Jean Holman

Mortgage News

• Square Peg Round Hole

  Square Peg Round Hole

  The post Square Peg Round Hole appeared first on National Real Estate Post.

• New Home Sales Need More Trees and Contractors

  The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is projecting a decline in new home sales for June, putting them significantly behind those in June 2017.  MBA's Builder Applications Survey (BAS) shows mortgage applications for the purchase of newly constructed homes were down 12 percent from May and 8.8 percent year-over-year. The survey's results are not adjusted to reflect seasonal patterns.

   "Applications for new home purchases fell in June, both compared to last year at this time and relative to May, which fits the seasonal pattern. So far this year, new home applications are up 2.5 percent relative to the first 6 months of 2017. Our sense is that builders remain constrained by the tight job market for construction labor and rising input costs, particularly lumber costs," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research and Industry Technology.

• Inflation Data Shows Deceleration in Housing Costs

  While the Labor Department's Employment Situation Report for June showed wages plodding along at a 2.7 percent annual increase, unchanged from May, it is still being outstripped by rising costs, especially for housing. Today's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows consumer costs overall were up 2.9 percent with the shelter portion rising 3.4 percent over the last 12 months.

  Shelter is one of the categories in the CPI's "market basket," the goods and services that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) considers necessary for day-to-day living.  The CPI does not include housing units which it views as capital or investment rather than consumption items.  Shelter is viewed as a "service" provided by that investment and is thus a consumption item.