Economic Overview

Almost a full year into this pandemic, and the same debate concerning the size and need for a stimulus package is resurfacing again.

Interest Rate Watch

Rates rose moderately for the first time in several weeks.

Real Estate News

Millennials may have delayed their first step into homeownership more than previous generations, but when they do buy, many want to go big and are skipping the traditional starter home.

Other News

Despite an unrelenting COVID-19 virus and economic recession, U.S. homeownership rose in the fourth quarter of 2020 from the same period last year. The overall homeownership rate in the fourth quarter of 2020 rose 0.7% above that of the fourth quarter of 2019, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau. The share of Americans who own their own home was 65.8% in the fourth quarter of 2020, rising from 65.1% in the same period a year earlier, the Department indicated. That percentage is a drop, however, from the third quarter of 2020, which reported a robust 67.4% homeownership. The homeownership rate for white Americans in the fourth quarter of last year was 74.5% - a nine-year high, and surpassing the fourth quarter of 2019’s rate of 73.7%. Homeownership rates for Black Americans dipped to 44.1%, the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2020. Hispanic-American homeownership rose to its highest fourth quarter rate in three years, at 49.1%. Asian, Native, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander homeownership was reported at 59.5% - up from the rate of 57.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Source: HousingWire

This spring will likely be another fiercely competitive one for home buyers. Real estate professionals should prepare their house hunters for record low inventories and rapidly rising home prices. "Demand for housing was already strong coming into the year and we don't see that slowing down with millennials reaching prime home-buying age, and many remote workers still in the market for more space," says Danielle Hale, Realtor.com's chief economist. "At the same time, sellers failed to materialize in January, which has pushed the number of homes for sale to new lows and suggests that our new normal of rising prices and brisk sales is here to stay at least through the first half of the year. Those thinking of getting into the market this spring should brace themselves for a competitive season, especially in the market for existing homes." If January is any indication of how the spring market will play out, home shoppers will need to be ready to act quickly and have their financing in order. There will be fewer choices and likely continued high buyer competition. Source: Realtor.com