Housing markets

While purchasing power rose due to low rates and increasing income, “homebodies” suppressed inventory, according to First American.

Contract closings decreased 0.9% from the prior month to an annualized 5.8 million, according to data out Tuesday from the National Association of Realtors.

As home prices set new records, a shift in consumer attitude led to fewer bidding wars and a growing number of listings, according to Zillow and Redfin.

Residential starts rose 3.6% last month to a 1.57 million annualized rate, according to government data released Wednesday

The real estate technology company had a $498 million valuation, according to PitchBook, but it could get a sizable premium to that if it were to go public.

Changed borrower psychology and the severe housing inventory shortage dropped lending activity across the board, according to Black Knight.

There’s now a unique, additional source of demand that’s opening up in an already fiercely-competitive housing market that VA lenders have to solve for.

Tighter mortgage rules could also be weighing on second-home buyers given that loans for such purchases, along with those for investment properties, can only make up 7% of a lender’s total pipeline

Recent reports show inflation rising, but employment underperforming, while interest rates dropped across the board.

The continued home price spike also drove the negative equity share to an all-time low, according to CoreLogic.

Rising sea levels aren’t keeping buyers from scooping up oceanfront homes as work flexibility gives consumers wider options on where to live, according to Redfin.

While a growing share of consumers feel optimistic about the economic recovery underway, the extreme seller’s market made the majority of prospective borrowers pessimistic for only the second time in 10 years, according to Fannie Mae.

Home prices grew at a record annual pace in April but indicators of a possible slowdown popped up in May, Redfin noted.

After almost a year and a half of intense demand for houses, the real estate market in South Florida shows no signs of easing up.

Rates have seesawed in recent weeks, with investors looking for signs of inflation as the economy recovers from the pandemic.

The program, announced last October, looks to provide services to minority-owned banks and credit unions so they can increase homeownership rates in their communities.

Storm-related reconstruction costs — a large share of which may be concentrated in the New York City area — are estimated to total $1.9 trillion for water damage and $8.5 trillion for wind damage.

Housing value growth in April hit a 15-year high as the inventory squeeze created gridlock between baby boomer sellers and millennial buyers, according to CoreLogic.

Nonprofits connecting Historically Black Colleges and Universities to mortgage career education courses seek to increase the number of Black professionals in the field, who in turn may help to increase homeownership among underserved populations.

Purchase contracts for the three months through April surged 85% from a year earlier to 3,487, the builder said in a statement after the close of trading Tuesday.