Housing Market Recovery--Part II

 The Mortgage Corner

Calculate Risk

Real estate continues its slight recovery with housing starts and new residential permits on the rise in February. Most of the action was in rental housing, as apartment construction is up 9.9 percent YoY in February. Whereas February single-family construction has been falling and is now down 31.6 percent YoY.

It’s easy to see why more multi-family housing is under construction. Single-family affordability has plunged with 30-year conforming fixed rates still around 6.75 percent.

The NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showed that from 2020 to 2022 the income required to qualify for a 90 percent LTV mortgage on an entry-level home had doubled from $49,008 to $92,688 while the 30-year fixed rate rose from 3.17 percent to 6.77 percent.

This puts many more first-time buyers out of the market. Their share of purchases has fallen to 30 percent of existing-home sales, when it was as much as 40 percent before housing prices accelerated in 2021.

Calculated Risk

The Case-Shiller Home Price Index also highlights the price fluctuations in existing-home prices that made affordability such a problem in Calculated Risk’s above graph of the Case-Shiller Index dating from 1988.

Price rises peaked in January 2004 and January 2023 when they were rising as much as 20 percent YoY before declining sharply. It was a time of multiple offers and ultra-low interest rates that crowded out first-timers.

The sharp declines in price inflation that followed both times were precipitated by the Federal Reserve’s actions to tighten credit, and the lack of entry-level housing.

One reason that builders are building again is the slow down in inflation, with the S&P Composite Home Price Index now rising in the 4 percent range. There are also some 1.4 million home still under construction, which is a tremendous backlog also bringing down prices.

“The cooling in home prices that began in June 2022 continued through year end, as December marked the sixth consecutive month of declines for our National Composite Index,” says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI.

Mortgage rates have been up and down but won’t give much boost to housing until the Fed decides to ease up on the rate increases. Still, signs of life this early in the selling season and without any indication the feds will pause in their rate hikes is difficult to ignore.

Harlan Green © 2023

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

Most Homes Under Construction in 49 Years!

 The Mortgage Corner

Calculated Risk

Builders are trying to catch up to demand. Calculated Risk’s Bill McBride per the US Census Bureau reports the largest number of homes under construction since 1973.

Privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,702,000. This is 1.4 percent above the revised November estimate of 1,678,000 and is 2.5 percent (±13.8 percent) above the December 2020 rate of 1,661,000. Single‐family housing starts in December were at a rate of 1,172,000; this is 2.3 percent below the revised November figure of 1,199,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 524,000.

The Census Bureau also said that currently there are 750 thousand multi-family units under construction.  This is the highest level since July 1974! For multi-family, construction delays are probably also a factor. The completion of these units should help with rent pressure, with rents rising more than 7 percent annually.

Why so much residential construction? Existing-home sales continued to use up available inventory, surging to 6.5 million annualized units in January. Since we are in mid-winter when sales are usually at a low point, why the surge?

"Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking-in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher."

Calculated Risk

Total existing-home sales,¹ https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, climbed 6.7% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.50 million in January. Year-over-year, sales fell 2.3% (6.65 million in January 2021), said the Realtors.

The inventory of homes for sale has dropped to just 1.6 months at the current torrid sales rate. This is squeezing out homebuyers that can afford homes below $500,000, said Yun.

"There are more listings at the upper end – homes priced above $500,000 – compared to a year ago, which should lead to less hurried decisions by some buyers," Yun added. "Clearly, more supply is needed at the lower-end of the market in order to achieve more equitable distribution of housing wealth."

This has pushed housing prices even higher. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index posted a 18.6 percent year-over-year gain in December, up slightly from 18.3 percent the previous month.

It tells us in spite of labor and building material shortages, builders are finding ways to start new construction in the face of red hot demand. There are plenty of potential home buyers out there with the record surge in job creation over the past year.

Harlan Green © 2021

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

July Home Sales Stay Strong

 

The Mortgage Corner

Calculated Risk

WASHINGTON (August 23, 2021) – Existing-home sales rose in July, marking two consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Three of the four major U.S. regions recorded modest month-over-month gains, and the fourth remained level.

New-home sales also increased, signaling that soaring home prices haven’t discouraged buyers who are migrating to the suburbs and hinterlands as more work from home in the new gig economy. We have seen digital workers migrating from their offices in Seattle and other major cities to smaller towns in the Midwest and New England to live in more comfortable surroundings, thanks to the Internet.

FREDCaseShiller

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering existing-home sales in all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 16.6 percent annual gain in May, up from 14.8 percent in the previous month.

The median existing-home price tallied by the NAR for all housing types in July was $359,900, up 17.8 percent from July 2020 ($305,600), which differs from Case-Shiller because CS uses a 3-month trailing average to make it more statistically valid. Each region saw prices climb. This marks 113 straight months of year-over-year gains, say the Realtors.

Total existing-home sales,¹ https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, grew 2.0 percent from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million in July. Sales inched up year-over-year, increasing 1.5 percent from a year ago (5.90 million in July 2020).

"We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Much of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid- to lower-tier areas aren't seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter homes available."

The months of supply increased in July to 6.2 months from 6.0 months in June, with inventories returning to normal levels. The all-time high was 12.1 months of supply in January 2009. The all-time low was 3.5 months, most recently in October 2020.

There is still not enough housing to meet soaring demand. Total existing-home housing inventory at the end of July totaled 1.32 million units, up 7.3 percent from June's supply and down 12.0 percent from one year ago (1.50 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 2.6-month supply at the present sales pace, up slightly from the 2.5-month figure recorded in June but down from 3.1 months in July 2020, a historic low.

The housing market is so hot that individual investors or second-home buyers, who account for many cash sales, purchased 15 percent of homes in July. All-cash sales accounted for 23 percent of transactions in July, and up from 16 percent in July 2020.

But first-time buyers purchased just 30 percent of existing sales, which means the rest of the young adults leaving school and/or their parents may find rental housing to be a more viable option for the foreseeable future. How long is that—who knows?

Harlan Green © 2021

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

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

Case-Shiller Home Prices At New Highs

Financial FAQs

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.6 percent annual gain in October, up from 5.4 percent last month. The 10-City Composite posted a 4.3 percent annual increase, up from 4.2 percent the previous month.

Graph: Calculated Risk

Prices have now returned to 2003-4 levels, according to CoreLogic. That is when housing prices began double-digit increases for several years. The 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.1 percent in October, up from 5.0 percent in September. These are same-home price rises averaged over 3 months to make them less volatile.

But the price rises have leveled off at 5.1 percent on average over the past 2 years, a sign that rising housing inventories are beginning to have an effect on prices after prices soared during the housing bubble years. Portland and Seattle housing prices are still rising at 10 percent per year, with Dallas and Denver close behind.

Rising interest rates may also affect next year’s market, though the 30-year fixed conforming rate is still available @3.875 percent for one origination point in California. But Pending Home sales are the lowest in a year, which are contract signings scheduled to close in approximately 60 days, according to the National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun.

“The budget of many prospective buyers last month was dealt an abrupt hit by the quick ascension of rates immediately after the election,” Yun said in NAR’s latest report. “Already faced with climbing home prices and minimal listings in the affordable price range, fewer home shoppers in most of the country were successfully able to sign a contract.”

What about housing’s contribution to economic growth? It is still below trend, at close to 4 percent, whereas it has averaged 5 percent historically. So that’s an additional $18 billion that can be added to GDP growth over the next years if housing sales and construction return to more normal times—but only if interest rates continue to rise gradually.

Graph: Calculated Risk

Trump supporters and Republicans believe the housing market will return to more normal times once they reduce the regulatory burden on housing, which they continue to blame on Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, for some reason. But these entities have been mostly responsible for the massive settlements with banks that sold falsely advertised AAA rated mortgage securities that created those negatively amortized liar loans, the main cause of the housing bubble.

These settlements should deter lenders from making such risky bets in the future, but what if those Dodd-Frank regulations are abolished by a Republican controlled Congress? Who will then stand in the way of future lending abuses that could once more put tax payers at risk?

Incoming Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has been making noises about resuscitating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the main guarantor of conforming mortgages as private entities, albeit with some revisions to pass part of the lending risk onto banks and other lenders. This may be a good thing in that it could ease the strict qualification standards that have hampered some mortgage lending.

But will that confidence in the Trump administration’s efforts to cut red tape translate into a better (and more affordable) housing market? “NAHB expects an increase in single-family home construction next year, fueled by a growing economy and solid job growth,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Moreover, builder confidence has risen on anticipation of reductions in regulatory costs, which is good news for home buyers and renters. However, the pace of construction will continue to be restricted by shortages of lots and labor in some markets.”

So though hopes have risen for more housing, all this remains to be seen, in other words.

Harlan Green © 2016

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

Huge Jump In Existing-Home Sales

Wow!  Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million in January from a downwardly revised 5.45 million in December. Sales are now 11.0 percent higher than a year ago – the largest year-over-year gain since July 2013 (16.3 percent).

 This is creating a bottle neck for home buyers, as the unsold inventory of homes is down to 4 months, with such a hot sales market.  Yet first-time home buyers are hanging in there with 32 percent of sales, up from 28 percent last year, and below the 40 percent during more normal times.

            The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $213,800, up 8.2 percent from January 2015 ($197,600). Last month's price increase was the largest since April 2015 (8.5 percent) and marks the 47th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

            Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says existing sales kicked off 2016 on solid footing, rising slightly to the strongest pace since July 2015 (5.48 million). "The housing market has shown promising resilience in recent months, but home prices are still rising too fast because of ongoing supply constraints," he said. "Despite the global economic slowdown, the housing sector continues to recover and will likely help the U.S. economy avoid a recession."

            The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, a more accurate measure of overall existing-home prices because it uses a 3-month average of same existing-home prices, recorded a slightly higher year-over-year gain with a 5.4 percent annual increase in December 2015 versus a 5.2 percent increase in November 2015.

            Portland, Denver and San Francisco prices continue to rise the fastest, with more than 10 percent annual increases.  But Tampa and Seattle are close behind.  These prices reflect the growing prosperity of high growth regions, and are reflected in a recent survey of cities and regions with the most job creation.

Graph: Marketwatch

           

            This incredible graph captures where job growth is actually happening—on the coasts for the most part.  Marketwatch says cost-estimating website HowMuch.net used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create this three-dimensional representation of the number of jobs added by metro area. It should be no surprise that California with its Silicon Valley led all states with more than 464,000 jobs related.

The Greater New York metropolitan area, which includes Newark and Jersey City, showed the highest increase for any single metro area in the country with 156,400 new jobs. And, the Los Angeles metro area, including Long Beach and Anaheim, was second at 135,100 jobs.

            This means more housing is needed and the construction industry is finally beginning to respond, with housing starts now above a 1 million unit rate, and permits for new housing even higher.  Why are first-timers able to buy?  The medium household income has also risen, up 6.5 percent since 2013, and interest rates are back to historical lows, making home buying more affordable.

            But continuing housing recovery is dependent on more and higher paying jobs.  We know the millennial generation, from 18 to 36 years, will be key to this happening.  They now make up 53 percent of the working age work force. 

            However, their pay is still at the low end, according to data from the Minnesota Population Center's 2014 "American Community Survey" in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.  The medians ranged between a low of $18,000 per year in Montana and a high of $43,000 in the District of Columbia. It’s because so many are still teenagers or in school.  But that should change in coming years.

Harlan Green © 2016

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

New-Home Sales, Case Shiller Index On the Rise

The Mortgage Corner--II

As if to confirm U.S. housing starts and building permits’ jump to their highest levels in nearly 7-1/2 years, the sales rate of new single-family houses in April 2015 rose even higher at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “This is 6.8 percent above the revised March rate of 484,000 and is 26.1 percent above the April 2014 estimate of 410,000,” per the Census Bureau.

Graph: Calculated Risk

It means home construction is returning to pre-recession levels, as is the demand for more housing, which will spur more housing construction. The sales rate is rising fast enough to drop housing inventories to 4.6 months, at the low end of inventories.

The south was the biggest gainer, with construction up 5.8 percent. Also, the median price rose to $297,300 for a strong 8.3 percent year-on-year gain. So sales have finally reached the long term trend line, which should signal a longer term recovery as buyer’s enthusiasm tends to feed on itself, according to Behavioral Economist and Nobelist Dr. Robert Shiller.

Graph: Calculated Risk

As if to confirm the rising enthusiasm of buyers, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index continued its climb to post-recession highs, with San Francisco now up 10.31 percent year over year, Denver and Dallas up 10 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively. Denver and Dallas housing prices have almost doubled since the Great Recession, per the above graph. San Francisco’s prices are just now approaching their bubble high.

“Home prices have enjoyed year-over-year gains for 35 consecutive months,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The pattern of consistent gains is national and seen across all 20 cities covered by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices…”

Of course lower interest rates were also a factor, as I’ve said, with housing affordability increasing this year, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).

In all, 66.5 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of January and end of March were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $65,800, said the report. “This is up from the 62.8 percent of homes sold that were affordable to median-income earners in the fourth quarter.”

What is another catalyst? Housing formation is recovering, which is largely due to Millennials moving out of their parents’ homes, or higher education venues. Based on unusually low household formation numbers of past several years, "there's a ton of people living in basements," Fundstrat Global Advisors' Tom Lee said in a recent interview with CNBC's "Trading Nation." "Two quarters of pretty decent household formation isn't getting everybody out of the basement. I think this means we have multiple years where household formations are well over 1.3 million, 1.4 million."

 

Household formation will be the key to future housing growth, as the millenials’ population size has now reached that of the baby boomers, their parents. And many have yet to reach home-buying age. Household formation had dipped as low as 360,000 per annum in recent years, due to the housing bust. So this is yet another sign of a growing pool of homebuyers.

Harlan Green © 2015

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

Housing In Recovery-Pending Home Sales Soar

The Mortgage Corner

February Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 3.1 percent to 106.9 in February from a slight downward revision of 103.7 in January and is now 12.0 percent above February 2014 (95.4). The index is at its highest level since June 2013 (109.4), has increased year-over-year for six consecutive months and is above 100 – considered an average level of activity – for the 10th consecutive month.

This is while new U.S. homes sold at an annual rate of 539,000 in February to mark the best month of sales in seven years, the government reported Tuesday. The pace of sales for January was also revised up sharply to 500,000. It's the first time annualized sales have hit 500,000 or more for two straight months since early 2008, as we said last week.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, says demand appears to be strengthening as we head into the spring buying season. “Pending sales showed solid gains last month, driven by a steadily-improving labor market, mortgage rates hovering around 4 percent and the likelihood of more renters looking to hedge against increasing rents,” he said. “These factors bode well for the prospect of an uptick in sales in coming months. However, the underlying obstacle – especially for first-time buyers – continues to be the depressed level of homes available for sale.”

In fact, the 30-year conforming fixed rate is in the mid-3 percent range today in California, and hovering near its all-time low.  Even better news is, according to NAR’s monthly Realtors^® Confidence Index, the percent share of first-time buyers increased slightly for the first time in February since November 2014, up to 29 percent from 28 percent in January. But such good news may not last, as the depressed level of inventories is continuing to boost home prices, making homes less affordable for those first-timers.

Graph: Calculated Risk

The Case-Shiller Home Price Index reports that home prices are firming as the Case-Shiller composite-20 index rose 0.9 percent in January following a 0.9 percent gain in December and a 0.8 percent rise in November. This is the strongest streak for this report since late 2013, and gives us more evidence of the need for more inventory. Year-on-year, however, prices are still on the soft side, up only 4.6 in January and only fractionally higher than the prior two months.

The increase in mortgage applications is another sign that home sales may be increasing this selling season, probably due to the low interest rates. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6 percent from one week earlier. ... The unadjusted Purchase Index ... was 8 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

Graph: Calculated Risk

“There was a broad based increase in mortgage applications last week relative to the week prior. The increase in purchase volume was led by a nearly 6 percent increase in both conventional and government markets, perhaps signaling that households are finally ready to begin the home-buying season,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics.

The rise in the share of first time home buyers is not a huge change but may predict more millennials of the Generation Y cohort aged 18-36 years, entering the housing market that have been renting until now. “Several markets remain highly-competitive due to supply pressures, and Realtors are reporting severe shortages of move-in ready and available properties in lower price ranges,” adds Yun. “The return of first-time buyers this year will depend on how quickly inventory shows up in the market.”

So still record low interest rates have to be a major reason both refinance and purchase loan activity has picked up. Conforming 30-year fixed rates are as low as 3.375 percent in California for 1 origination point. This is the rate that prevailed during the Fed’s QE purchase program more than one year ago. It has to be thanks to Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen who has been unrelenting in her opposition to any interest rate increases until she sees sustainable growth and rising wages.

Harlan Green © 2015

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

Consumer Confidence Soaring, Case-Shiller Home Prices Unchanged

Popular Economics Weekly

Why are stock prices rallying?  Maybe it’s because though housing price increases have slowed, consumer confidence is soaring for the holidays.  The prospect for future job and income growth looks good, in other words

Home prices contracted for a 4th straight month in August in Case-Shiller 20-city data, down 0.1 percent vs expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent. This is while consumer confidence rose to a post-recession high, a good sign for increased holiday spending.

Month-to-month prices declined in just 3 of the 20 cities, monthly—Charlotte, NC, San Diego, and San Francisco—with San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami prices up the most year-over-year.

So though the 20-city monthly average fell sharply, annual year-on-year overall prices are still a plus 5.6 percent from plus 6.7 and 8.0 percent in the two prior months for the 20-city index. The 5.6 percent rate is the lowest since November, says Econoday.

Graph: Econoday

This is while the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for October is at a new recovery high of 94.5, up from an upwardly revised 89.0 in September and surpassing the previous recovery high of 93.4 in August. The last time the index reached this level was in October 2007, right at the beginning of the Great Recession.

Graph: Econoday

October's gain is concentrated almost entirely in the expectations component, which jumped 8.6 points to 95.0 in a reading that is close to February 2011's 97.5. The strength in expectations reflects optimism in the outlook for both jobs and income, both of which show convincing gains in this month's report.

Despite improved housing conditions and low interest rates (as low as 3.625 percent for the conforming 30-yr fixed rate today), tight credit conditions continue to be a barrier for some buyers, as we have said in past columns. Of the reasons for not closing a sale, about 15 percent of Realtors in September reported having clients who could not obtain financing, reports the NAR.

Graph: Calculated Risk

Lastly, the so-called price-to-rent ratio tells us that prices are again rising faster than rents, and are above the long term ratio of 1:1. This means that housing prices are growing faster than rents again. Ergo, prices cannot continue this trend for long, since rent increases mirror actual income increases, whereas prices rise or fall for a number of reasons. This includes the perception that housing prices will continue to rise (due to irrational exuberance, which is an early sign of housing inflation) and perhaps ultra-low interest rates, which must eventually rise to more normal levels.

On a price-to-rent basis, the Case-Shiller National index is back to February 2003 levels, the Composite 20 index is back to September 2002 levels, and the CoreLogic index is back to July 2003, reports Calculated Risk.

So are we at the beginning of another housing bubble? Probably not, because the main cause of the current price increases is inadequate new home construction to meet the demand for housing (which is rental housing, at the moment), rather than oversupply of new homes that caused the housing bubble.

Harlan Green © 2014

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Home Sizes Ballooning Again

The Mortgage Corner

Housing sizes are ballooning, after a slight pause due to the Great Recession, reports the U.S. Census Bureau and Marketwatch. In 2013 the median floor area of new single-family homes sold in the U.S. rose 4 percent to hit almost 2,500 square feet, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

That compares to the median 1,800-square-foot size of a single detached home, as reported in the 2011 American Housing Survey, when 40 percent of homes were 1-2,000 square feet in size.

Graph: WSJ Marketwatch

The biggest new single-family homes of all were sold in the South, hitting a median of 2,534 square feet in 2013, up 1 percent from the prior year. Homes in the Northeast reached 2,456 square feet, up 3 percent. Homes in the Midwest measured 2,405 square feet, up 9 percent from 2012, and homes in the West hit 2,394 square feet, up 5 percent.

And prices continue to rise. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index of same-home sales has risen 12.4 percent in a year, and buyers are paying more for these larger homes. The median sales price of new single-family homes rose to $268,900 last year, up 10 percent from 2012.

What does that say? Those with the money are moving the various markets. The fastest growing segment are homes from 3,000 to 3,999 square feet, says the Census Bureau. Last year 9 percent of new single-family homes sold in the U.S. were at least 4,000 square feet, up from 8 percent in 2012. Meanwhile, the share of homes under 1,800 square feet fell to 17 percent in 2013, down from 22 percent in 2012 and 33 percent a decade earlier.

Existing-home sales are following the same trend. April’s sales of existing homes that cost at least $1 million grew more than 5 percent from a year earlier, while sales of homes under $250,000 fell more than 5 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.

What will bring more buyers into the housing market? Even lower mortgage rates, it seems. Purchase mortgage applications are still declining since January, even though mortgage rates have plunged on late, with the 30-year conforming fixed rate falling to 3.875 percent, and Hi-Balance conforming fixed rates at 4.00 percent for 1 origination point.

Graph: WSJ Marketwatch

So the big question remains whether middle class families will be able to afford those middle class homes anymore? That has as much to do with households starting up, or new household formation. And with so many of the 25 to 55 year-olds out of work, it may take years for households formation to pick up to the 1.2m per year average that prevailed before the Great Recession, from the current 600,000 new annual households being formed.

Graph: Zero Hedge

For instance, in the April unemployment report, one of the most important age group for jobs, those workers aged 25-54 which represent the bulk of the US labor force and are also the best and most productive group, the total number of jobs tumbled from 95,360K to 95,151K, a drop of 209K, reports Zero Hedge.

Seniors were the winners. According to the establishment survey, the only beneficiary of whatever this jobs "recovery" is, were workers aged 55-69, that have gained 174,000 jobs to date.

Harlan Green © 2014

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

What’s Happened to New-Home Sales?

The Financial FAQs

Sales of new single-family houses in February 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates. This is 3.3 percent below the revised January rate of 455,000 and is 1.1 percent below the February 2013 estimate of 445,000.

Graph: Calculated Risk

What has happened to new-home sales, with annual housing starts now above 900,000 units? Both housing prices and interest rates have been rising, for starters. And the Case-Shiller Home Price index is still rising annually at 13.2 percent, 0.8 percent in January, using a 3-month average.  And it takes at least 9 months for housing construction to be reflected in completions that would influence new-home sales.

Graph: Econoday

It could also be the winter weather in two-thirds of the country, and inventories are still low, at 5.2 months’ supply. But more likely it is that home ownership is increasingly difficult for first-time homebuyers, particularly. Tough lending standards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with higher credit score requirements and fees have made borrowing less attractive.

But that may be changing in 2014, as lenders seem to be easing their credit standards, both because default rates are down and housing prices continue to rise. The average FICO score on all closed loans was 724 in February 2014 compared to 745 in February 2013, or a 21-point decrease, according to a report released by Ellie Mae, a mortgage technology firm. (Under a system devised by Fair Isaac Corp., FICO credit scores run on a scale from 300 to 850.) Last month, 33 percent of closed loans had an average FICO score under 700 compared to 24 percent in February 2013.

“The share of purchase loans jumped four percentage points, representing 57 percent of all closed loans in February 2014,” said Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae. “This is the first time in four months that the share of purchase loans increased month over month and the largest one-month increase since August 2013, when the share of purchase loans also jumped four percentage points.”

“Credit requirements remained steady month over month, but there has been significant loosening compared to where we were a year ago,” said Corr.

So it may be too early to see a purchase trend in 2014 for new and existing-home sales. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.60 million in February from 4.62 million in January, and 7.1 percent below the 4.95 million-unit level in February 2013.

Interest rates fluctuations and conforming loan underwriting standards may be the deciding factors, which in turn affect consumer confidence. How much pentup demand is there with new households is another factor. So we will probably have to wait to see how the new selling season fares, taking into account all these factors.

Harlan Green © 2014

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

Pending Home Sales Show Weakness

The Mortgage Corner

Where is a housing bubble? Some pundits have been saying that housing prices, up some 13 percent in a year, may have been rising too fast. This is mainly because too few homes on the market, and also the pent up demand from 5 years of recession. But the pundits could be wrong about a price bubble. A slowdown in sales is now showing up in the NAR’s Pending Home Sales’ Index that has been declining steadily over the past few months—since last June, basically—and that should slow down the price rises.

Graph: NAR

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, fell 8.7 percent to 92.4 in December from a downwardly revised 101.2 in November, and is 8.8 percent below December 2012 when it was 101.3. The data reflect contracts but not closings, and are at the lowest level since October 2011, when the index was 92.2.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said several factors are working against buyers. “Unusually disruptive weather across large stretches of the country in December forced people indoors and prevented some buyers from looking at homes or making offers,” he said. “Home prices rising faster than income is also giving pause to some potential buyers, while at the same time a lack of inventory means insufficient choice. Although it could take several months for us to get a clearer read on market momentum, job growth and pent-up demand are positive factors.”

The disruptive weather wasn’t reflected in personal consumption, up 3.3 percent in the initial 4^th Quarter GDP estimated growth of 3.2 percent. So there has to be more at work.

Bill McBride of Calculated Risk listed more possible causes for the decline: “My view is there were several reasons for the decline in this index: weather in some areas, fewer distressed sales, less investor buying, fewer "pending" short sales, and low inventories.  I think fewer distressed sales, fewer "pending" short sales, and less investor buying are all signs of a healthier market - even if overall sales decline.”
The 3.2 percent Q4 GDP growth was also heartening for 2014 growth prospects. In particular, the share due to real estate investment is growing again after plunging sharply before and during the Great Recession. Residential investment (RI) includes new single family structures, multifamily structures, home improvement, broker's commissions, and a few minor categories.

The graph shows that 4-5 percent is the normal range vs. the current 3 percent, and that would mean real estate investment has more room to grow to return to normal levels.

Graph: Calcuated Risk

The Great Housing Bubble busted during the Great Recession is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event. Although the late 1980’s Savings & Loan crisis caused prices to fall, overall housing prices recovered quickly because there were no recessions at the time. The so-called Gulf War recession of 1991-92 occurred as housing prices were already recovering.

In fact, 1991 was really the beginning of the Great Housing Bubble that ultimately burst in 2007-08. So we know that housing prices rise and fall with business activity, as well as inflation rates. And we are still at the beginning of this recovery cycle with very low inflation. These are the signs of a “healthier” housing market as distressed sales decline, and we return to a more normal housing mix.

Harlan Green © 2014

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

Higher Economic Growth In 2014

Financial FAQs

We should be seeing a huge jump in economic growth this year. Why? Most economists are saying businesses are more optimistic with the federal budget agreement for 2 years, and no more tax increases hanging over consumers (and businesses). Republicans even finally agreed to spend $1.1 trillion this fiscal year—that is, until September when another fiscal year begins.

I maintain the increase in government spending, healthier state tax coffers, and a reviving housing sector with housing prices up 13.6 percent annually according the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, will be the main reasons for faster growth and more job creation this year.

We know this because the Census Bureau’s JOLTS report now shows 4 million job openings, and a rising ‘quit’ rate, which means job seekers are feeling optimistic enough about their prospects to voluntarily leave their current job.

Graph: Wrightson-ICAP

“After having risen by an average of 0.5 percent per month from the beginning of 2011 to the middle of 2013,” says Wrightson-ICAP, “the number of voluntary quits since July has climbed by 2.0% per month. The quit rate is important on two levels: it is both a general measure of worker confidence that tells us something about developments in the labor market, and it is a direct contributor to worker mobility, which is a key driver of productivity growth. (Matching workers to better jobs contributes to overall economic efficiency.)”

The best sign of an improvement in business optimism is the boost in capital expenditures. That expectation is based on a variety of factors, including the recent strength in the ISM factory orders index, a pick-up in capital spending plans by small businesses, and strong balance sheets and ample financing for larger companies. The capacity utilization data in Friday’s industrial production report reinforced that expectation. Total capacity utilization climbed to 79.2%, which is only one percentage point below the long-run (1972-2012) average that the Fed publishes as a reference point.

Wrightson-ICAP agrees with me on this, also. “As the aggregate level of capacity utilization rises, says Wrightson, many individual sectors are approaching or surpassing their previous cyclical highs. In the December data published last week, industries accounting for 33 percent of the Fed’s industrial production index had operating rates that were equal to or greater than their peaks in the previous cycle.

Graph: Wrightson-ICAP

There are other factors, as well, such as the pickup in consumer spending with higher December retail sales, and consumer confidence. This could lead to a GDP growth rate in the mid-3 percent range for 2014, up from the average 2 percent growth rate of late. It is a huge jump and just reflects the pent up demand for everything, as household balance sheets are turning positive and businesses begin to spend the cash they have been hoarding.

So the Federal Reserve will probably continue with its tapering of QE3 purchases that will cause long term interest rates to continue to rise. But it’s still the beginning of this business cycle, believe it or not. And there is almost no inflation, which will keep interest rates from rising too fast.

Harlan Green © 2014

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