Amidst the most competitive spring market in 50 years, the share of all-cash sales to existing-home sales surged to 25% in April 2021 as non-first time buyers are paying all cash to increase the competitiveness of their offers, edging out first-time buyers.
As the economy continues to recover, mortgage rates rose to 3.00% from 2.94% the previous week, and are likely to continue to rise throughout the rest of 2021.
The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce estimates seasonally adjusted U.S. retail e-commerce sales increased 39% year-over-year in Q1 2021 as consumers received economic impact payments, multiple vaccines came onto the market with increasing distribution, the rate of COVID-19 cases declined, and pandemic-related restrictions eased.
The year-to-date figures in 2021 for housing starts were 1.59 million units (annualized pace) compared to 1.38 million in 2020, a 15% gain.
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U.S. advance estimates of retail and food service sales for April 2021 essentially remained unchanged from March 2021. Consumer retail spending recorded a seasonally adjusted total of $619.9 billion in April.
NAR did a research study on the conversion of vacant hotels/motels into multifamily housing to draw some insights and best practices.
Mortgage rates dropped further this week although the 10-year Treasury yield rose in response to higher inflation. Specifically, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 2.94% from 2.96% the previous week.
The year started off with strong home price growth for the first quarter of 2021. Prices continued to rise, with 89% of the markets showing double-digit home price appreciation.
Inflation rose more than expected in April to the fastest pace since 2008. Over the last 12 months, inflation rate rose 4.2%, compared to 2.6% in March and 1.7% in February, respectively.
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