fires be replaced with such low inventories?

It will take massive help from governments and disaster relief agencies, for starters. The U.S. House has voted $51.8 billion in relief aid to date that the Senate will also have to approve; much of it for replacement housing. But that means mobile homes providing immediate shelter from the approaching winter, as happened in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina.

It will take much longer to replace those homes destroyed. The ongoing California wildfires have destroyed more than 6,000 homes in Northern California, which is more than half the average total of new homes built in California during ordinary years. And 185,149 homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed just by Harvey, according to recent data from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

This will certainly boost the construction industry. But construction also is suffering from a shortage of workers. And affordability is now a problem slowing sales, as housing prices have risen faster than incomes due to the current housing shortage.

Graph: Econoday

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million in September from 5.35 million in August. Last month's sales pace is 1.5 percent below a year ago but is the second slowest over the past year (behind August).

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says closings mustered a meager gain in September, but declined on an annual basis for the first time in over a year (July 2016; 2.2 percent). “Home sales in recent months remain at their lowest level of the year and are unable to break through, despite considerable buyer interest in most parts of the country,” he said. “Realtors® this fall continue to say the primary impediments stifling sales growth are the same as they have been all year: not enough listings – especially at the lower end of the market – and fast-rising prices that are straining the budgets of prospective buyers.”

Bottom line is that U.S. and state economies will be given a massive boost by the recent disasters. We can really call it a new, New Deal, since governments will have to approve massive spending bills to rebuild as if it were wartime. Much of that spending has to be for modernizing our infrastructure—which includes all the roads, bridges, water systems, and electrical grids destroyed.

And don’t forget the replacement housing needed. We see such spending can and will prolong this recovery another one or two years. Since such massive spending will require bipartisan support, maybe politics can be thrown out the window this time.

Harlan Green © 2017

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Why Home Sales Rising Fast, Construction Lagging?

The Mortgage Corner

We are once again in a housing conundrum. May Existing-home sales just surged 1.1 percent to 5.62 million units, after falling for several months. And housing starts fell for the third straight month an unexpected 5.5 percent in May to a far lower-than-expected annualized rate of 1.092 million with permits for future construction likewise very weak, down 4.9 percent to a 1.168 million rate.

So where is housing to come from with soaring prices, historically low unemployment, and interest rates? At the current sales rate, it would take 4.2 months to clear inventory, down from 4.7 months one year ago. That means a severe shortage of available housing.

The median number of days homes were on the market in May was 27, the shortest time frame since NAR began tracking data in 2011. Housing inventory has dropped for 24 straight months on a year-on-year basis, reports the National Association of Realtors.

Graph: Econoday

"Home prices keep chugging along at a pace that is not sustainable in the long run," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Current demand levels indicate sales should be stronger, but it's clear some would-be buyers have to delay or postpone their home search because low supply is leading to worsening affordability conditions."

There is declining affordability because incomes are not keeping up with rising home prices. The median existing-home price has risen 6 percent April-to-April, says the NAR, while median household income rose just 2.4 percent over that time.

The hottest housing markets with the shortest sales’ times in May were Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash., 20 days; San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif., 24 days; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., 25 days; and Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, both at 26 days, said the NAR.

"With new and existing supply failing to catch up with demand, several markets this summer will continue to see homes going under contract at this remarkably fast pace of under a month," said Yun.

Affordability is becoming an acute problem, in other words. The majority of Americans and Canadians say their nations are not doing enough to address and solve affordable housing needs, according to just published Habitat for Humanity’s Affordable Housing Survey. Escalating costs remain a top barrier preventing families from accessing decent homes with affordable mortgages, the survey says.

One major barrier to homeownership cited among survey respondents: the high costs of rent. Eighty-four percent of survey respondents said the high cost of rent was preventing them from buying, followed by 75 percent who said obtaining a mortgage was proving to be a big barrier.

We know why obtaining a mortgage is still a high barrier, even with historically low interest rates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the major guarantors of residential mortgages are still in government conservatorship, which really means the U.S. Treasury Department is in charge, though the Federal Housing Finance Authority is supposed to be the supervisor. And because Treasury maintains taxpayer monies are still ‘at risk’, it won’t relax credit standards to allow more borrowers to qualify.

The median FICO credit score is still 750 for approved loans, whereas it was closer to 680 during the last decade. It was a much lower bar since most fully-employed Americans have some kind of late charge in their past. And easing the qualification standard could bring 1 million more homebuyers into the housing market, said the Urban Institute in a recent study.

We believe such strict qualification standards are because the U.S. Treasury Department doesn’t want to part with the cash flow from raking in all of their profits—some $5 billion in Q2—so that no capital will be left to cushion any downturn.

Why? Because Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says they are working on a plan to dissolve Fannie and Freddie and come up with something better. But Treasury has been promising the same thing since 2008, and then Obama’s Treasury in 2012 when it decided to put all their profits into the general fund. That amount paid to Treasure has now climbed to more than $271 billion, vs. the $187.5 billion it cost to take over Fannie ane Freddie, making them cash cows at the expense of prospective homebuyers.

We have still not seen an outline of what a future Fannie and Freddie organization might look like. Nor has Congress been able to agree on whether they should be returned to the private sector as stockholding corporations or in a form that more resembles highly regulated VA and FHA loan programs.

So Habitat For Humanity is right in calling for more government action to increase affordability options for home owners and prospective homebuyers.

Harlan Green © 2017

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Pending Home Sales Decline, Because No Inventory!

Popular Economics Weekly

The Pending Home Sales Index, www.nar.realtor/topics/pending-home-sales, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 0.8 percent to 111.4 in March from 112.3 in February. Despite last month's decrease, the index is 0.8 percent above a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says sparse inventory levels caused a pullback in pending sales in March, with existing-home inventories in the 5 month range, but activity was still strong enough to be the third best in the past year. "Home shoppers are coming out in droves this spring and competing with each other for the meager amount of listings in the affordable price range," he said. "In most areas, the lower the price of a home for sale, the more competition there is for it. That's the reason why first-time buyers have yet to make up a larger share of the market this year, despite there being more sales overall."

That’s why the Case-Shiller Home Price index has increased 5.8 percent YoY. Housing prices are entering bubble territory, as the accompanying Calculated Risk Price-to-Rent comparison shows. It measures the ratio between housing prices and rents, and reached its highest level in 2006—meaning the housing price ratio had soared far above the historical 1-to-1 ratio of price-to-rents that prevailed in the 1980s and 90s, when housing prices rose more in line with rents. So, home buyers were paying prices they couldn’t really afford during the housing bubble, since rental rates are a better measure of incomes.

Graph: Calculated Risk

On a price-to-rent basis, the Case-Shiller National index is back to November 2003 levels, the Composite 20 index is back to August 2003 levels, and the CoreLogic index is back to July 2003, says Econoday, so we are not yet back to pre-recession price levels.

Pointing to revealing data from the March Realtors® Confidence Index, Yun worries that the painfully low supply levels this spring could heighten price growth — at 6.8 percent last month — even more in the months ahead. Homes in March came off the market at a near-record pace, and indicating an increase in the likelihood of listings receiving multiple offers, 42 percent of homes sold at or above list price (the second highest amount since NAR began tracking in December 2012).

Graph: Econoday

The main reason for such “painfully lw supply” is soaring existing-home sales. “Existing sales rose a very sharp 4.4 percent to a higher-than-expected annualized rate of 5.710 million,” said Econoday. “This is the best rate since February 2007. Both components show strength with single-family sales up 4.3 percent to a 5.080 million rate and condo sales up 5.0 percent to a 630,000 rate. And year-on-year sales are moving higher, up 5.9 percent divided between 6.1 percent for single-family homes and 5.0 percent for condos.”

And housing construction is not yet catching up to demand. The first quarter ended with a thud for housing starts which fell a very steep 6.8 percent to a 1.215 million annualized rate which is the weakest since November, said the NAHB. Posting similar declines were both single-family homes, at an 821,000 pace, and multi-family, at 394,000. But housing construction does show nearly double-digit year-on-year growth, though quarter-to-quarter movement is barely perceptible.

The hope is housing construction will continue to pick up, as we expect housing demand to remain strong, and interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future.

Harlan Green © 2017

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Low Inflation Boosts Housing Sales

Financial FAQs

Existing-home sales are now accelerating to new expansion highs, says the NAR. Sales rose a very sharp 4.4 percent to a higher-than-expected annualized rate of 5.710 million. This is the best rate since February 2007. Both components show strength with single-family sales up 4.3 percent to a 5.080 million rate and condo sales up 5.0 percent to a 630,000 rate. And year-on-year sales are moving higher, up 5.9 percent divided between 6.1 percent for single-family homes and 5.0 percent for condos.

Graph: Econoday

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says existing sales roared back in March and were led by hefty gains in the Northeast and Midwest. "The early returns so far this spring buying season look very promising as a rising number of households dipped their toes into the market and were successfully able to close on a home last month," he said.

"Although finding available properties to buy continues to be a strenuous task for many buyers, there was enough of a monthly increase in listings in March for sales to muster a strong gain. Sales will go up as long as inventory does."

Why the great interest rates? It’s mainly because there is still very little inflation, and the bond market that determines mortgage rates likes low inflation. A March contraction of the CPI led to sizable slowing in year-on-year rates. The total rate is 2.4 percent, down 3 tenths from February and sliding back to the Fed's 2 percent target. The core rate, which excludes food & energy, is down 2 tenths and is right at the target line. Energy comparisons are very easy right now given low prices this time last year. This makes the decline in the core a special concern.

Graph: Econoday

The median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $236,400, up 6.8 percent from March 2016 ($221,400). March's price increase marks the 61^st consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

And total housing inventory at the end of March increased 5.8 percent to 1.83 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 6.6 percent lower than a year ago (1.96 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 22 straight months. Unsold inventory is at a 3.8-month supply at the current sales pace (unchanged from February), signaling a very high demand that is outstripping new-home construction, stuck at 1.22 million annual units.

The conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now 3.50 percent and the so-called Hi-Balance conforming 30-year fixed rate is 3.75 percent these days for a 1 percent origination fee. This is what has kept the demand for housing on a tear, in spite of low inventories and tepid economic growth, as I said yesterday.

Harlan Green © 2017

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

New Home Sales Surge, Existing Sales Not So Much

The Mortgage Corner

New-home sales shot 6.1 percent higher in February to a 592,000-annualized rate and is near the 600,000 top estimate of economists. Sales appeared to have gotten a boost from builder concessions as the median price fell a monthly 3.9 percent to $296,200 for a year-on-year rate that's suddenly in the negative column at minus 4.9 percent.

And existing home sales were down 3.7 percent in February to a 5.480 million annualized rate, below January’s 5.55 million rate. Details are mostly weak including a 3.0 percent decline for single-family sales to a 4.890 million rate and a sharp 9.2 percent drop for condos to a 590,000 rate. But that could be the end-of-winter blahs, as year-on-year, single-family sales are up 5.8 percent with condos up just 1.7 percent.

Graph: Econoday

Strength in new-home sales was centered in the Midwest where the sales rate surged 21,000 to 89,000 and easily surpassing 11,000 gains for the both the West, at 157,000, and the South at 313,000. Sales in the Northeast fell sharply in last week's existing home sales report and are down 9,000 to a very low 33,000 annualized rate in today's new-home report.  But that could also be due to the month’s severe storms, including at least one Nor’easter that brought up to 2 feet of snow to some parts of New England.

What is happening with some conforming prices from FHFA financed homes not rising at all in February? In a note by Econoday, the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s house price index came in unchanged in January with year-on-year appreciation falling a steep 5 tenths to 5.7 percent. This is the weakest month-to-month result in more than 4 years and the weakest year-on-year rate since August 2015, and at a time when supply is pointing to very strong conditions, at only 3.8 months for resales which is down 6 weeks from this time last year.

And days on the market are very tight, at 45 vs 59 days a year ago. A highlight of the coming week will be Case-Shiller's report which tracks resale prices and which, in another housing puzzle, now appears to be violently converging with FHFA.

Another indicator of housing sales, the Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, decreased 2.8 percent to 106.4 in January from an upwardly revised 109.5 in December 2016. Although last month's index reading is 0.4 percent above last January, it is the lowest since then.

It was insufficient supply levels that led to a lull in contract activity in the Midwest and West, which dragged down pending home sales in January to their lowest level in a year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says home shoppers in January faced numerous obstacles in their quest to buy a home. "The significant shortage of listings last month along with deteriorating affordability as the result of higher home prices and mortgage rates kept many would-be buyers at bay," he said. "Buyer traffic is easily outpacing seller traffic in several metro areas and is why homes are selling at a much faster rate than a year ago. Most notably in the West, it's not uncommon to see a home come off the market within a month."

All this means that rather than a housing bubble, we are still in a housing shortage with affordable housing the main victim. And any improvement in supply largely depends on mortgage rates remaining low, despite further Federal Reserve rate hikes and a Trump administration spending spree. So I predict we have no more than a one year window for such low rates to remain.

Harlan Green © 2017

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Pending Home Sales—Case-Shiller Prices Higher

The Mortgage Corner

Pending home sales picked up in December as solid increases in the South and West offset weakening activity in the Northeast and Midwest, according to the National Association of Realtors®. And the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index of same existing-home prices continued to rise more than inflation, signaling a housing shortage still exists.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 1.6 percent to 109.0 in December from 107.3 in November. With last month's uptick in activity, the index is now 0.3 percent above last December (108.7). Pending sales have been this active since 2015, really, which in turn has stimulated housing construction, mostly on the high end.

Graph: NAR

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says contract activity was mixed throughout the country in December but ultimately ended on a high note to close out 2016. "Pending sales rebounded last month as enough buyers fended off rising mortgage rates and alarmingly low inventory levels to sign a contract," he said. "The main storyline in the early months of 2017 will be if supply can meaningfully increase to keep price growth at a moderate enough level for households to absorb higher borrowing costs. Sales will struggle to build on last year's strong pace if inventory conditions don't improve."

And national home price gains maintained momentum in November, two months after retaking the high last seen at the height of the housing bubble, according to Case-Shiller.

The S&P/CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.3 percent compared to a year ago for the three month period ending in November, an acceleration from the 5.1 percent increase notched in October. The national price index rose 5.6 percent for the year, up from 5.5 percent in October, and a yuge seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent for the month. Among the 20 cities, Seattle, Portland and Denver continued to see the strongest price gains.

According to Yun, a large portion of overall supply right now is at the upper end of the market, as we said. This is evident by looking at December data on the year-over-year change in single-family sales by price range. Last month, sales were up around 10 percent compared to December 2015 for homes sold at or above $250,000, while homes sold between $100,000 and $250,000 only increased 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, sales of homes under $100,000 were down 11.6 percent compared to a year ago.

Graph: NAR

This could be because mortgage rates have risen, though a 30-year fixed conforming rate is still 4.0 percent for one origination point in California. This is approximately 0.75 percent higher that the record lows of last yar.

"The dismal number of listings in the affordable price range is squeezing prospective first-time buyers the most," said Yun. "As a result, young households are missing out on the wealth gains most homeowners have accrued from the 41 percent cumulative rise in existing home prices since 2011."

Metro	Monthly Case-Shiller	12-Month Change
Atlanta	0.0%	6.1%
Boston	0.4%	5.5%
Charlotte	0.3%	5.9%
Chicago	-0.8%	4.0%
Cleveland	0.0%	3.8%
Dallas	0.2%	8.1%
Denver	0.6%	8.7%
Detroit	-0.1%	6.6%
Las Vegas	0.3%	6.0%
Los Angeles	0.2%	5.5%
Miami	0.5%	6.1%
Minneapolis	0.1%	5.5%
New York	0.4%	2.4%
Phoenix	0.3%	5.2%
Portland	0.2%	10.1%
San Diego	0.3%	5.8%
San Francisco	-0.1%	5.3%
Seattle	0.2%	10.4%
Tampa	0.8%	8.1%
Washington	0.2%	3.7%

Harlan Green © 2017

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Housing Construction, Sales Strong, Interest Rates Still Ultra-Low

The Mortgage Corner

Housing starts are being hit by huge swings. November starts fell 18.7 percent in November to a much lower-than-expected 1.090 million annualized rate following an upward revised gain of 27.4 percent to 1.340 million in October, says Econoday. But that’s to be expected with winter weather already hitting the Midwest and eastern states.

This is while interest rates have barely budged since the Fed raised its short term rates 0.25 percent to s range of 0.50 to 0.75 percent. That’s why housing construction and builder sentiment remain strong. The 30-year conforming fixed rate remains below 4 percent--@3.875 percent for one origination point (i.e., one percent) in California.

And existing-home sales are at record highs for this cycle. Existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual 5.61 million pace, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That was up 0.7 percent from a downwardly-revised pace of 5.57 million in October and marks the highest since February 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says it's been an outstanding three-month stretch for the housing market as 2016 nears the finish line. "The healthiest job market since the Great Recession and the anticipation of some buyers to close on a home before mortgage rates accurately rose from their historically low level have combined to drive sales higher in recent months," he said. "Furthermore, it's no coincidence that home shoppers in the Northeast — where price growth has been tame all year — had the most success last month."

November’s existing sales rate was 15.4 percent higher compared to a year ago, the first month when new regulations, known as the “Know Before You Owe”, or TRID disclosures that added extra days to disclosure times went into effect, snarling closing times.

Single-family starts fell 4.1 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 828,000 units while multifamily production dropped 45.1 percent to 262,000 units. However, the best news in the report is a 15.4 percent gain in housing completions to a 1.216 million rate which follows a 6.3 percent jump in the prior month. Houses authorized but not started are also up, 3.0 percent higher to 138,000. Gains here will help ease what is very tight supply for new homes.

 

The Mortgage Corner

 

 “Single-family starts declined from a robust level in October but still remain very solid,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Though rising mortgage rates could be a headwind for housing, we expect single-family production to continue on a long-run, gradual growth trend. Meanwhile, the multifamily sector, which has been volatile in recent months, is expected to level off at a solid rate as that market finds balance between supply and demand.”

 Rising household wealth is one reason housing sales have returned to 2007 levels, as household net worth rose to a new all-time high and home equity rose to just a hair below its level in 2006, before the housing bubble burst, said the Federal Reserve in its quarterly flow of funds report.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun believes housing sales could go even higher if housing starts continue to increase. The “big obstacle,” said Yun, is the ongoing “housing shortage,” which is pushing prices to record levels, as well. There were 4.0 months of supply at the current pace of sales, the 18th month in which inventory was tighter compared to its level a year ago.”

 Rising household wealth is one reason housing sales have returned to 2007 levels, as household net worth rose to a new all-time high and home equity rose to just a hair below its level in 2006, before the housing bubble burst, said the Federal Reserve in its quarterly flow of funds report.

But inflation is on the rise, which will boost housing prices further and perhaps encourage more construction, as well. The median existing-home price across the country was $234,900, up 6.8 percent compared to November 2015. This means those with little or no equity in their homes will see their financial position improve, thus adding to future economic growth.

Harlan Green © 2016

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen

Housing Construction--Slow But Steady Increase

The Mortgage Corner

Single-family housing construction rose in September. Though overall starts plunged what looks like a shocking 9.0 percent in September, to a 1.047 million annualized rate, said Econoday. The drop is tied entirely to the volatile multi-family component where starts fell a massive 38 percent in the month to a 264,000 rate. But the more important single-family component is up sharply in its own right, 8.1 percent higher to a 783,000 rate.

Graph: Calculated Risk

However, no problem, as multi-family construction starts were up sharply in August. But the graph really shows how far we need to catch up to prior years. There just aren’t enough affordable homes to satisfy demands for more affording dwellings, and the Fed is now hinting at a December rate hike.

What will happen to those millennials that want to buy their first home? However builder confidence is still high, according to the Wells Fargo Home Builders Index, and purchase mortgage applications are up 13 percent in a year, which may be the reason builders are still optimistic about future construction and inventories.

Builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes was down just two points to a level of 63 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

Graph: NAHB.org

  “The October reading represents a mild pullback from a jump in September, and indicates that the housing market continues to make slow and steady gains,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Moreover, mortgage rates remain low and the HMI index measuring future sales expectations has been over 70 for the past two months. These factors will sustain continued growth in the single-family market in the months ahead.”

So there may be a lull in sales, as the NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index of future sales is also lower. According to NAR chief economist LawrenceYun, evidence is piling up that without more new home construction the current housing recovery could stall. Housing inventory has declined year-over-year for 15 straight months; properties in August typically sold 11 days quicker than in August 2015¹ and after increasing 5.1 percent last month, existing-home prices have risen year-over-year for 54 consecutive months.

"There will be an expected seasonal decline in new listings in coming months, which could accelerate price appreciation and make finding an affordable home even more of a struggle for would-be buyers," added Yun.

Mortgage rates have bumped up slightly, with 30-year fixed conforming rates now 3.125 percent for a 1.0 pt. origination fee, and 3.375 percent for no points in California, which is helping to boost the mortgage volume. The question then will be, who can afford to buy without more homes in the construction pipeline?

Harlan Green © 2016

Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen