This month I was asked to share my thoughts on the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As with most economic-related questions, my answer is, “It depends.” Before the financial crisis, Fannie and Freddie were always privately held. The fact that they were not under government oversight was a significant part of the reason […]
Every year I make predictions on what I think the year will hold for residential real estate. December is report card time – let’s look at my predictions for 2024 and grade my work together. Boy, is this a doozy of a report card. I said we’d have an economic slowdown. Grade F “Recession: Just […]
Normally we pull a graph or two from our Market Pulse system and I tell you what the charts mean. This month I am going to show you a different kind of graph, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage average in the United States: As you can see the 30-year fixed rate mortgage average in the […]
I’m going to use this month’s economic update as more of a Public Service Announcement. Please hear me: mortgage rates are (finally) trending down. The FED is talking about possible cuts again (maybe two) this year. Just look at where they are compared to the high at the end of 2023 in the attached graph. […]
Here is a snapshot of key real estate data for the US in June. Let’s unpack a few of these numbers to understand where the market stands today. For those who prefer a summary, it’s a mixed bag with some critical points to note. To fully grasp what to watch, you’ll need to read through […]
This month, we’re going to tell a story using two graphs. Just for fun, we’ll tell this story backwards by starting with the effect and then revealing the cause. First, the effect: You can see the usual steady decline in total properties sold into and through January. Then, there is the typical rise, maybe even […]
Here is the market snapshot for March 2024. Active and new listings are both up. Sold prices are also up. Days on market is down. What in the world does all this mean? Simply put: the market is improving. We’ve needed more inventory on the market since COVID as we had a huge pull-forward effect […]
I’ve got some good news and bad news, but mostly good news. Bad news: no pretty graphs this week and some quotes, so more reading for you. Good news: some cool things are happening in the housing market recovery. Mike Simonsen via Housing Wire published something super important this month that I want to break […]
It’s that time of year again! Crazy Uncle Keith is making his best guesses about what 2024 holds in store for real estate. Every year I get some right, and I get some wrong – but it’s always fun. At the end of December, you all helped me grade my 2023 Predictions Report Card. It […]
2024 Housing Market And Economic Forecast, Unfiltered Read More »
It’s report card time. Every year I make predictions on what I think the year will hold for residential real estate so let’s go ahead and show you my predictions for 2023 and we’ll grade my work together. Here is the link to the post with the predictions if you want to see all the […]