Industries

The popular notion that any downturn this year will be mild by historical standards as firms seek to "hoard" labor is about to be put to the test.

Lenders would be required to assess a borrower's ability to repay such a loan.

The average profit margin on the sale of median-priced single-family homes and condos fell to 44% last quarter, from a peak of 56% in the second quarter of 2022, according to data published Thursday by Attom, a real estate analytics firm.

Heightened worries about the strength of consumers and the global economy have been put on hold — at least for now — after some of the world's best known companies delivered a slew of better-than expected numbers.

An index tracking the industry is up 28% so far this year coming off of one of its worst years since 2018.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment rose for a fourth month in April as limited resale inventory helped drive demand for new houses, suggesting the residential real estate market is slowly recovering.

Banks could be in for a long, slow trickle of bank failures and consolidation in the coming months and years, particularly if inflation persists and interest rates keep rising. A downturn in commercial real estate could add to banks' problems.

But a monthly increase in housing costs nationwide to start 2023 may point to a bottoming out of prices in many areas, CoreLogic said.

Residential starts rose 9.8% last month to a 1.45 million annualized rate, the fastest in five months, according to government data released Thursday

The Federal Home Loan Banks claim that liquidity in-and-of-itself supports affordable housing, while the Federal Housing Finance Agency seems to think the mission should be more directly tethered to housing.