Low mortgage rate, a record low unemployment rate since 1953, sustained job creation of more than 2 million per year since 2012, and an increase in real wage growth are all working in favor of homebuyers.
At the national level, housing affordability is down from last month but up from a year ago. Mortgage rates were down from last month at 4.51 percent this March, and down 2.6 percent compared to 4.63 percent a year ago.
Fantastic news on the jobs market as abundant job openings are getting filled. Such conditions boost consumer confidence which further feeds the economy.
Job growth continues to increase strongly, with the economy generating 2.5 million jobs in March 2019 from one year ago. Payroll employment rose in March 2019 from one year ago in all industries except for information services, utilities, and retail trade.
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s S&P/Case-Shiller release on February home prices:
REALTORS® report “interest rate” and “low inventory” as the major issues affecting transactions in March 2019.
The Silent Generation, buyers aged 73 to 93 years, made up the smallest share of buyers by age at only seven percent of all home buyers in 2018.
Foreign buyers purchased $4.8 billion of U.S. commercial real estate in 2018. The median value for a buyer-side transaction was $600,000, while the median value for a seller-side transaction was $1 million.
Older Boomers, buyers aged 64 to 72 years, made up 14 percent of all home buyers in 2018 again this year. Within this group, they had the third largest share of single female buyers at 20 percent.
At the national level, housing affordability is up from last month but down from a year ago. Mortgage rates were down from last month at 4.60 percent this February, and up 4.1 percent compared to 4.42 percent a year ago.
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