Housing markets

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.

It's less expensive to rent in 45 of the nation's 50 largest metros, a ratio that has grown significantly since the end of 2021, according to Realtor.com.

Although housing values have noticeably flattened in recent months, the share of buyers expecting the search for a new residence to become harder grew, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Prices also fell roughly 0.3% in November from a month before, according to a seasonally adjusted data of national prices from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

The bank holding company is taking the business purpose lender into the corporate fold and out of its own silo, executives said.

The National Association of Realtors index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes increased 2.5% in December to 76.9, according to a release Friday.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will be looking at the government-sponsored enterprises as a means of doing more to address renter affordability challenges.