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High-End Housing is Back, and For Now, It’s Outperforming

December 17, 2020 by Ryan McKeveny & Dennis McGill

Alongside the broad-based 2H20 surge in homes sales, home prices and housing demand more generally, a notable undertone has been relative outperformance within the high-end segment of the market. What had easily been the most subdued piece of the housing puzzle in 2018 and 2019 has shifted to an outsized contributor of growth...

Filed Under | affordability existing home sales home pricing homeownership mortgage rates real estate services

Exploding Housing Demand Viewed in Different Context

December 10, 2020 by Dennis McGill

While robust for-sale housing demand of late has commonly been explained with a pandemic tilt, we believe that the vast majority of the strength has been catalyzed by record low mortgage rates. Not only have mortgage rates...

Filed Under | existing home sales macro housing mortgage rates

Which Mortgage Lenders Are Attracting Young Borrowers? You Might Be Surprised

November 10, 2020 by Ivy Zelman, Dennis McGill & Kevin Kaczmarek

Some mortgage lenders emphasize the benefit of capturing “customers for life”, whereby they attract younger, often first-time homebuyers as borrowers, retain servicing rights and, ideally, complete one or more future originations from that same borrower. While many lenders tout their technology...

Filed Under | homeownership millennials mortgage mortgage rates

What a Democratic Sweep Could Mean For Housing?

October 29, 2020 by Ivy Zelman

As we enter the final days prior to the election, I can’t help ponder what the outcome of a Democratic sweep could mean for housing and our country, which appears to be a real potential outcome. To stay away from my political views, I’ll focus on what a sweep would mean specifically for the housing market...

Filed Under | existing home sales homebuilding household formation macro housing mortgage new home sales

Home Price Increases Starting to Overcome Low Mortgage Rate Benefit

October 21, 2020 by Zelman & Associates

In 2019, the median and average new home cost $321,500 and $383,900, according to the Census Bureau. However, with almost 95% of purchases financed with a mortgage, it is not the total cost, but rather the monthly payment...

Filed Under | affordability home pricing macro housing mortgage rates survey

Contrary to Perception, Little Difference Between Young and Old DTI Ratios

September 06, 2019 by Zelman & Associates

Earlier this week, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for 2018 was released. The annual dataset is enormous and serves as the primary baseline for most analyses of the mortgage market and its participants. This year also includes numerous ...

Filed Under | affordability mortgage

Alarming Increase in Mortgage Debt-to-Income Ratios Reverses Course

July 26, 2019 by Zelman & Associates

Late last year, the average mortgage debt accumulated by homebuyers relative to their income was quickly rising, which was attributable to home price appreciation outpacing income growth, spiking mortgage rates and more lenient underwriting ...

Filed Under | affordability mortgage

As Housing Sentiment and Actions Often Contradict, What Factors Matter Most?

May 17, 2019 by Zelman & Associates

Last week, Fannie Mae released the results of its monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index, which is “designed to track consumers’ housing-related attitudes, intentions and perceptions.” As a research firm, we always find value in surveys, assuming ...

Filed Under | macro housing mortgage rates

Historically Linked, Here’s Why Housing Outlook Far Superior to Autos

March 08, 2019 by Zelman & Associates

Historically, the housing and auto markets have been highly linked given the big-ticket nature of the consumer purchases and the dependence on credit for the majority of buyers. For example, from 1990-2016, auto sales and housing starts have ...

Filed Under | macro housing mortgage

Debating Risk, Merit of GSEs Accumulating Low Downpayment Market Share

February 22, 2019 by Zelman & Associates

Like the three years prior, in 2018, approximately 45% of the $1.2 trillion of purchase mortgages originated was covered by mortgage insurance provided by private entities or the government via the FHA, VA or USDA programs. This suggests an ...

Filed Under | entry-level mortgage