Housing markets

Recent data from several organizations further highlights affordability challenges and souring consumer sentiment, while a growing number of economists think the market has peaked.

But for prospective buyers, soaring home prices in April pushed affordability closer to the all-time low set in June 2006.

While the appeal of homeownership and larger spaces led property values in many fire-prone regions to surge to new records, those areas are also seeing more frequent price drops, Redfin says.

Risky loan applications had been on the rise for more than a year, according to the analytics firm CoreLogic. Now that activity is slowing down, lenders face a higher risk of fraud, and many could be ill-equipped to handle it.

The inventory shortage is beginning to ease, while demand is slowing due to high prices and rising mortgage rates.

The largest increases in new listings were in the West and the South, in cities including Austin, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona.

In May, buyers in 15 of the 100 largest housing markets paid more than 50% over historic trends, up from 13 in April and 2 in July 2021, a study found.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index recorded its strongest ever annual gain for March as housing market conditions remained highly competitive in the first quarter.

Several Sun Belt cities popular for relocation over the last two years were among markets with the most reduced listing prices in April.

The number dropped 3.9% from a month earlier to 99.3, according to data released Thursday.

Those surveyed said they felt more financially secure than they did five years ago, in part due to large gains in home equity.

Sales of new U.S. homes plummeted in April by the most in nearly nine years, dented by the combination of high prices and a steep climb in mortgage rates.

Former FHFA director Mark Calabria said the mortgage market was a “ticking time bomb” on track for a 2008-like crisis. Other experts foresee a tamer end to the bull housing market.

The world’s richest nation is waking up to an unpleasant and unfamiliar sensation: It’s getting poorer.

The generation usually targets starter homes in these cities, which are often listed among the nation’s trendiest.

The total number of short-term rentals of entire homes in the city’s five boroughs — those listed on Airbnb Inc. and Expedia Group Inc.’s Vrbo — is more than 13,000, according to third-party data tracker AirDNA. Meanwhile, rental inventory in Manhattan, Brooklyn and a portion of Queens hovers just over 7,500, according to an April report from broker Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

Without sustained price relief, a downturn is possible for later this year, rather than in the second half of 2023.

Contract closings decreased 2.4% in April from the prior month to an annualized 5.61 million, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Thursday.

While it might be relatively easier to buy a home in the city today, both types of communities are still experiencing high rates of appreciation, the company said.

Residential starts decreased 0.2% last month to a 1.72 million annualized rate after a downwardly revised 1.73 million pace in the prior month, according to government data released Wednesday.