“This holiday season, homeowners are the ‘grinches,’ hoarding housing supply from willing buyers and keeping upward pressure on prices," said Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American. But the question remains: Will the New Year offer discouraged homebuyers more hope?
Read More »Examining Title Insurance, Settlement Services, and Life-of-Loan Costs
A new study found that, in the grand scheme of things, the cost of title insurance and related services make up such a minute amount of the cost of a life of a loan, they are statistically insignificant.
Read More »What Next? Forecasting the 2024 Housing Market
After a roller-coaster two years, experts expect a ‘flat stretch’ over the next 12 months, according to a new report.
Read More »Home Prices Hit New Peak as ‘Supplier’s Strike’ Continues
October sale prices indicated that the lack of housing supply is constraining market and frustrating homebuyers, according to First American's October Home Price Index report, with sellers continuing their "suppliers' strike" and further hampering already insufficient inventory levels.
Read More »Home Prices Increase Over 5% YoY
First American’s Data & Analytics division published a new report that shows home prices have found new highs for the sixth-straight month. Click here to see charts and year-over-year changes of the Home Price Index.
Read More »Housing Market Potential Down 2% YoY
A new Housing Perspectives Blog post by Mark Fleming, the Chief Economist for First American Financial Corporation and the lead of First American’s Decision Sciences Team, focused on housing market potential and the lock-in effect.
Read More »Does Recent Data Signal a Bottom in the Housing Market?
According to First American Financial Corporation, housing affordability fell relative to one month ago as two of three key drivers of the Real House Price Index (RHPI), nominal house prices and mortgage rates reduced house-buying power by 0.7%.
Read More »May’s New Residential Construction Numbers ‘Above Consensus Expectations’
The numbers are in from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the news is good—at least on a short-term scale.
Read More »Fed Decides to Hold Interest Rates Steady at June Meeting
For the first time in 15 months, the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee moved to hold the nominal interest rate steady at a range of 5.00% to 5.25%.
Read More »Real House Prices Increased 3.2% in March
While the Real House Price Index found that home prices, and therefore affordability, decreased across the country, median household income has increased 4.1% since January 2022.
Read More »