{"id":23166,"date":"2024-01-18T16:05:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=23166"},"modified":"2024-01-18T16:05:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:05:46","slug":"nar-economist-housing-recession-is-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/nar-economist-housing-recession-is-over\/","title":{"rendered":"NAR Economist: \u2018Housing Recession Is Over\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Contract signings picked up the pace last month, and home buyers are increasingly facing multiple offer situations. NAR releases its housing forecast for the remainder of the year and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pending home sales rose slightly in June, and the latest indicators are showing a housing market on the mend. Median existing-home sales prices in June soared to their second highest on record in the last two decades,<\/a> and more buyers are facing multiple offer situations once again, the latest reports from the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae shows. NAR\u2019s Pending Home Sales Index\u2014a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings\u2014rose 0.3% in June, the first increase in four months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe recovery has not taken place, but the housing recession is over,\u201d says Lawrence Yun<\/a>, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cThe presence of multiple offers implies that housing demand is not being satisfied due to a lack of supply. Homebuilders are ramping up production and hiring workers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing inventories remain at historical lows, down 13.6% from even last year\u2019s low levels. \u201cThere are simply not enough homes for sale,\u201d Yun said in a recent report. Seventy-six percent of existing homes sold in June were on the market for less than a month, NAR\u2019s data shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home buyers are faced with limited choices, higher home prices and higher mortgage rates. But they may find some relief soon: Mortgage rate increases may be mostly over, and that would bode well for home-buying, Yun says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith consumer price inflation calming close to the Federal Reserve\u2019s desired conditions, mortgage rates look to have topped out,\u201d Yun says. \u201cGiven the ongoing job additions, any meaningful decline in mortgage rates could lead to a rush of buyers later in the year and into the next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAR forecasts that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage could reach 6.4% by the end of the year, followed by 6% in 2024. Over recent weeks, mortgage rates have been nearing 7%, far from their ultra-low 2% or 3% averages just over a year ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Sales Outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NAR released its latest forecast showing what they believe will be the trajectory of the market over the coming months: <\/p>\n\n\n\n