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The housing and stock markets continue to be the leaders in the economy. In August, showings and pending sales remained at strong levels. Housing inventory remained limited in many segments, continuing the competitive bidding we have seen across much of the market in recent months. Nationally, the Commerce Department and U.S. Housing and Urban Development… Read more »

Strong buyer demand in the face of a constrained supply of homes for sale continues to be the story again this month. New construction activity, in the form of housing starts as reported by the Department of Commerce, has picked up in recent weeks but remains well below levels required to substantially increase the number… Read more »

Nationally, June showing activity as tracked by ShowingTime was up notably from the COVID-19 depressed levels in recent months but was also up from June 2019, reflecting pent-up demand by prospective home buyers. While buyer activity continues to be robust, seller activity continues to be a bit softer, with fewer homes being listed for sale… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview Sellers are taking a more cautious approach to entering the housing market, even as buyers are returning in force due to near-record low interest rates. As the country continues to reopen, seller activity is likely to continue to improve however, continued concerns around COVID-19 may keep some reluctant sellers on the sidelines… Read more »

Lindsay Jackson, SCR Chief Advocacy Officer The General Assembly has officially wrapped up the 2020 legislative session, marking the end of a two year session. The regular legislative session was interrupted due to COVID-19 in March, but both bodies returned to Columbia on a few occasions to take up specific items such as emergency COVID-19… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview Mortgage rates trending lower are a boost to home buyers, but the declines in the stock market have both a psychological and practical impact for some prospective home buyers. A watchful eye must be maintained on the spread of COVID-19 and whether it begins to impact the overall economy, which would lead… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview As the cost of renting continues to increase, consumers have more incentive to lock in their housing costs by purchasing a home. The latest CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index report released this month saw the cost of renting single-family homes, including condos, up 3% in November 2019 versus November 2018. According to CoreLogic’s… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview This month the Federal Reserve voted to leave its key benchmark rate unchanged, which was widely expected. While the rate decisions by the Federal Reserve do not directly affect mortgage rates, Federal Reserve policy does affect the economic markets overall. Mortgage rates ended the year close to three-quarters of a percent lower… Read more »

Monthly Indicators In October, mortgage rates increased slightly from the three-year lows seen in September. While the Federal Reserve reduced the federal-funds target rate by .25%, this decline was widely expected and largely factored into mortgage rates already, which are still approximately 1% lower than this time last year. Fannie Mae is predicting that continued… Read more »