Author: Kyle G. Horst

A snapshot of August’s existing-home sales data collected and published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that available months of inventory increased to 3.3 months while median sales prices topped $407,000.  Both of these numbers rose from the previous month; median sales price alone rose 3.9% to a final $407,100. This is the third consecutive month the median sales price surpassed the $400,000 mark.  The inventory of unsold existing homes dipped 0.9% from the prior month to 1.1 million at the end of August, or the equivalent of 3.3 months' supply at the current monthly sales pace.  All-in-all, existing-home sales fell by 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.04 million; sales dropped some 15.3% year-over-year when the rate stood at 4.77 million.  Among the four major U.S. regions, sales improved in the Midwest, were unchanged in the Northeast, and slipped in the South and West. All four regions recorded year-over-year sales declines.  "Home sales have been stable for several months, neither rising nor falling in any meaningful way," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Mortgage rate changes will have a big impact over the short run, while job gains will have a steady, positive impact over the long run. The South had a lighter decline in sales from a year ago due to greater regional job growth since coming out of the pandemic lockdown."  Total housing inventory2 registered at the end of August was 1.1 million units, down 0.9% from July and 14.1% year-over-year when this number stood at 1.28 million. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace, identical to July and up from 3.2 months in August 2022.  "Home prices continue to march higher despite lower home sales," Yun said. "Supply needs to essentially double to moderate home price gains."  Other data found by the report included:  ...

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) chose to forgo the opportunity to raise the central bank’s nominal interest rate at the conclusion of their September meeting, a repeat of the action the committee last took in June.  The most aggressive series of rate hikes in history ended in June when the committee held off on raising rates due to a litany of positive factors which consisted of 11 straight rate hikes over 15 months. Since the post-pandemic rate hikes began, the FOMC raised rates in March 2022 (+25 points), May 2022 (+50 points), June 2022 (+75 points), August 2022 (+75 points), September (+75 points), November 2022 (+75 points), December 2022 (+50 points), February 2023 (+50 points), March 2023 (+25 points), May 2023 (+25 points), June 2023 (+0 points), and July (+25 points). This is equivalent to a rise of 5.00 percentage points over the last year.  This string of rate hikes that have occurred since the pandemic has been necessary according to the FOMC to tamp down inflation, which reached a high of 9.1% in June 2022. While inflation has eased, it is still above the committee’s target rate of 2%.  The target rate now stands at 5.25-5.50%. The committee next convenes on October 31-November 1.  In a prepared statement released at the end of the meeting, the committee said:  “Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have slowed in recent months but remain strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated.”  “The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient. Tighter credit conditions for households and businesses are likely to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects remains uncertain.”  “The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks. The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate...

Aspen Grove Mortgage Servicing has announced the appointment of Mike McAuliffe as CEO. McAuliffe will succeed Seán Ryan, who will move to the role of Executive Chair, effective November 6, 2023.  Having served as COO for over the past decade, McAuliffe has played a pivotal role in shaping Aspen Grove’s platform, creating new digitization solutions for customers in the financial services industry and beyond.  “It’s been an incredible journey so far,” said McAuliffe. “Over the past few years, we have invested heavily to create a platform, establish partnerships, and implement an approach that allows us to rapidly launch innovative products and solutions, connecting everyone and everything in mortgage servicing. We have an unparalleled opportunity to deliver accelerated growth to clients who leverage our platform to power their operations. It is a huge privilege to lead our talented team as we continue to unleash the full potential of the platform.”  McAuliffe continued “I’d also like to extend my gratitude to Seán Ryan for his remarkable leadership and vision and look forward to continuing to work closely with him during and beyond the transition.”  Ryan, who has led Aspen Grove for almost three decades said: “Mike’s exceptional leadership skills, strategic insights, and deep industry and company knowledge make him the ideal choice to lead Aspen. I have no doubt that he will drive Aspen forward and in doing so launch this amazing platform in other industries. We truly have an unbelievable solution in search of problems to solve.” 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has funded an initial $18 million in grants to support energy efficiency and climate resilience in multifamily assisted housing properties as part of the Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda.  The grants and loan commitments fulfill the department’s obligations under the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) for owners of properties participating in HUD-assisted multifamily housing programs.  President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—established the GRRP with more than $800 million in grant and loan subsidy funding and $4 billion in loan commitment authority.  This represents the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, climate resilience, and low carbon footprints initiatives. Initial investments were primarily geared towards affordable housing and low-income families in accordance with the administration's agenda. The first slew will help fund upgrades have gone toward 28 multifamily properties and will benefit over 3,400 units for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities.  “As a part of President Biden’s historic investment in climate resiliency, HUD is building a more equitable and sustainable housing system. This first wave of funding will invest in properties by making resiliency upgrades like adding solar panels, updating heating and cooling, and replacing windows,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program advances our work to ensure low-income individuals and families have better access to healthy, energy efficient, and resilient homes.”  “Today’s awards from HUD will bring the benefits of clean energy and climate resilience to hardworking American families in states across the nation,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. “It’s all part of the President’s Bidenomics strategy to Invest in America and grow our economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.”  The funding enables building owners to invest...

As mortgage rates peaked over 7.25% last month, the highest rates seen in 22 years, Americans who are determined to make a home purchase this year are navigating difficult seas.  According to Realtor.com, they predict that approximately 4.2 million homes will change hands this year according to its Best Time To Buy report which identifies key factors people use when considering buying a home, mortgage rates withstanding.  Realtor.com has predicted that the homebuying stars will dramatically align during the week of Oct. 1, meaning those in the market should view this week as a window of opportunity to make the most of their purchasing power.  Early Fall offers buyers the most favorable moment to buy compared to the remainder of the year as that week typically has more listings, less competition, and lower prices.  Realtor.com predicts the week will offer:  Up to 17% more active listings than at the start of the year.  Savings of more than $15,000 relative to the summer's peak price of $445,000  More time to decide as homes are expected to stay on the market for one week longer than during this year's peak  Less competition with demand expected to be 18.7% lower than peak buying periods  "Mortgage rates have been more than 6% since September 2022 and could continue this trend for another year. Even as prices fell this summer, the monthly payment to finance a median-priced home was still more than 20% higher than last year," said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for Realtor.com. "Mortgage rates continue to be a big wild card for Americans hoping to buy a home. Our analysis shows that buying in the fall does give buyers some more predictable advantages that could potentially ease the pain of higher rates and other stressful aspects of the home buying process, including making fast decisions and bidding...