In Texas we're looking forward to rising temps over the weekend and hoping those don't lead to more burst pipes and water outages.
Good afternoon —
I have to say, I'm really glad it's Friday. In Texas we're looking forward to rising temps over the weekend and hoping those don't lead to more burst pipes and water outages. But even in a very chaotic week, there is plenty of news to report!
Here's a roundup:
Existing home sales rose in January for the second month, climbing a robust 23.7% over last January. And NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said those numbers could have been even higher. "Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices. Home sales continue to ascend in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly snatched up virtually every new listing coming on the market."
But that competitive market isdriving prices too high, according to Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami. Ashe notes: "Nobody wins when the housing market is too hot – not even sellers because they will need to find somewhere else to live." Rising mortgage rates — they jumped to 2.81% in Freddie Mac's Mortgage Market survey — could be just the thing to cool things down.
Can we build our way out of the inventory shortage? Overall housing starts fell 6% in January, but there was a huge spike in building permits at 30% over a year ago, signaling help is on the way. As Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American says: "It's still not enough to significantly narrow the gap between supply and demand, but it's a step in the right direction."
Half-full or half-empty? You know which one I'm going to choose.
Tracey Velt, managing editor at REAL Trends, a HousingWire sister company, interviews Ryan Gorman, president and CEO, Coldwell Banker Real Estate and Booker Pickett, broker and owner of Coldwell Banker Pickett Fences about the challenges and barriers facing minority brokers and a new program aimed at giving them a hand up.
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As call volumes have spiked to a level not seen since last April, lenders and servicers need to prepare for a significant increase in their workload as they help borrowers through difficult times. Presented by Computershare Loan Services
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