Tag Archives: First American

“Affordability declined month-over-month in all of the 50 markets we track, but some markets saw a much sharper decline than others,” said First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

“Although buyers, sellers, and builders are all more optimistic about the housing market, asking home price growth is easing and the typical home sales price is slipping. These point to the nudge that buyers need to act on their improving outlook,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

Elevated rates continue to both impact homebuyer affordability and weaken demand for refinancing, as the MBA reports overall app volume fell 1.2% week-over-week.

While nominal house price appreciation slowed in response to affordability-constrained demand, new data revealed falling house prices could cause foreclosures to jump, according to the First American Real House Price Index,

“While the NFCI Credit index indicated that credit tightened in March, which reduced housing market potential, the credit tightening was modest and far from recent pandemic lows, and certainly nothing like the Great Financial Crisis period,” said Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American.

The MBA reports that despite rates over the 6% mark and low for-sale inventory stunting overall sales, mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 0.6% in March compared to one year ago.

The MBA reports that overall mortgage application volume rose this week, jumping after a week of declines, as fixed-rates continued to slide toward the 6% mark.

“The spring season is typically the busiest time of the year for the housing market,” said Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American.

“Single-family housing permits, a leading indicator of future starts, also increased 7.6% compared with the previous month. The uptick in single-family housing permits and starts aligns with the recent increase in homebuilder sentiment,” said First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi.

Since the pandemic, the housing market has been tumultuous, to put it lightly. In a new blog post, First American Economist Ksenia Potapov discusses whether this year will follow the same course.