Housing markets

U.S. pending home sales sank last month by the most since the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, illustrating a swift and steep downturn for a housing market beset by soaring borrowing costs.

The collapse in U.S. home construction during the third quarter took its biggest chunk from gross domestic product in nearly 15 years as surging mortgage rates dealt a hammer blow to demand.

Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 10.9% to a 603,000 annualized pace following an unexpected gain in August, government data showed Wednesday.

The cuts account for 5% of its workforce of 5,791 full-time employees as of the end of June.

However, of those that would choose face-to-face interaction, 40% want it to include a hybrid or fully digital process.

PulteGroup Inc. reported plunging demand for its homes and a spike in canceled deals for the third quarter. But the shares rose, showing just how the bar has been "lowered" for builders navigating the U.S. housing slump.

A measure of prices in 20 large U.S. cities in August fell 1.3% on a month-over-month basis, the most since March 2009, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.

However, Julia Gordon is now on the record saying that the agency is actively analyzing whether or not to do so, and it's considering the potential magnitude and composition of a reduction.

But a cooling housing market opened up buying opportunities for some and helped drive the share of FHA-backed purchases upward for the first time in a year, according to new Attom research.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell for an eighth straight month in September, underscoring how soaring mortgage rates are punishing the housing market. 

Close to 60,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in September

New U.S. home construction declined in September and permit applications for single-family dwellings fell, adding to evidence that the highest mortgage rates in two decades are sapping demand and discouraging new builds.

As higher mortgage rates bite harder, the number of metro Atlanta home sales in September fell and the selling prices stopped rising.

New-home mortgage applications fell 13.2% on an annual basis, while average purchase sizes declined for the fifth straight month.

Many Wall Street economists are holding firm to their bet that U.S. inflation will slow substantially over the next year even as they're being forced to keep raising their predictions for coming months.

Quarterly numbers also show the smallest gain in appreciation since 2011, with values decreasing on an unadjusted basis, according to Fannie Mae.

Four national housing market experts presented their economic and residential outlooks Thursday in a panel at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Atlanta.

The high interest rate environment is causing repeat buyers to pull back from the market, creating ample space for entry borrowers to purchase a home.

Consumer and business confidence is already under immense pressure from the rising cost of living, at the same time that equity, bond and real estate prices are falling.