It's hard to concoct a scenario where condo prices collapse in most markets. |
It's not sustainable forever ... but with rates coming down, it's stretching out the peak. |
It's now clear that unusually mild weather in January and February contributed to exceptional home sales, in effect borrowing from sales that normally would have occurred in late spring. Even so, we still expect to set a new annual record this year. |
Just when you think sales activity is ready to settle into a more sustainable pace, the housing market continues to surprise, ... We've been expecting sales to remain at historically high levels, but this performance underscores the value of housing as an investment and the importance of homeownership in fulfilling the American dream. |
Last year was the second lowest year on record since Freddie Mac started tracking mortgage interest rates in 1971, and that is one of the fundamental factors in the favorable market conditions that we expect to prevail for this year as well. |
Looking forward the outlook for housing is mixed. I do expect some slowing of home sales and price appreciation going forward. |
Low interest rates, strong demand, high consumer confidence and an improving economy are setting the stage for another record year in existing home sales. |
Many of our hot housing markets are transitioning from a sellers' market to a buyers' market. |
Modeling a relationship between economic and commercial market indicators, as well as market trends and sentiment, will provide us with a new tool in assessing market behavior in the major commercial real estate sectors. It is being designed as an index to provide early signals of turning points between expansions and slowdowns in commercial real estate activity. |
Mortgage interest rates have been on a steady slide since April and reached new historic lows in September, contributing significantly to higher existing-home sales. |
Mortgage interest rates were at the highest level since the third quarter of 2003. At the same time, we've seen strong double-digit appreciation in home prices, so a modest slowing from record sales was to be expected. The good news is that home sales are being sustained at historically high levels. |
Mortgage rates are very low; usually when they're high is when the economy begins to deteriorate, and that leads to tighter lending, ... But mortgage rates are low and the debt service is low, so the burden's not that high right now -- there won't be as much tightening as under other scenarios. |
Mortgage rates are very low; usually when they're high is when the economy begins to deteriorate, and that leads to tighter lending. But mortgage rates are low and the debt service is low, so the burden's not that high right now -- there won't be as much tightening as under other scenarios. |
Not only have mortgage interest rates declined, but an expected rise in the second half of the year will be slower than in earlier projections. As a result, we now expect to set records for both existing- and new-home sales this year. |
November's numbers confirm that housing activity has peaked and is now slowing. |