NYS extends eviction moratorium | Bedford Corners Real Estate

On May 4, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed an extension of the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 and the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act. The legislation (S.6362-A/A.7175-A) extends moratoriums prohibiting residential and commercial evictions, foreclosure proceedings, as well as protections against credit discrimination and negative credit reporting related to the COVID-19 pandemic until Aug. 31, 2021.

“As we approach the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, it is critical that we continue to protect both New York’s tenants and business owners who have suffered tremendous hardship throughout this entire pandemic,” Gov. Cuomo said. “Extending this legislation will help to ensure that vulnerable New Yorkers and business owners who are facing eviction through no fault of their own are able to keep their homes and businesses as we continue on the road to recovery and begin to build back our economy better than it was before.”

Residential Evictions

The legislation places a moratorium on residential evictions until Aug. 31, 2021 for tenants who have endured COVID-related hardship. Tenants must submit a hardship declaration, or a document explaining the source of the hardship, to prevent evictions. Landlords can evict tenants that are creating safety or health hazards for other tenants, and those tenants who do not submit hardship declarations.

Residential Foreclosure Proceedings

The legislation also places a moratorium on residential foreclosure proceedings until Aug. 31, 2021. Homeowners and small landlords who own 10 or fewer residential dwellings can file hardship declarations with their mortgage lender, other foreclosing party or a court that would prevent a foreclosure.

Commercial Evictions:

The legislation places a moratorium on evictions until Aug. 31, 2021 for commercial tenants have endured COVID-related hardship. The legislation applies to small businesses with under 50 employees that demonstrate a financial hardship. Tenants must submit a hardship declaration, or a document explaining the source of the hardship, to prevent evictions.

Commercial Foreclosure Proceedings:

The legislation places a moratorium on commercial foreclosure proceedings until Aug. 31, 2021.

Tax Lien Sales

The legislation prevents local governments from engaging in a tax lien sale or a tax foreclosure until at least Aug. 31, 2021. Payments due to the locality are still due.

Credit Discrimination and Negative Credit Reporting

Lending institutions are prohibited from discriminating against a property owner seeking credit because the property owner has been granted a stay of mortgage foreclosure proceedings, tax foreclosure proceedings or tax lien sales. They are also prohibited from discriminating because the owner is in arrears and has filed a hardship declaration with the lender.

Senior Citizens’ Homeowner Exemption and Disabled Homeowner Exemption

Local governments are required to carry over SCHE and DHC exemptions from the 2020 assessment roll to the 2021 assessment roll at the same levels. They are also required to provide renewal applications for anyone who may be eligible for a larger exemption in 2021. Localities can also set procedures by which assessors can require renewal applications from people who the assessors believe may no longer be eligible for an exemption in 2021. Recipients of the exemption do not have to file renewal applications in person.

Gov. Cuomo first announced a state moratorium on residential and commercial evictions on March 20, 2020 to ensure no tenant was evicted during the height of the public health emergency. The governor signed the Tenant Safe Harbor Act on June 30 which became effective immediately as well as additional legislation providing financial assistance to residential renters and landlords. Additionally, previous Executive Orders have prohibited charges or fees for late rent payments, and tenants facing financial hardship can still use their security deposit as payment and repay their security deposit over time.

Senate Housing Committee Chair and bill sponsor Brian Kavanagh said, “The COVID-19 numbers in New York continue to be stubbornly high throughout the state and we need public health measures like the eviction and foreclosure moratorium to keep New Yorkers safe, and ultimately to get past this terrible pandemic as soon as possible. The Centers for Disease Control have specifically found that permitting evictions increases the spread of COVID-19 and that moratorium laws like New York’s work to prevent transmission. Ensuring that everyone has access to a stable, safe place to live is always a priority, but it’s never been more important than it is now.”

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz added, “I am very pleased that the Assembly passed this critical legislation that will help keep people in their homes and small business owners in their stores. This is life-changing legislation that allows the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and other relevant agencies more time to disburse the billions of dollars in state and federal funding to people who need it. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic and the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes. I believe it would be immoral to allow the current moratorium to lapse. This law will save lives.”

read more…

http://www.realestateindepth.com/news/governor-signs-extensions-of-residential-commercial-eviction-and-foreclosure-moratoriums/

Case-Shiller prices up 12% | Chappaqua Real Estate

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data released today for February 2021 show that home prices continue to increase across the U.S. More than 27 years of history are available for the data series, and can be accessed in full by going to https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/.

YEAR-OVER-YEAR

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 12.0% annual gain in February, up from 11.2% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 11.7%, up from 10.9% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted an 11.9% year-over-year gain, up from 11.1% in the previous month.

Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities in February. Phoenix led the way with a 17.4% year-over-year price increase, followed by San Diego with a 17.0% increase and Seattle with a 15.4% increase. Nineteen of the 20 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending February 2021 versus the year ending January 2021.

MONTH-OVER-MONTH

Before seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted an 1.1% month-over-month increase, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.1% and 1.2% respectively in February.

After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 1.1%, and the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.1% and 1.2% respectively as well. In February, all 20 cities reported increases before and after seasonal adjustments.

ANALYSIS

“Strong home price gains continued in February 2021,” says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI. The National Composite Index marked its ninth month of accelerating prices with a 12.0% gain from year-ago levels, up from 11.2% in January. This acceleration is also reflected in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 11.7% and 11.9%, respectively). The market’s strength continues to be broadly-based: all 20 cities rose, and 19 cities gained more in the 12 months ended in February than they had gained in the 12 months ended in January.

“More than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data help us to put February’s results into historical context. The National Composite’s 12.0% gain is the highest recorded since February 2006, exactly 15 years ago, and lies comfortably in the top decile of historical performance. Housing’s strength is reflected across all 20 cities; February’s price gains in every city are above that city’s median level, and rank in the top quartile of all reports in 18 cities.

“These data remain consistent with the hypothesis that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This demand may represent buyers who accelerated purchases that would have happened anyway over the next several years. Alternatively, there may have been a secular change in preferences, leading to a permanent shift in the demand curve for housing. Future data will be required to analyze this question.

“Phoenix’s 17.4% increase led all cities for the 21st consecutive month, with San Diego (+17.0%) and Seattle (+15.4%) close behind. Although prices were strongest in the West (+13.0%) and Southwest (+12.9%), every region logged double-digit gains.”

SUPPORTING DATA

Table 1 below shows the housing boom/bust peaks and troughs for the three composites along with the current levels and percentage changes from the peaks and troughs.

2006 Peak2012 TroughCurrent
IndexLevelDateLevelDateFrom Peak (%)LevelFrom Trough (%)From Peak (%)
National184.61Jul-06133.99Feb-12-27.4%238.8278.2%29.4%
20-City206.52Jul-06134.07Mar-12-35.1%246.0483.5%19.1%
10-City226.29Jun-06146.45Mar-12-35.3%259.5077.2%14.7%

Table 2 below summarizes the results for February 2021. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices could be revised for the prior 24 months, based on the receipt of additional source data.

February 2021February/JanuaryJanuary ’21/December ’201-Year
Metropolitan AreaLevelChange (%)Change (%)Change (%)
Atlanta171.440.9%0.8%10.0%
Boston254.420.9%0.7%13.7%
Charlotte187.361.0%0.7%11.7%
Chicago154.760.3%0.3%8.6%
Cleveland142.620.8%0.1%12.5%
Dallas214.381.7%0.8%10.9%
Denver250.391.8%1.0%11.2%
Detroit142.631.0%0.6%11.7%
Las Vegas214.781.0%0.9%9.1%
Los Angeles325.331.3%1.0%11.9%
Miami275.881.0%1.2%11.0%
Minneapolis198.561.0%0.0%10.4%
New York227.360.6%1.0%11.6%
Phoenix236.512.0%1.6%17.4%
Portland270.661.3%1.0%11.4%
San Diego310.622.9%1.5%17.0%
San Francisco298.342.1%0.6%11.0%
Seattle299.952.4%1.5%15.4%
Tampa255.051.3%1.1%12.7%
Washington262.181.0%0.7%11.1%
Composite-10259.501.1%0.9%11.7%
Composite-20246.041.2%0.9%11.9%
U.S. National238.821.1%0.9%12.0%
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic
Data through February 2021

Table 3 below shows a summary of the monthly changes using the seasonally adjusted (SA) and non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) data. Since its launch in early 2006, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices have published, and the markets have followed and reported on, the non-seasonally adjusted data set used in the headline indices. For analytical purposes, S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes a seasonally adjusted data set covered in the headline indices, as well as for the 17 of 20 markets with tiered price indices and the five condo markets that are tracked.

February/January Change (%)January ’21/December ’20 Change (%)
Metropolitan AreaNSASANSASA
Atlanta0.9%0.8%0.8%1.2%
Boston0.9%1.3%0.7%1.3%
Charlotte1.0%1.0%0.7%1.1%
Chicago0.3%0.4%0.3%0.8%
Cleveland0.8%1.2%0.1%0.9%
Dallas1.7%1.4%0.8%1.2%
Denver1.8%1.4%1.0%1.1%
Detroit1.0%1.0%0.6%1.2%
Las Vegas1.0%1.1%0.9%1.3%
Los Angeles1.3%1.3%1.0%1.1%
Miami1.0%1.1%1.2%1.3%
Minneapolis1.0%1.1%0.0%0.8%
New York0.6%1.2%1.0%1.2%
Phoenix2.0%2.1%1.6%2.0%
Portland1.3%1.5%1.0%1.2%
San Diego2.9%2.2%1.5%1.5%
San Francisco2.1%1.5%0.6%1.4%
Seattle2.4%1.6%1.5%1.6%
Tampa1.3%1.3%1.1%1.4%
Washington1.0%1.0%0.7%1.1%
Composite-101.1%1.1%0.9%1.2%
Composite-201.2%1.2%0.9%1.2%
U.S. National1.1%1.1%0.9%1.3%
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic
Data through February 2021

read more…

https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/.

New home sales rise 66% | Armonk Real Estate

New home sales reversed direction in March, fully recovering from the 18.2 percent nosedive those sales took in February. The Census Bureau said sales of newly constructed homes rose 20.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.021 million units. This is 66.8 percent higher than the sales 612,000 unit pace in March 2020, although that rate was impacted by the pandemic shutdowns and was the highest annual sales rate since 2005.

February’s loss was also smaller than originally reported. Those sales were revised from 775,000 to 846,000 units.

Analysts’ estimates fell far short of the numbers reported. Those polled by Econoday had projected sales in a range of 820,000 to 950,000. The consensus was 887,000.

On a non-adjusted basis there were 97,000 new homes sold during the month, up from 70,000 the previous month. For the year to date sales have totaled 243,000 homes, a 34.4 percent increase over the 181,000 sales in the first three months of 2020.

The median price of a home sold in March was $330,800 and the average price was $397,800. In March 2020, the respective sales prices were $328,200 and $375,400.

At the end of the reporting period there were an estimated 307,000 new homes available for sale, identical to the inventory in February. However, due to the higher rate of sales this was estimated at a 3.6 month supply, down from 4.4 months in February. In March 2020, the supply was over 6 months.

Sales increased by double digits month over month in three of the four major regions but fell by double digits in the West where they were also down on an annual basis. The increase in the Northeast was 20 percent compared to February and 108.7 percent higher than the prior March. Sales in the Midwest rose 30.7 percent and 78.4 percent for the two periods.

The South posted a 40.2 percent gain for the month and 90.1 percent year-over-year. Sales in the West, which also posted poor March numbers for existing home sales, were down 30.0 percent from the prior month and dipped 2.0 percent from the year earlier level.

read more…

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/04232021_new_home_sales.asp

Existing home sales up 12.3% | North Salem Real Estate

Existing home sales fell 3.7% month-over-month (m/m) in March to an annual rate of 6.01 million units, a seven-month low, versus expectations of a decline to 6.14 million units from February’s upwardly revised 6.24 million rate. However, existing home sales were up 12.3% year-over-year (y/y).

Compared to last month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said buying activity in all the major regions fell, but all regions rose y/y. Sales of single-family homes and purchases of condominiums and co-ops were both down month-over-month (m/m), but higher y/y. The median existing home price jumped 17.2% from a year ago to $329,100, marking the 108th straight month of y/y gains as prices rose in every region. Unsold inventory came in at a 2.1-months pace at the current sales rate, nudging off last month’s 2.0-months pace, and down sharply from the 3.3-months pace a year earlier. Existing home sales reflect contract closings instead of signings and account for a large majority of the home sales market.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said, ” Consumers are facing much higher home prices, rising mortgage rates, and falling affordability, however, buyers are still actively in the market,” adding that, “The sales for March would have been measurably higher, had there been more inventory,” he added. “Days-on-market are swift, multiple offers are prevalent, and buyer confidence is rising.

Mortgage rates average 2.97% | Mt Kisco Real Estate

— Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.97 percent.

“The drop in mortgage rates is good news for homeowners who are still looking to take advantage of the very low rate environment,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Freddie Mac research suggests that lower income and minority homeowners have been less likely to engage in the refinance market. Low and declining mortgage rates provide these homeowners the opportunity to reduce their monthly payment and improve their financial position.”

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.97 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 22, 2021, down from last week when it averaged 3.04 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.33 percent.
  • 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.29 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.35 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.86 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.83 percent with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.80 percent. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.28 percent.

The PMMS is focused on conventional, conforming, fully amortizing home purchase loans for borrowers who put 20 percent down and have excellent credit. Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we’ve made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders, investors and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

Hudson Valley loses 58,000 jobs | South Salem Real Estate

Hudson Valley Lost 58,000 Private Sector Jobs in Past Year 

The New York State Department of Labor reports that the Hudson Valley lost 58,100 private sector jobs between March 2020—the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York— and March 2021. During that one-year period the region’s workforce shrank by 7.3%, to 732,800. The Hudson Valley region did gain 9,200 jobs as of March 2021 as compared to a month earlier. 

Employment losses year-to-year were greatest in educational and health services (-16,500), leisure and hospitality (-15,800), trade, transportation and utilities (-8,500), other services (-5,700), natural resources, mining and construction (-3,800), financial activities (-3,500), manufacturing (-2,400), information (-1,400) and professional and business services (-500). 

Within the region, Sullivan County’s private employment sector declined the fastest year-over-year, down 8.2%. It was followed by the Dutchess-Putnam MSA and the Kingston MSA, both respectively down 8.1%, and the Orange-Rockland-Westchester labor market area (-7.1%). Access the latest state labor statistics.

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hgar.com

Freddie Mac predicts 6.6% home price increase in 2021 | Waccabuc Real Estate

According to Freddie Mac’s (OTCQB: FMCC) Quarterly Forecast, mortgage rates will continue to move up with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging just above three percent through the end of 2021.

“As the economy continues to improve, we expect conditions to remain generally favorable for the housing and mortgage market,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Higher mortgage rates have the potential, however, to dampen the robust demand we’ve been experiencing, and we therefore forecast total originations to decline to $3.5 trillion in 2021.”  

Khater continued, “Other important obstacles to consider include high home prices and low housing supply that will certainly influence the trajectory of purchase activity specifically.”

According to Freddie Mac’s Forecast:

  • The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is expected to be 3.2 percent in 2021 and 3.7 percent in 2022.
  • House price growth is expected to be 6.6 percent in 2021, slowing to 4.4 percent in 2022.
  • Home sales are expected to reach 7.1 million in 2021, falling to 6.7 million homes in 2022.
  • Purchase originations are expected to increase to $1.7 trillion in 2021 before dropping to $1.6 trillion in 2022.
  • Refinance originations are expected to be $1.8 trillion in 2021 before falling to $770 billion in 2022. 
  • Overall, annual mortgage origination levels are expected to be $3.5 trillion in 2021 and $2.4 trillion 2022.

Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we’ve made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders, investors, and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac, and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

Case Shiller reports home prices up 11.1% | Katonah Real Estate

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data released today for January 2021 show that home prices continue to increase across the U.S. More than 27 years of history are available for the data series, and can be accessed in full by going to https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/.

Please note that transaction records for December 2020 for Wayne County, MI, are now available. Due to delays at the local recording office caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, S&P DJI and CoreLogic were previously unable to generate a valid December 2020 update for the Detroit S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.

YEAR-OVER-YEAR 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported an 11.2% annual gain in January, up from 10.4% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 10.9%, up from 9.9% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted an 11.1% year-over-year gain, up from 10.2% in the previous month.

Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego continued to report the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities in January. Phoenix led the way with a 15.8% year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle with a 14.3% increase and San Diego with a 14.2% increase. All 20 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending January 2021 versus the year ending December 2020. 

MONTH-OVER-MONTH

Before seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a 0.8% month-over-month increase, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 0.8% and 0.9% respectively in January. After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 1.2%, and the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.2% as well. In January, 19 of 20 cities reported increases before seasonal adjustment, and all 20 cities reported increases after seasonal adjustment.

ANALYSIS

“The strong price gains that we observed in the last half of 2020 continued into the first month of the new year. In January 2021, the National Composite Index rose by 11.2% compared to its year-ago levels,” says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI. “The trend of accelerating prices that began in June 2020 has now reached its eighth month and is also reflected in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 10.9% and 11.1%, respectively). The market’s strength is broadly-based: all 20 cities rose, and all 20 cities gained more in the 12 months ended in January 2021 than they had gained in the 12 months ended in December 2020.

“January’s performance is particularly impressive in historical context. The National Composite’s 11.2% gain is the highest recorded since February 2006, just one month shy of 15 years ago. In more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, January’s year-over-year change is comfortably in the top decile. That strength is reflected across all 20 cities. January’s price gains in every city are above that city’s median level, and rank in the top quartile of all reports in 18 cities.

“January’s data remain consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This demand may represent buyers who accelerated purchases that would have happened anyway over the next several years. Alternatively, there may have been a secular change in preferences, leading to a shift in the demand curve for housing. Future data will be required to analyze this question.

“Phoenix’s 15.8% increase led all cities for the 20th consecutive month, with Seattle (+14.3%) and San Diego (+14.2%) close behind. Although prices were strongest in the West (+11.7%), gains were impressive in every region.”

SUPPORTING DATA

Table 1 below shows the housing boom/bust peaks and troughs for the three composites along with the current levels and percentage changes from the peaks and troughs.

2006 Peak2012 TroughCurrent
 Index Level Date Level DateFrom Peak
(%)		 LevelFrom Trough
(%)		From Peak
(%)
National184.61Jul-06133.99Feb-12-27.4%236.3176.4%28.0%
20-City206.52Jul-06134.07Mar-12-35.1%242.9881.2%17.7%
10-City226.29Jun-06146.45Mar-12-35.3%256.5075.1%13.4%

Table 2 below summarizes the results for January 2021. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices could be revised for the prior 24 months, based on the receipt of additional source data.

January 2021January ’21/December ’20December/November1-Year
Metropolitan AreaLevelChange (%)Change (%)Change (%)
Atlanta169.960.8%0.9%9.6%
Boston252.270.8%0.8%12.7%
Charlotte185.620.7%0.6%11.0%
Chicago154.890.5%0.3%8.9%
Cleveland141.28-0.1%1.0%11.7%
Dallas210.820.8%0.9%9.2%
Denver246.051.0%0.9%10.0%
Detroit141.290.6%0.7%11.0%
Las Vegas212.600.9%1.1%8.5%
Los Angeles321.041.0%0.8%10.8%
Miami273.121.2%1.2%10.4%
Minneapolis196.900.1%0.4%10.7%
New York225.850.9%1.4%11.3%
Phoenix231.751.5%1.2%15.8%
Portland267.271.1%0.5%10.6%
San Diego301.721.4%0.7%14.2%
San Francisco291.040.2%0.2%9.5%
Seattle292.961.4%0.9%14.3%
Tampa251.701.1%1.2%11.9%
Washington260.210.8%0.9%10.7%
Composite-10256.500.8%0.9%10.9%
Composite-20242.980.9%0.9%11.1%
U.S. National236.310.8%0.9%11.2%
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic
Data through January 2021

Table 3 below shows a summary of the monthly changes using the seasonally adjusted (SA) and non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) data. Since its launch in early 2006, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices have published, and the markets have followed and reported on, the non-seasonally adjusted data set used in the headline indices. For analytical purposes, S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes a seasonally adjusted data set covered in the headline indices, as well as for the 17 of 20 markets with tiered price indices and the five condo markets that are tracked.

January ’21/December ’20 Change (%)December/November Change (%)
Metropolitan AreaNSASANSASA
Atlanta0.8%1.2%0.9%1.3%
Boston0.8%1.4%0.8%1.4%
Charlotte0.7%1.1%0.6%1.1%
Chicago0.5%0.9%0.3%1.0%
Cleveland-0.1%0.7%1.0%1.6%
Dallas0.8%1.0%0.9%1.3%
Denver1.0%1.1%0.9%1.3%
Detroit0.6%1.2%0.7%1.3%
Las Vegas0.9%1.3%1.1%1.4%
Los Angeles1.0%1.1%0.8%1.1%
Miami1.2%1.3%1.2%1.5%
Minneapolis0.1%0.8%0.4%1.2%
New York0.9%1.2%1.4%1.5%
Phoenix1.5%1.9%1.2%1.5%
Portland1.1%1.2%0.5%1.0%
San Diego1.4%1.4%0.7%1.3%
San Francisco0.2%1.0%0.2%0.9%
Seattle1.4%1.5%0.9%1.5%
Tampa1.1%1.3%1.2%1.5%
Washington0.8%1.2%0.9%1.3%
Composite-100.8%1.2%0.9%1.3%
Composite-200.9%1.2%0.9%1.3%
U.S. National0.8%1.2%0.9%1.3%
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic
Data through January 2021

For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/.

Housing affordability index | Bedford Hills Real Estate

As described in a previous post, NAHB’s recently released its 2021 Priced-Out Estimates, showing that 75.1 million households are not able to afford a median priced new home, and that an additional 153,967 would be priced out if the price goes up by $1,000. This post focuses on the related U.S. housing affordability pyramid, showing how many households have enough income to afford homes at various price thresholds.

The pyramid uses the same standard underwriting criterion as the priced-out estimates to determine affordability: that the sum of mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowners and private mortgage insurance premiums should be no more than 28% of the household income.  Based on this, the minimum income required to purchase a $100,000 home is $22,505. In 2021, about 21.1 million households in the U.S. are estimated to have incomes at or below that threshold and, therefore, the maximum priced home they can afford is between $0 and $100,000. These 21.1 million households form the bottom step or base of the pyramid. Another 19.0 million can only afford to pay a top price of somewhere between $100,000 and $175,000 (the second step on the pyramid), and so on up the pyramid. Each step represents a maximum affordable price range for fewer and fewer households.

The top step of the pyramid shows that around 3 million households can buy a home priced above 1.55 million. These comparatively wealthy Americans and the high-end homes they can afford are interesting, but market analysts should never only focus on them to the exclusion of the larger number of Americans with more modest incomes that support the pyramid’s base.

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Mortgage rates average 3.09% | Bedford Real Estate

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.09 percent.

“As expected, mortgage rates continued to inch up but are still hovering around three percent, keeping interested buyers in the market,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “However, residential construction has declined for two consecutive months and given the very low inventory environment, competition among potential homebuyers is a challenging reality, especially for first-time homebuyers.”

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.09 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 18, 2021, up from last week when it averaged 3.05 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.65 percent.
  • 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.40 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.38 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.06 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.79 percent with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.77 percent. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.11 percent.

The PMMS is focused on conventional, conforming, fully amortizing home purchase loans for borrowers who put 20 percent down and have excellent credit. Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.