Housing inventory

A national gauge of prices rose 3.9% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Shares of all 18 members in the S&P Composite 1500 Homebuilding Index fell, sending the gauge to the lowest intraday level since December 2023, after results from luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. and key construction data Wednesday indicated the residential real estate market may be in store for more turbulence. 

New residential construction decreased 9.8% to an annualized pace of 1.37 million last month, slipping after a nearly 16% surge in December, according to government data released Wednesday.

Builder confidence had surged following Trump's election win but home financing costs stuck around 7% in recent months have sapped demand and sent builder stocks tumbling.

A $1 billion assessment announced Tuesday for California's FAIR Plan, the state-mandated insurer of last resort, is expected to drive up premiums as companies will likely pass some of the costs onto homeowners.

Contract signings fell 5.5% to 74.2 in December, according to a National Association of Realtors index released Thursday.

Sales of new US homes ended 2024 on a high note in December as customers took advantage of incentives from builders, leading to a second straight year of increased purchases.  

Contract closings of existing homes last month increased 2.2% to an annualized rate of 4.24 million, the most since February, according to National Association of Realtors data released Friday.

Los Angeles already had a housing affordability crisis before devastating wildfires burned entire neighborhoods to the ground. The disaster is making it worse. 

The residential market is expected to face challenges from stubbornly high mortgage rates and limited supply in 2025, particularly after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on Wednesday indicating fewer rate cuts are coming.