Market Studies

According to Zillow's latest market report, inventory levels are up 3% from 2021, leaving more options for buyers and more competitive pressure on sellers. However, new for-sale listings saw an 11.4% drop from August, marking the third straight month of double-digit declines.

According to CoreLogic's Single-Family Rent Index for August, new data found that rent prices remain elevated, sitting 26% higher than before the onset of the pandemic, with an average of $400 per month added to housing costs and other household expenses.

The pandemic threw many wrenches into the housing market, and a new report notes that, for the first time in years, space in suburban homes is now worth more than space in urban homes.

“The higher the mortgage rate, the more sellers will go on strike and the more potential buyers will feel the impact of reduced house-buying power, but price appreciation will further slow and potential buyers can use adjustable-rate mortgages to regain some of that lost house-buying power,” said Mark Fleming, First American’s Chief Economist.

While rising supply is causing rent growth to slow, Redfin’s latest market report revealed rent growth experienced its first single-digit increase in a year, marking a significant slowdown from the estimated 20% growth in Q1. Here are the latest findings.

Those looking to stretch their budget as far as possible are not seeing any relief as affordability continues to decline amid an environment of rising rates and high home prices.

“Year-over-year home price growth decelerated in the third quarter, as the sharp rise in mortgage rates—and declining housing affordability—appears to have weighed further on demand,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s SVP and Chief Economist.

According to TD Bank's 2022 Home Equity Trend Watch survey, many Americans have more equity in their homes than ever before, as new data showed that nearly 50% of homeowners know how much tappable equity is available on their home but have yet to or no plans to tap into it.

As escrow and title payments turned negative in 2022, new data from Bank of America showed that median mortgage payments rose nearly 9% in September, while total payments increased 10% year-over-year.

Fitch Ratings expects that most issuers should be able to withstand current market conditions and potentially gain market share through scalable technology platforms, diversification, balance sheet strength, and access to liquid capital, all of which should afford them the flexibility to mitigate operational losses.