Morning Report: Home price appreciation is slowing

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Brent Nyitray

Vital Statistics:

 

Last Change
S&P futures 2910.5 -2
Eurostoxx index 389.7 -0.8
Oil (WTI) 65.66 1.29
10 year government bond yield 2.59%
30 year fixed rate mortgage 4.34%

 

Stocks are flattish this morning as we await earnings from some of the FAANG heavyweights. Bonds and MBS are flat as well.

 

Existing home sales fell 4.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted annualized level of 5.21 million. A decrease was expected since February’s numbers were stronger than expected. On a year-over-year basis, sales are down 5.4%. The median home price rose 3.8% to $254,400, and it looks like home price appreciation is slowing down here as well. Inventory remains the problem, with 1.68 million homes for sale, representing a 3.9 month supply. A balanced market would be closer to 2.6 million homes for sale. In addition, we have a glut at the luxury price points and a shortage at the entry-level price points. Days on market increased YOY to 36 from 30. First time homebuyers represented a third of all transactions. Historically that number has been closer to 40%.

 

Home prices rose 0.3% MOM in February and are up 4.9% YOY, according to the FHFA House Price Index. Note the difference in price appreciation versus the NAR numbers (+4.9% versus +3.8%) – this reflects the fact that the FHFA index excludes jumbos, which is where there real slowdown is being seen, especially in high tax states.  Take a look at the YOY price appreciation comparison regionally and check out the difference between this time last year in home price appreciation on the West Coast.

 

FHFA regional

 

Herman Cain has withdrawn his name from consideration to the Fed. A handful of Republican senators expressed reservations about his nomination, which was probably enough to make his actual confirmation unlikely. The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, said Cain’s “failure to garner adequate support should not be used as a pathway by Senate Republicans to approve Stephen Moore, who is equally unqualified, and perhaps more political.”

 

The Trump Administration is taking a look at downpayment assistance programs – generally government programs that help borrowers put together their 3.5% down payment for a FHA loan. As you would expect, borrowers who need help scraping together 3.5% are riskier, and indeed the default rates on these mortgages are double those of a traditional FHA mortgage (and FHA DQs are much higher than conventional DQs). HUD promulgated new guidance for downpayment assistance programs last week tightening documentation rules. Ballard Spahr summarizes the new guidance here.

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