Tag Archives: Housing Demand

Although housing starts are not keeping up with the rate of population growth, the fundamentals for housing demand are positive, according to New York Fed President Bill Dudley.

The August forecast predicts that prices will rise 2.2 percent and sales to increase 4.6 percent compared to this time last year. In September, prices are expected to increase 5.3 percent from last year and sales to rise by 10 percent.

According to Fitch, home prices have grown 50 percent faster in urban centers than in the larger metro statistical areas (MSAs) since 2000. City centers are expected to continue to experience growth due to the shift in demand, even in regions lacking significant fundamental support, and are currently considered overvalued.

On the other hand, the median number of days on the market, or the inventory, increased to 69 days, down 7 percent year-over-year, but up 5 percent month-over-month.

The increasing number of first-time homebuyers is another factor driving up the demand for housing, according to Realtor.com. Many of those first-time buyers are millennials who have been sidelined by the challenging market conditions.

The market capacity for existing-home sales increased by 0.3 percent month-over-month and 12.5 percent year-over-year in May, while rising interest rates and a slight jump in unemployment countered equity-enhancing home price appreciation, according to First American.

The homeownership rates declined by at least 0.6 percentage points year-over-year in all age categories (under 35; 35 to 44; 45 to 54; 55 to 64; and 65 and older), with the largest decline coming in the 35 to 44 age group (2.3 percentage points, from 60.7 down to 58.4 percent.

The share of respondents in Fannie Mae's survey who said their household income is "significantly higher" than it was a year ago climbed 4 percentage points to a survey high of 29 percent, the company reported. Looking ahead, 48 percent said they expect their finances to improve in the next year, also a survey high. Overall, 44 percent of Americans said they believe the economy is on the right track, an increase of 3 percentage points and only a few points less than those saying the economy is headed the wrong way (49 percent). That optimism spurred 66 percent of those surveyed to say they would buy a home if they had to move, a jump from 61 percent at the end of 2014.

In its latest look at resale data, NAR reported that the stock of available existing homes for sale was around 1.85 million in December, putting the national supply at 4.4 months at the current sales rate. Also challenging the housing market right now are stringent credit conditions, stagnant wages, and "lingering wariness about homeownership benefits," said Auction.com's chief economist, Peter Muoio.

The steep decline in the number of marriages in the U.S. among the population aged 25 to 29 has been a key factor in the slow recovery of the housing market, according to a report from John Burns Real Estate Consulting (JBREC).