New Home Sales Benefit from Inventory Issues

Sales of newly constructed homes appear to be benefitting from the very lack of inventory that is stifling existing home sales. July’s sales of pre-owned homes lagged sales a year earlier by more than 16 percent while Wednesday’s report on new home sales showed they had jumped ahead of July 2022 activity by 31.5 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development said new home sales were at an annual rate of 714,000 units in July. This is an increase of 4.4 percent compared to sales in June. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, there were 59,000 homes sold, 1,000 more than in June. So far in 2023 sales total 416,000, essentially unchanged from the same period in 2022. Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders said, “New home sales were solid in July because of an ongoing housing deficit in the U.S. and a lack of resales stemming from many homeowners electing to stay put to preserve their low mortgage rates. However, despite this monthly uptick, new home sales will likely weaken in August as higher interest rates price out prospective buyers.” While inventory of new homes fell 2.7 percent from June to July and by 27.7 percent year-over-year, there were 437,000 new homes available for sale at the end of the reporting period. This is a 7.3-month supply at the current sales pace. A six-month supply is generally considered a balanced market.

August 23, 2023 Download our Mobile App: Download our Mobile App: Housing News New Home Sales Benefit from Inventory Issues Sales of newly constructed homes appear to be benefitting from the very lack of inventory that is stifling existing home sales. July’s sales of pre-owned homes lagged sales a year earlier by more than 16 percent while Wednesday’s report on new... (read more) Housing News Mortgage Application Volume Struggling With Higher Rates Mortgage interest rates rose again last week, reaching the highest level in nearly a quarter century and further sidelining mortgage borrowers. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that its Market Composite Index, a measure of loan applica... (read more) Mortgage Rate Watch Mortgage Rates Drop For The First Time in More Than 2 Weeks Mortgage rates dropped at the fastest pace in weeks today, but that isn't saying much in and of itself considering rates have only moved lower 3 times during the entire month of August. One of the other drops was small. The other one was large,... (read more) MBS Commentary PMI Data Sends Cohesive Message. Bonds Like It Any time bonds are as oversold as they were yesterday, there's a better chance of a bigger corrective rally when a reason to rally finally presents itself. It's possible that sellers were already feeling tapped out based on yesterday's fairly f... (read more) Rob Chrisman Credit Verification, AMC, Lead Gen Tools; Advocacy; Comp Strategy on Brokered Loans; Marketing As the Western Secondary winds up, and weary capital markets staff & vendors head home from Orange County, perhaps humming “California Gurls,” working conditions and changes in the work environment are still a topic. For example, Goldman Sachs is... (read more) Mortgage Rates 30 Yr. Fixed Rate 7.36% -0.13% Rate Change Points Mortgage News Daily 30 Yr. Fixed 7.36% -0.13 0.00 15 Yr. Fixed 6.75% -0.14 0.00 30 Yr. FHA 6.99% -0.13 0.00 30 Yr. Jumbo 7.35% -0.05 0.00 5/1 ARM 7.18% -0.07 0.00 30 Yr. VA 6.98% -0.14 0.00 Updates Daily - Last Update: 8/23 15 Yr. Fixed Rate 6.75% -0.14% Rate Change Points Freddie Mac 30 Yr. Fixed 7.09% +0.13 0.00 15 Yr. Fixed 6.46% +0.12 0.00 Updates Weekly - Last Update: 8/17 Rate Change Points Mortgage Bankers Assoc. 30 Yr. Fixed 7.16% +0.07 0.68 15 Yr. Fixed 6.57% +0.06 0.94 30 Yr. Jumbo 7.11% +0.07 0.55 Updates Weekly - Last Update: 8/16 MBS / Treasuries UMBS 30YR 6.0 99.56 +0.47 Price / Yield Change MBS UMBS 6.0 99.56 +0.47 GNMA 6.0 99.63 +0.36 Pricing as of: 8/23 5:31PM EST 10 Year US Treasury 4.1960 -0.1360 Price / Yield Change US Treasury 2 YR Treasury 4.973 -0.075 5 YR Treasury 4.371 -0.122 7 YR Treasury 4.306 -0.135 10 YR Treasury 4.196 -0.136 30 YR Treasury 4.268 -0.138 Pricing as of: 8/23 5:31PM EST Latest Video Fed won't be easing any time soon, says JPMorgan's Dubravko Lakos Credit spreads are narrowing as the 10-year yield rises, says Canaccord Gen... Homebuilders are adjusting their supply to maintain affordability in high r... The goal for Fed Chair Powell in Jackson Hole is to 'not rock the boat', sa... Around the Web Marketwatch Pimco emerges as a buyer in Treasury market selloff, says Bond Vigilante theme 'a bit extreme' Calculated Risk Blog Black Knight: Mortgage Delinquency Rate Increased Slightly in July Calculated Risk Blog New Home Sales increase to 714,000 Annual Rate in July Marketwatch Rise in Treasury yields is almost entirely due to one factor, strategist says CNBC 5 cities with the highest property tax rates. Here's why rates can vary so much from place to place CNBC Treasury yields mostly lower as rally takes a pause ahead of Jackson Hole Reuters Treasury rout deepens as deficit spending, higher for longer sink in CNBC Credit card spending growth is slowing its 'inevitable,' expert says forexlive Is China a risk to the Treasury market? Maybe not Calculated Risk Blog NAR: Existing-Home Sales Decreased to 4.07 million SAAR in July; Median Prices Increased 1.9% YoY in July Eye on Housing Missing Middle Construction Weakens Calculated Risk Blog Lawler: More on R-Star Calculated Risk Blog AIA: Architecture Billings "Stable" in July; Multi-family Billings Decline for 12th Consecutive Month

© 2023 Mortgage News Daily, LLC. | 19701 Bethel Church Rd. | Cornelius, NC 28031 Interest rates displayed are national averages and for informational purposes only. Actual rates from lenders may vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, credit worthiness, ability to replay, credit score, down payment, loan term, etc. This email was sent to: newsletter@newslettercollector.com. Go here to UNSUBSCRIBE from this email.