Are housing costs starting to ease up?
Housing costs have actually been one of the key drivers of inflation in the US for over a year. Home prices edged upwards for most of the pandemic, and this past summer saw mortgage rates spike after a series of interest rate hikes.
The Wall Street Journal claims that housing prices and home rental costs are showing signs of easing, and that greater moves downward could be on the horizon. The team at the WSJ reviewed key data and has observed that several key markets are seeing housing costs soften. There’s also a lag in real world data collection and reporting that has lead to the Consumer Price Index looking higher than it should.
We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled when CPI data is released next week.
What are the 10 best housing markets for 2023?
USA Today has surveyed real estate industry leaders and economists, and have worked out their top 10 markets for the coming year. According to their analysis, mid-size markets in the US will see the most activity, and an emphasis on slow and steady growth in the markets is cited as one of the main reasons why. Homebuyers are looking for stability, and mid-size markets tend to provide that.
Their list included several metro areas in the Northeast such as Hartford, CT, Buffalo, NY, and Worcester, MA.
Why are mortgage rates dropping?
Marketplace.org reviewed that exact question, and their answer may surprise folks who aren’t familiar with how mortgages are bought and sold.
With rates over 7% last month, investors wanted to buy mortgages when home buyers were locking in home loans at higher rates. However, when there’s a surge of investors for mortgage bonds, “the price goes up, the rate goes down, and that trickles through to what the homeowners will see,” stated Jeana Curro at Bank of America. And that’s how a national average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in the 7%-range drops. .
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