Category: housing affordability

Median Price of American Homes Climbs Above $400,000 for the First Time

The median price for a single-family existing-home has crossed the $400,000 mark for the first time ever, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Existing single-family homes had a median price of $413,500 nationally in the second quarter of 2022, a 14.2 percent increase from a year ago, according to an Aug. 11 news…


Sales of New US Homes Drop to Lowest Level in Two Years as Consumer Demand Subsides

Sales of new single-family homes in the United States dropped by more than eight percentage points in the last month, their lowest levels in just over two years, signaling that increased mortgage rates and soaring prices are decreasing consumer demand for housing. New home sales declined 8.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000…


Houses for Sale Are Staying on the Market Longer as Bidding Wars Fizzle, Demand Sinks

Houses in the United States are taking longer to sell as bidding wars have decreased and demand has dipped, according to real estate brokerage firm Redfin. For the four weeks ending July 17, the typical home was on the market for 19 days before being sold, one day more than the same period in 2021,…


US Homebuilder Confidence Plunges Amid Inflation, Affordability Crisis

Homebuilder confidence in the United States fell in July amid rising interest rates and high inflation that have slowed down sales, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) dropped 12 points to 55 in July, the lowest HMI reading since May 2020, according to a July…


Increasing Housing Demand Won’t Solve Affordability

Commentary Over the past decade in Australia, we have had a series of governments delivering disappointing policies. Unfortunately, I expect this disappointment will continue with the new Labor government. One case in point: their housing policy was announced during the most recent election campaign. The Labor Party’s shared equity scheme is yet another poor federal…


LoanDepot to Lay Off 2,000 Workers Following Mortgage Market Slowdown

California-based mortgage lender LoanDepot has announced that it intends to lay off thousands of workers as the company deals with “rapidly changing market conditions.” LoanDepot is aiming to generate about $375 million to $400 million in “annualized savings” by the end of 2022 by adopting measures like headcount reduction, the company said in a July…


US Housing Affordability Index Drops to Worst Measurement in 16 Years

Housing affordability in the United States declined in May 2022 according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), falling to its lowest level in 16 years. NAR’s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was recorded at 102.5 in May, down from 108.1 in April and 148.2 in May 2021, data from the organization shows (pdf). This is…


Canada Needs 3.5 Million More Homes Built to Reach Affordability, Housing Agency Says

Canada needs 3.5 million more homes to be built by the end of the decade before housing becomes affordable again, a new report says. The report, published by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Thursday, says Canada’s approach to housing supply needs to be rethought before housing costs can reach a level where average…


Housing Affordability Royal Commission Needed, Says Australian Senate Candidate Xenophon

Independent Senate candidate Nick Xenophon has called for a royal commission, Australia’s highest form of public inquiry, into housing affordability, saying the issue has become a “real barbecue stopper.” Xenophon, who is seeking a return to federal politics by picking up a Senate seat in South Australia, said such an inquiry was the “last best hope”…


Young Canadians Halt Home Purchase Plans, As Wealth Decreases for the First Time Since Start of Pandemic: StatCan

The youngest Canadian households saw their wealth decrease for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting them to avoid home purchases and reduce financial assets, Statistics Canada says. A recent report from the agency shows that the average wealth of those in the youngest age group—in which the major income earner is…