Has the volatility in the interest rate market subsided? Has inventory increased? I hope you’re enjoying the start of Summer!  My kids had their last day on June 9, and my wife’s last day teaching her 2nd graders was June 16th.  It’s officially Summertime in the Mutter household! We’ve already spent Memorial Day weekend camping with…

A quick look at the data shows that the rate itself may not be buyers’ biggest concern. When mortgage interest rates were 3%, some analysts believed that once rates got to 5.5%, the housing market would regain some balance from the buyer-heavy burden it’s been under since 2019.  Since then, we’ve seen rates exceed 7%. …

You’ve seen the headlines, but do they portray the reality of our local housing markets? We’re three months into the year, and it’s time to assess the status of the housing market.  At the end of 2022, there was a great deal of trepidation about housing.  Prices were up and so were interest rates, and…

Now what? In our last newsletter, we discussed the Federal Reserve Bank’s (FED) response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March of 2020, the Federal Reserve (FED) committed to purchasing unlimited amounts of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) to prop up the economy which had been reeling from the effects of COVID-19. The result was mortgage interest rates that…

Part I What a roller coaster ride it’s been for mortgage interest rates!  Potential homebuyers seem to have adjusted to the idea of mortgage interest rates in the 6s for now, but it’s easy to get nostalgic over the 3% rates that we enjoyed for close to two years.  A deeper look, however, reveals that…

Inflation data continues to be encouraging. By now, you’re likely aware that inflation is the biggest challenge in the economy today.  What is inflation?  How did we get here?  Why does any of this matter?  What’s the Federal Reserve doing about it?  In this edition, we’ll explore what led us here, but more importantly, we’ll explore the…

Even for potential homebuyers, the arrival of new rental units is great news Great news!  There are over 900,000 rental units due to come online in 2023.  This will help to ease the demand imbalance in housing, and more importantly, to reduce Shelter Inflation, a key component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  CPI is…

There’s no crystal ball, but there are some common themes among the forecasts. In previous newsletters, we’ve examined what’s happened in the housing market.  Today we’ll take a quick look at predictions for 2023 by some of the industry’s leading organizations. Just a quick reminder:  These articles I share here are researched and written by…

2008 all over again? Not so fast. Why we’re not headed for a repeat of 2008 in housing In my last newsletter, I brought some perspective and context to what we’re going through in the housing market today.   It’s easy to see the headlines in the news today and conclude that we’re headed for another…