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Jan 23, 2025 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh
Real GDP of metropolitan areas rose 2.7% in 2023, with the "real estate, rental and leasing" sector contributing 0.34 percentage points and construction contracting growth by 0.11 percentage points. While many metro areas followed the national growth trend, each region has its unique economic narrative. This article explores the economic trends driving these outcomes, focusing
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh |Fan-Yu Kuo
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, increase marginally by 2.9% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. Compared to December 2023, the index is higher by 10.2%. The Market Composite Index includes the Purchase and Refinance Indices, which saw monthly gains of 4.1% and 6.7% (SA), respectively.
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Dec 13, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, decreased 14.5%, month-over-month, in November on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. The slowdown in mortgage activity can be attributed to higher mortgage rates as the ten-year Treasury yield increased in November, reflecting uncertainties surrounding the elections.
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh |Fan-Yu Kuo
Mortgage rates climbed in November, driven by market volatility and a surge in Treasury yields following the recent elections. On the day after the election results, the 10-year Treasury yield spiked by 14 basis points (bps), setting the stage for further rate increases throughout the month. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased 38 basis points from October, reaching 6.81%.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Fan-Yu Kuo |Catherine S. L. Koh
Existing home sales in October rebounded from a 14-year low and posted the first annual increase in more than three years, as buyers took advantage when mortgage rates briefly reached a 2-year low in late September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). While elevated home prices persist due to the lock-in effect, we expect sales activity to increase as mortgage rates moderate with additional Fed easing.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Eric Lynch |Catherine S. L. Koh |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing showed mixed results year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices: the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) had a reading of 40, an increase of two points year-over-year, while the Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) had a reading of 75, down seven points year-over-year.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
treefrogcreative.ca | Catherine S. L. Koh |Bob Brash |Robert McKellar |David Elstone
US Mortgage Activity Declines in October as Mortgage Rates Increase By Catherine Koh The NAHB Eye on Housing November 6, 2024 Category: Finance & Economics Region: United States The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey, decreased 13.9% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis due to higher mortgage rates. This decline was reflected in both the Purchase and Refinance Indices, which fell by 4.4% and...
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh |Fan-Yu Kuo
In October, mortgage rates reversed their recent downward trajectory, returning to levels two months earlier. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased 25 basis points (bps) from September to 6.18%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage saw an even steeper increase of 34 bps to land at 5.60%. These increases coincided with heightened volatility in the 10-year Treasury yield, which jumped 38 bps over the month, moving from 3.72% in September to 4.10%.
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Catherine S. L. Koh |Fan-Yu Kuo
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, decreased 13.9% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis due to higher mortgage rates. This decline was reflected in both the Purchase and Refinance Indices, which fell by 4.4% and 23%, respectively.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Fan-Yu Kuo |Catherine S. L. Koh
Building on the post-pandemic trend, the share of young adults living with their parents fell to a decade low, according to NAHB analysis of 2022 American Community Survey (ACS). However, young adults continue to face difficult decisions about their living arrangements due to elevated home prices and increasing costs of living.
