USRT News and Press, iShares Core U.S. REIT From 12/29/22

Summary Rising mortgage interest rates clobbered the single-family housing market in 2022. Rates have come down a little since October but remain twice as high as the cheapest rates available a couple of years ago. Workarounds for high mortgage rates will facilitate some transaction...

Summary According to the National Association of Realtors, "Pending home sales slid for the sixth consecutive month in November." The MoM came in at -4.0%, up from a 4.7% decrease last month. Over this time frame, the US population has grown by 17.5%. By Jill Mislinski ...

Summary All the positive sales and earnings forecasted are concentrated in the top 15% of all stocks that I monitor. In other words, institutional buying pressure is focused on fewer stocks than normal. Energy stocks are big winners in 2022. In addition to high energy prices, the buying...

Summary U.S. equity markets declined for a third-straight week as benchmark interest rates surged after the advance of a $1.7 trillion federal spending package overshadowed another slate of encouraging inflation data. Declining for a third-straight week and finishing back on the cusp of...

Summary Dec. 23rd release of the November New Home Sales from the Census Bureau came in at 640K, up 5.8% month-over-month from a revised 605K in October. The median home price is now at $471K. The Census Bureau's mid-month population estimates show a 77% increase in the US populatio...

Summary Due to decades of easy monetary policy, the economy is now tightly linked to the growth in asset prices. Namely the stock market and the housing market. When the stock market and housing market falls, this has significant implications for employment, consumption, economic growth...

Summary Sales of new single-family homes rose again in November. November sales are still down 15.3% from a year ago and down 38.2% from the August 2020 post-recession peak. Components of the Housing Market Index were mixed in December. By Robert Hughes ...

Summary In all likelihood the next directional move in real estate will be a big, step-function move lower. According to Redfin, 60,000 purchase contracts were canceled in October. That’s the highest monthly number since Redfin began tracking the data in 2013. The Q4 new orde...

Summary Sales of all types of previously owned houses, condos, and co-ops plunged by 7.7% in November from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales of 4.09 million homes, nearly matching the lockdown low in May 2020. Year-over-year (seasonally adjusted) sales fell by 35%, t...

Summary Sales of existing homes sank another 7.7% in November to a 4.09 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. Mortgage rates have eased back recently. Housing is likely to continue to be under intense pressure. By Robert Hughes Sales of exi...