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Housing Market Update
'Existing-Home Sales' Declined For Second Straight Month
(MarketWatch) - Single-family sales dipped 4.3% month-over-month in March, the National Association of Realtors reported. It was the lowest rate of home sales since August. Sales fell across every region, with the largest decline occurring in the West — where they dropped 8% since February.
Home prices hit a high of $329,100 last month, reflecting a record pace of price growth at 17.2% from the previous year. Prices rose by double digits in every region of the country, the report noted.
(MarketWatch) - Single-family sales dipped 4.3% month-over-month in March, the National Association of Realtors reported. It was the lowest rate of home sales since August. Sales fell across every region, with the largest decline occurring in the West — where they dropped 8% since February.
Home prices hit a high of $329,100 last month, reflecting a record pace of price growth at 17.2% from the previous year. Prices rose by double digits in every region of the country, the report noted.
Google Searches Asking 'When is the Housing Market going to Crash' Soared 2,450% Over Past Month
(Barron's) - Searches for the phrase, "When is the housing market going to crash,” are up 2,450% over the past month. Similarly, Americans are searching in droves for explanations about why the housing market is so hot and why home prices are rising, Google reported.
Americans' concerns are perhaps a natural by-product of today's extremely competitive market, economists said. "If we see prices rising as quickly as we have, for some people it might spark some memories of the last time around," Matthew Speakman, an economist with Zillow said.
As the economy went into a downward spiral at the start of the pandemic, lawmakers and financial regulators quickly instructed mortgage lenders and servicers to offer relief to borrowers who may have lost work or income. In particular, Americans could request forbearance on their mortgage—allowing them to make reduced mortgage payments or skip them altogether—essentially without any questions asked. At the same time, a moratorium on foreclosures was enacted.
As of mid-April, roughly 2.3 million homeowners were still skipping mortgage payments, according to an estimate from the Mortgage Bankers Association. It's not clear how many of those homeowners will be able to eventually restart paying off their mortgage, and the fate of the housing market could hinge on regulators' success in preventing a wave of foreclosures.
Having all of these homes go into default at once "would tank the market," said Joan Trice, CEO of the Collateral Risk Network, an organization of real-estate appraisers and risk managers. "The forbearance rate is two times what it was in the last crisis," Trice added. "It would be chaos and devastating to the market."
(Barron's) - Searches for the phrase, "When is the housing market going to crash,” are up 2,450% over the past month. Similarly, Americans are searching in droves for explanations about why the housing market is so hot and why home prices are rising, Google reported.
Americans' concerns are perhaps a natural by-product of today's extremely competitive market, economists said. "If we see prices rising as quickly as we have, for some people it might spark some memories of the last time around," Matthew Speakman, an economist with Zillow said.
As the economy went into a downward spiral at the start of the pandemic, lawmakers and financial regulators quickly instructed mortgage lenders and servicers to offer relief to borrowers who may have lost work or income. In particular, Americans could request forbearance on their mortgage—allowing them to make reduced mortgage payments or skip them altogether—essentially without any questions asked. At the same time, a moratorium on foreclosures was enacted.
As of mid-April, roughly 2.3 million homeowners were still skipping mortgage payments, according to an estimate from the Mortgage Bankers Association. It's not clear how many of those homeowners will be able to eventually restart paying off their mortgage, and the fate of the housing market could hinge on regulators' success in preventing a wave of foreclosures.
Having all of these homes go into default at once "would tank the market," said Joan Trice, CEO of the Collateral Risk Network, an organization of real-estate appraisers and risk managers. "The forbearance rate is two times what it was in the last crisis," Trice added. "It would be chaos and devastating to the market."
