Tag Archives: Demand

Apartment markets improved in April in all categories, according to the National Multi Housing Council's (NMHC) April Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. All four of the survey's indexes--Market Tightness, Sales Volume, Equity Financing, and Debt Financing--came in above 50, which marks the point between improving and deteriorating conditions. April's gains reverse findings made in January, when Market Tightness and Sales Volume dropped below 50 for the first time since 2010.

Despite threats from the federal budget sequester, the nation's economy expanded "at a moderate pace" from late February to early April, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. Reports on mortgage lending, the Beige Book said, "were mostly favorable" with stronger refinancing activity in New York and Atlanta. The Cleveland and Kansas City districts, according to the report, "noted a shift from mortgage refinancing to new purchases," and New York, Richmond, Dallas, and San Francisco "reported an uptick in residential mortgage loans."

In today's seller's market, Trulia says buyers in today's market are especially vulnerable to making decisions they may regret in the future.

The ongoing housing recovery bodes well for the future of commercial real estate (CRE), TD Economics (an affiliate of TD Bank) says in a recent report.

Prudential Real Estate released Tuesday the results of its first-quarter Consumer Outlook Survey, revealing Americans' sentiment toward real estate is growing more and more favorable.

Lenders are more bullish on the housing recovery now than they have been in the last several years, according to FICO's quarterly survey of bank risk professionals.

While inventory shortage has created myriad problems for buyers, they're apparently undeterred from their home searches, according to data from Redfin. The brokerage's Real-Time Demand Pulse for April (which examines March data) shows strong monthly gains in the number of Redfin customers touring homes and in the number of signed offers being made, indicating potential pickups in April and May sales. Redfin analyst Tim Ellis noted the struggle to find new listings "only seems to be strengthening the resolve of today's buyers."

Real estate agents are showing heightened optimism for housing as the market continues its swing toward sellers, Redfin observed in its latest Real-Time Agent Survey. According to brokerage's findings, the number of agents saying now is a good time to buy plummeted from 75 percent in Q3 2012 to just 57 percent in Q1 2013. At the same time, the number of agents saying now is a bad time to buy rose slightly, though the percentage is still low--5 percent in Q1 2013 compared to 2 percent in Q3 2012.

Prices rose in February for the 11th straight month as markets across the country picked up speed, according to Redfin's Real-Time Price Tracker.

Following Elizabeth Duke's comments on the impact capacity constraints are having on the housing market, Capital Economics released an update with a similar focus.