Top 5 REALTOR® Updates | Week of August 24th
Check out these fives real estate updates to help you stay in-the-know with the latest happenings in our industry.
1. Fannie: The Economy Underperforms
Economic growth was weaker than expected in the second quarter and that's prompted a less optimistic outlook for the remainder of the year, according to Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group.Continued headwinds from a strong dollar and renewed drops in crude oil prices are expected to continue to pose economic challenges in the latest quarter, Fannie Mae economists note. But the housing market is expected to contribute to more growth this year in the economy. The main housing indicators are all well-above year-ago levels year-over-year. Read More...
2. Is the Market Losing Some Momentum?
REALTOR® confidence over current housing conditions and their six-month outlook for single-family, townhome, and condo properties all showed a slight dip last month – indicative of a slowing housing market, according to the July 2015 REALTOR® Confidence Index, a survey of nearly 3,000 practitioners about the state of housing. Nevertheless, the index remains well-above levels from last year. The index that measures buyer traffic slid to 62 in July while seller traffic remained below 50 due to a tight supply of homes for-sale nationwide. Read More...
Rising home prices tops the list of home buyer concerns this year, a shift from last year when nearly half of buyers said their chief concern was the limited number of homes for-sale, according to a new survey of more than 3,500 buyers released by the real estate brokerage Redfin. In this year's survey, nearly 27 percent of respondents cited high or rising home prices as their top concern. Another 17 percent of respondents said they were most concerned about competition from other buyers. Read More...
4. 'Black Monday' Rattles Housing Market
Chinese home buyers, in particular, may be more cautious in entering the U.S. housing market following Monday's massive stock market sell-off that sent stocks tumbling, according to housing analysts. The sell-off began in Beijing on Monday and sent shares plunging by record amounts across the globe. Chinese media dubbed it "Black Monday" as markets fell nearly 8.5 percent there. In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,000 points just minutes after the opening bell alone on Monday. The Dow made up some ground later in the afternoon but still closed nearly 600 points in the red. Read More...
5. Loan Demand Holds Steady, For Now
Mortgage applications mostly held steady in the latest week as interest rates dropped slightly. But CNBC reports that we could simply be in “the calm before the storm.” The Federal Reserve is largely expected to start raising rates in September, which likely will impact loan demand. For the week ending Aug. 21, total mortgage applications – including for refinancings and home purchases – rose 0.2 percent week-to-week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday. Read More...
