Housing inventory

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo gauge decreased six points to a three-month low of 50. The figure was below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The cohort is outperforming the broader market — up more than 50% year-to-date versus the S&P 500's 18% gain. 

Homeowners with higher rates willing to sell in the next few years are mitigating the pricey housing market by purchasing points or pursuing smaller properties.

The sector is well-positioned for further volume growth into next year, analysts led by Anthony Pettinari said in a note to clients Monday.

Purchases of new single-family homes fell 2.5% to an annualized 697,000 pace after a downward revision to the prior month, government data showed Wednesday.

"I do believe you'll begin to see some improvement, or increases, in new housing as we head into the back half of the year," Chief Financial Officer Jim Peters said in an interview. "We're hearing optimistic stuff from the builders we deal with."

The nation's most flood-prone counties experienced a net influx of about 400,000 people in 2021 and 2022, Redfin found.

Contract closings declined 3.3% to a 4.16 million annualized pace, roughly in line with economists' forecasts, National Association of Realtors data showed Thursday.

Residential starts fell 8% last month to a 1.43 million annualized rate, according to government data released Wednesday.

About 14 out of every 1,000 US homes changed hands during this period, down from 19 in the same period during 2019, according to the real estate brokerage's report examining housing turnover since the pandemic.

Despite the improvement in sentiment, the homebuilder index remains below end-of-2021 levels, when mortgage rates were lower

Mayor Michelle Wu is offering hefty tax breaks to companies to turn offices into housing, the latest example of a city seeking to address the challenges of remote work hitting downtowns and a lack of affordable residences.

Democratic senators including Banking Chair Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren want to restrict tax breaks for large corporate investors that buy local homes and often drive up costs.

With new home listings down 25% since last year, bidding wars have become the norm, according to the brokerage.

There's quite a bit of inventory out there that would have otherwise been returned to the market but for unduly harsh political theater writes the CEO of the National REO Brokers Association.

More than one-third of average wages is now needed for borrowers to make regular payments on the typical home, according to Attom. Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association found monthly costs rose 14% annually.

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes dropped 2.7% to 76.5 last month, according to data released Thursday.

However, as it currently stands, most measures suggest "the market does not have a path to close the housing deficit in the near-term," Citigroup said. 

Millions of would-be borrowers are reportedly "doubling up" by sharing homes with nonrelatives, Zillow found.

We have the tools to address our housing challenges through a mix of regulatory reforms, policy changes, incentives and investment. What's needed is the will and leadership to put those tools to work.