Housing inventory

But improved for-sale supply is providing buyers with more options and helping to keep softer price pressures for those looking to buy, writes Cotality's Chief Economist.

Wall Street is cranking up the bond machine as US homeowners, finding that buying a new house is out of reach since mortgage rates started climbing in 2022, are instead getting home equity loans and sprucing up their current properties.

The publicly traded firm said it anticipates more deals after making its first loan to a developer for $32.7 million, which will support 156 homes in Houston.

The combined prices of properties on the market for more than 60 days currently make up close to half of total unsold dollar volume, according to Redfin.

Pending sales of previously owned US homes last month fell by the most since September 2022, illustrating a disappointing spring selling season as prospective buyers balk at high asking prices and borrowing costs. 

The run-up in prices since the pandemic, and mortgage rates hovering near 7%, have squeezed affordability for house hunters, pushing many to the sidelines.

Housing starts increased in April as a pickup in multifamily home construction more than offset a decline in single-family dwellings caused by elevated inventory.

A growing supply of unsold inventory applied downward pressure on prices, offering home buyers some relief, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The builder reported increased revenue from a year ago, with profits near par, as it sets to absorb new acquisitions across different lines of business.

As the lock-in effect deters many current homeowners from buying, the housing market is seeing younger clients stepping in, often with government-backed loans.

Pending sales of previously owned US homes rose in March by the most in more than a year as a brief dip in mortgage rates and a rising supply of houses brought out spring shoppers.

The real estate industry is at the forefront of a lobbying blitz to sway Congress to preserve the carried interest tax break that President Donald Trump wants to abolish in a giant tax bill pending in Congress.

Sales of previously owned US homes fell in March by the most since 2022 as buyers remained constrained by high mortgage rates and prices.

Homebuilding industry CEOs said tariff impacts would likely be felt in the back half of the year, but affordability concerns are applying pressure now.

Purchases of new single-family homes increased 7.4% in March to an annualized rate of 724,000, mostly driven by a surge in the South, according to government data released Wednesday.

Housing starts in the US fell in March by the most in a year, as weak demand from high prices and mortgage rates gives builders little confidence to break ground.

US homebuilder confidence barely rose this month on a pickup in current sales, though demand expectations stumbled to a more than one-year low and prices of construction materials are climbing on the heels of higher tariffs. 

One of the biggest culprits is the CFPB's qualified mortgage rule and the ever-expanding debt-to-income ratios allowed under it, writes a co-director of the AEI Housing Center.

The so-called spec home, a spin on the American dream home with standardized color schemes and toilet fixtures, is falling out of favor with some US builders.

New residential construction increased 11.2% to an annualized rate of 1.5 million in February, according to government data released Tuesday.