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DataDigest: Construction costs easing for homebuilders

Housing Wire

New home construction exploded early in the pandemic as soaring home demand squeezed existing inventory nationwide, giving homebuilders a much bigger share of a shrinking pie. High mortgage rates and home prices quelled the surge in buyer demand, and time seems to have moderated the supply chain shocks.

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Mortgage market affordability and inventory challenges

Housing Wire

With a rapid spike in interest rates, inventory at historic lows, home prices rising at unprecedented levels above income, and a purchase market that is both highly anxious and digitally reliant, mortgage and real estate professionals must be strategic to capture the market opportunity today. Inventory rising, historically low.

Inventory 392
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Unsold homebuilder inventory is ticking up as new home sales slow

Housing Wire

However, mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 4% between July and August, the strongest pace of sales in three months. Homebuilders are still benefiting from very low inventory of existing homes for sale, which has driven more buyers to consider new construction,” Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said.

Inventory 477
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Mortgage rates continue trending down before Christmas

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates stayed below 7% for the second week in a row, a welcome relief after a 17-week streak of above-7% rates. The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% for the week ending Dec. 21, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This week’s dip is the largest weekly drop since November 2022.

Mortgage 496
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Residential construction jobs slowly return

Housing Wire

The construction sector added a total of 31,000 jobs in November, on par with the two prior months. Specialty contractors showed the largest gains with an increase of 13,000 jobs, while persons employed in construction of buildings, and civil and heavy engineering rose by 10,000 and 8,000 jobs, respectively. While this is a 0.4%

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Employment gains could help housing inventory

Housing Wire

Sectors that were hit hardest by the pandemic led job growth last month, with jumps in leisure, hospitality, public and private education and construction – good signs for the housing industry. The Mortgage Bankers Association expects this heightened pace to drop unemployment numbers to below 5% by the end of the year.

Inventory 501
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With low inventory, house hunters are in full safari mode

Housing Wire

The nation’s housing industry has entered a new normal in which the dynamics of the market appear perplexing — marked by high mortgage rates and high home prices, along with shrinking mortgage originations. trillion in mortgage originations in 2021. The perplexing part: Why are home prices not declining in this environment?

Inventory 452