Housing inventory

The National Association of Realtors index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes decreased 4.6% last month, according to data released Wednesday.

Applications to build, a proxy for future construction, fell to an annualized 1.53 million units, as single-family family permits fell to early pandemic levels.

More than 30 million homes in the U.S. are mortgage-free, with Florida — which has the highest proportion of retirees — the state with the biggest percentage of free and clear residences, suggesting it's better shielded from a decline in real estate prices.

U.S. pending home sales sank last month by the most since the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, illustrating a swift and steep downturn for a housing market beset by soaring borrowing costs.

The collapse in U.S. home construction during the third quarter took its biggest chunk from gross domestic product in nearly 15 years as surging mortgage rates dealt a hammer blow to demand.

PulteGroup Inc. reported plunging demand for its homes and a spike in canceled deals for the third quarter. But the shares rose, showing just how the bar has been "lowered" for builders navigating the U.S. housing slump.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell for an eighth straight month in September, underscoring how soaring mortgage rates are punishing the housing market. 

New U.S. home construction declined in September and permit applications for single-family dwellings fell, adding to evidence that the highest mortgage rates in two decades are sapping demand and discouraging new builds.

As higher mortgage rates bite harder, the number of metro Atlanta home sales in September fell and the selling prices stopped rising.

But conspicuously missing from the mortgage industry's discussions about affordability, housing equity and the future health of our industry is the growing, disruptive influence of single-family home investors, particularly institutional investors, writes the president of Down Payment Resource.