We've been following the saga of Biden's proposed $15,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers pretty closely. Our latest story covers the impact it could have on 9.3 million rental households that could afford a median home in their metro if they received the full tax credit, according to a report from Zillow.
But, as several industry experts have pointed out, while helping first-time homebuyers is important for a healthy housing market, it would only exacerbate the supply/demand imbalance we're seeing in the current market. For many metro areas over the last six months, it has become the norm to have dozens of offers on every listing. Demand is clearly not the problem!
But solving the supply side won't be easy. Many current homeowners have locked in historic low rates that give them incentive to stay put. And selling their current home means competing to buy a new one — a tricky proposition right now.
Total housing inventory at the end of January was just over 1 million units,according to NAR. That's down 1.9% from December and down 25.7% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 1.9-month supply — demand is clearly not the problem.
On the builder side, yesterday we reported that insane lumber prices have raised the cost of new homes by $24,000 on average, denting homebuilder confidence. And today, MBA's homebuilder application survey showed new, single-family home sales were down 17.3% from January, the slowest annual pace since May 2020.
Outsized demand and really short supply: a recipe for a very competitive spring home-buying season, even without the tax credit.
In today's episode, Castleigh Johnson, MyHomePathway's Founder and CEO, discusses the relationship minorities have with financial education and homeownership.
Winter storms in the south, plus the continued shortage of building materials, led to a double-digit percentage drop in new home starts for homebuilders in February.
Servicers can make a difference to homeowners impacted by COVID-19. Fannie Mae's one-stop toolkit has all the information you need to answer homeowners' questions about forbearance and post-forbearance options. Visit the Toolkit.
UniversalCIS, which provides tech solutions for mortgage originators, has a new owner – private equity shop Lovell Minnick. And more acquisitions are likely.
The great promise of short sales and other distressed pre-foreclosure sales as a foreclosure alternative is most fully realized in a competitive and transparent online auction marketplace. Presented by Auction.com
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