As we kick off a new month, we’re seeing further evidence of the normalizing of the housing market. Yes, there’s still lots of doom and gloom in the media about housing. No, we don’t like change and uncertainty in the markets, but the truth is the housing market is becoming increasingly favorable for buyers. No, we don’t like to pay higher interest rates but remember, there are opportunities to refinance when rates improve and even at the current levels, today’s home buyers can build long-term wealth through appreciation.
The latest data is showing that we’re seeing home listings rise by 22 percent and home price increases slowing. Housing inventory still remains tight but looks to be improving. Inventory is not as tight as we’ve experienced these last couple of years. And in fact, rates may be leveling off and we do see moments of improvement in rates that offer opportunities to lock in slightly better rates, like over these past few days.
So, if you’ve been waiting on the sidelines for conditions to improve, now might be the time to start looking again. Let’s put together a plan for you that works. Reach out to me by replying in the comments below or calling/texting me at 818.307.6072.
As for what I’m watching in markets…
According to the latest survey of average rates by Freddie Mac, we did see mortgage rates improve some this past week. Although I don’t see it as a long-term trend, it could be a sign of the rise in rates leveling off. Even as we saw reports of higher inflation come out late last week, the reaction in mortgage rates was basically nil.
We also saw the Fed increase the rate for Fed Funds last week by a hefty .75 percent. The Fed will not be meeting in August, so we’ll have a good 8 weeks before they make another move to see how this change filters through markets.
As for recession watch, one of the primary measures, GDP (gross domestic product) growth slowed by -0.9 for Q2 of this year. Some analysts see this as a marker of recession, however, the employment picture also factors in, so we’ll be watching employment data as well. Regardless, recession or not, growth is slowing and this is likely to continue for the remainder of this year thanks to inflation and the higher cost of capital.
This week we end on Friday with this month’s Jobs Report. A 250,000 rise is the consensus for the nation’s job growth in July which would be much lower than June’s as-expected 372,000. Average hourly earnings in June cooled to 0.3 percent on the month and to 5.1 percent on the year with steady showings expected for July, at 0.3 and 5.0 percent. Slowing wage inflation would be helpful in slowing overall inflation rates. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady and in healthy territory at 3.6 percent.
