Housing markets

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes increased 8.1% in January from a month earlier to 82.5. The jump beat all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which called for a 1% advance.

Sales of new U.S. homes increased in January by more than expected to the highest level in nearly a year, fueled entirely by purchases in the South, indicating some stabilization in the housing market after a brutal year.

The company said it expects to accelerate its timeline for selling through money-losing inventory, as the data-driven home-flipper looks to move on from a tumultuous year.

Buyer affordability has decreased by almost 22% in the past year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The total price of U.S. homes was $45.3 trillion at the end of 2022, down from a record high of $47.7 trillion in June, according to Redfin's report.

Despite a likely recession, researchers at the government-sponsored enterprise revised volume forecasts upward for both 2023 and 2024, while originators also entered the year expecting their business to improve.

Contract closings slipped 0.7% at the start of the year to an annualized pace of 4 million, according to data from the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday.

This represents a gradual rise in activity, not the tsunami that many feared would take place as COVID-era moratoriums wind down, Auction.com said.

The biggest gaps are in cities with the largest concentrations of people in this demographic, a LendingTree study of the 50 largest metro areas found.

Single-family property sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 725,000 units last month, a 13.1% increase from December.

Residential starts decreased 4.5% last month to a 1.31 million annualized rate, according to government data released Thursday.

Many players in the segment appear to be holding back on plans amid concerns about falling prices and rents, according to Redfin.

All six companies were profitable in the fourth quarter and the full year, but had far less new volume than in 2021.

The increase in sentiment to a five-month high was fueled by more optimism about sales, the outlook and a pickup in prospective-buyer traffic.

In cities where the demographic made a majority of purchases, homebuyers with average credit scores in the mid-700s submitted hefty down payments.

Interest rates and inflation are at the top of the list of problems facing the industry, but attracting consumers under current market conditions has become more concerning, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Average housing costs have surged over 40% since 2019, outpacing 15% in wage increases, the National Association of Realtors said.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose for the third straight month, but concerns about affordability still weigh heavily on the minds of many Americans.

A series of recent studies offer a view into the dynamics that will impact home sales in 2023.

More than half of borrowers paid 0.5 points or more to cut their interest rate for the life of the loan, while just 3% chose the short-term option, Black Knight said.