Data

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced new residential sales statistics, revealing a jump in single-family home sales and a dip in the average sales price.

While both conventional and government home purchase applications increased last week, activity remains nearly 30% below last year’s pace, as elevated mortgage rates and low supply continue to moderate the market.

“The National Composite, which had declined for seven consecutive months, rose a modest 0.2% in February, and now stands 4.9% below its June 2022 peak,” said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P Dow Jones.

According to Fixr.com's Remodeling 2023 Cost vs. Value Report, new data shows which remodeling jobs had the biggest increases in ROI over the past year, as the home remodeling industry is predicted to reach a market size of $485 billion in 2023.

While expensive markets in the West saw significant declines, prices in more affordable areas like the Midwest continued to rise, as affordability helps shape housing demand and lower-cost areas continue to see stronger rent growth.

A new report from Redfin also reveals that Gen Z took advantage of ultra-low pandemic-era interest rates to make their homeownership dreams come true.

According to Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group expectations for Q1, the increase in the sales pace from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023 revealed that homebuying demand remains buoyant and was unexpectedly responsive to small declines in mortgage rates.

Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies released its Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report, which projects that year-over-year expenditures for homeowner improvements and repairs will experience a near 3% decline through Q1 2024.

According to RentCafe’s Rental Activity Report, in April, apartment hunters in Atlanta added twice as many listings to their favorites lists compared to this time last year, as many renters remain deterred from homebuying due to elevated interest rates and economic inflation.

According to the RE/MAX National Housing Report for March 2023, the expected spring surge has arrived, as an influx of homebuyers entering the market in February spurred a 37.7% rise in home sales.