2024 Is Showing A Steady Start. ATTOM’s Year-End 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report, released This Week in Real Estate, revealed that median-priced single-family home sales in 2023 yielded a gross profit of $121,000, resulting in a 56.5 percent return on investment. The U.S. median home price rose by 2.1 percent from 2022 to 2023, reaching a new all-time annual high of $335,000. December’s pending home sales experienced the most significant monthly increase since June 2020. In January 2024, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment for the U.S. surged to 78.8, marking the highest level since July 2021. Moreover, general inflation significantly eased, dropping from 6.5 percent in 2022 to 3.4 percent by the close of 2023. Below are a few newsworthy events from the fourth week of January that influence our business:PENDING HOME SALES SURGED IN DECEMBER. Pending home sales rose 8.3% month-over-month in December, according to the newest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It was the largest monthly jump in pending home sales since 2020. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales were up 1.3%. “The housing market is off to a good start this year, as consumers benefit from falling mortgage rates and stable home prices,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. “Home sales are projected to rise significantly in each of the next two years as the market steadily returns to normal sales activity,” added Yun. The trade organization projects a 13% increase in existing home sales between 2023 and 2024 for an annualized pace of 4.62 million and a 15.8% increase between 2024 and 2025 to a pace of 5.35 million units. Read the full story here.NEW HOME SALES BOUNCE BACK IN DECEMBER ON LOWER MORTGAGE RATES. Falling interest rates in the closing weeks of 2023 helped to bring buyers off the sidelines and provide a boost for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 8.0% to a 664,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised reading in November, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in December is up 4.4% from a year earlier. On an annual basis, new home sales totaled 668,000 in 2023, up 4.2% from the 2022 figure of 641,000. A year ago in January, there were 72,000 completed, ready-to-occupy homes available for sale (not seasonally adjusted). By the end of December, that number increased 22.2% to 88,000. However, completed, ready-to-occupy inventory remains just 19% of total inventory and homes under construction account for 58% of the inventory. Homes that have not started construction when the sales contract is signed account for 23% of new homes sold in December. Read the full story here.PURCHASE APP ACTIVITY OFF TO A STRONG START FOR 2024. Mortgage application activity increased for the third consecutive week, even with rates seeing an uptick, as the purchase market sustained its early-year strength. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index rose a seasonally adjusted 3.7% for the seven-day period ending Jan. 19. The latest movement comes a week after a larger 10.4% increase. “Mortgage rates increased slightly last week, but there continues to be an upward trend in purchase activity,” said Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist. After hitting its highest mark since June a week earlier, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index surged another 7.5%. Read the full story here.
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