Pending home sales jump 1.1% in September
Pending home sales in the U.S. showed a 1.1% improvement in September when compared to the previous month. Sales did show a year-over-year decline, but the monthly improvement came as a surprise to analysts.
The Northeast, Midwest, and Southern regions of the country all saw improvement in home sales in September.
Home sales are expected to remain muted for the rest of the year, but the September data may indicate that we could see a surge into the end of the year.
How many homes does the U.S. need to meet demand?
In a recent interview with Fox Business, National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun stated that the U.S. housing market needs 1 million more units to meet current demand.
The current number of available units in the U.S. sits at about 1.1 million. Doubling that would go a long way towards meeting demand, according to Yun.
Yun highlighted increased construction of new units but suggested that policy changes for capital gains tax exemptions and other incentives could help loosen the market.
Mortgage rates drop again
After a brief tick upwards on Wednesday, the national average for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage ended lower on Thursday. Ending the day down 0.11%, the national average for a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage was down to 7.87%*.
The rally was spurred by economic data that bond traders reacted favorably to. GDP data and jobs data were both released on Thursday, and both came in slightly stronger than expected, and the bond market reacted positively to the strength the economy is showing.
* National average rates accurate as of 10/26/23 from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are not advertised rates from Guaranteed Rate.
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