Driving It Home with Unlock MLS

In this episode of Driving at Home, Dr. Clare Losey and Danielle Hammett discuss economic indicators relevant to the housing market. They focus on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, a measure of inflation, and labor market statistics in Austin. Dr. Losey shares that the PCE Index, which excludes food and energy prices, showed a year-over-year increase of 3.5% and a month-over-month...

In this episode of Driving It Home, Dr. Clare Losey and Kelea Youngblood discuss the impact of higher mortgage rates on new home construction. Dr. Losey explains that increased mortgage rates discourage builders due to higher borrowing costs and the potential decrease in demand from buyers challenged by affordability. Despite this, the Austin market has seen a slight rebound in new single-family h...

In this episode of Driving at Home, Dr. Clare Losey and Emily Chenevert discuss recent economic indicators, particularly consumer spending and costs, as measures of inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October was unchanged on a month-over-month basis and showed a 3.2% rise year-over-year, which the market viewed positively, leading to a rally in stocks. Market participants, using tools l...

In this week’s Driving It Home episode, Dr. Clare Losey provides a summary of what happened in the market for October. Dr. Losey notes a decrease in median sales prices both year-over-year and month-over-month, while closed sales have increased, suggesting buyers are still active in the market, but sellers must adjust pricing expectations. Despite recent declines, prices remain significantly highe...

In this episode, ABoR CMO Kelea Youngblood and Dr. Clare Losey discuss the Federal Reserve's decision to not raise the federal funds rate, which is currently between 5.25% and 5.5%. Dr. Losey notes that the market responded positively to this news, which was also reflected in the declining ten-year Treasury yield. The implication is that mortgage rates might not rise significantly and may have...

In this episode of Driving It Home, ABoR Deputy Director of Communications Danielle Hammett and Dr. Clare Losey discuss the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, with the anticipation that rates will hold steady and a prediction that mortgage rates will remain elevated throughout 2024. In terms of construction, Dr. Losey highlighted that the housing market in Austin is experiencing sta...

In this episode, ABoR CMO Kelea Youngblood and Dr. Clare Losey dive into recent market statistics. They highlight that closed sales have surged by almost 20%, and leases have seen a 10% increase. Even with the present higher mortgage rates, hovering in the low 7% range, the real estate market demonstrates remarkable resilience. The data, when compared year-over-year, suggests steady sales and pric...

In this episode, Emily and Dr. Losey dive into the economy's current status, particularly the inflation rates and their repercussions on the housing market. Although inflation rates have moderated since their June 2022 peak, September's Consumer Price Index (CPI) still recorded a 3.7% year-over-year increase, a situation that complicates the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates...

Last week beckoned a slew of jobs data, from job openings on Tuesday to the job report on Friday. After falling for three consecutive months, job openings rose in August to 9.6 million, measuring well above consensus expectations of 8.8 million. Meanwhile, employers added 336,000 jobs in September, nearly double consensus expectations. September’s figure also represents a sharp uptick from August’...

Job growth slowed in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA in August. Total nonfarm employment grew 2.4% YoY in the Austin MSA relative to 2.8% in Texas and 2% in the United States. Sluggish growth in both the Information (0.2% YoY) and Financial Activities (0.1% YoY) sectors weighed on job growth in the Austin MSA. Both sectors continue to face turbulence from broader macroeconomic headwinds, incl...

In its September meeting, the Federal Reserve opted to pause rate hikes, but signaled that it will likely raise rates by 25 basis points in either its November or December meeting. Moreover, the Fed indicated that the fed funds rate will likely remain higher for longer - news which continues to be digested by financial markets. (On Wednesday, the day the rate decision was announced, the S&P 50...

The August housing stats (linked below) depicted a modest uptick in closed sales (+1% YoY) and a less considerable decline in the median sales price (-7% YoY) than in months prior. Active listings ticked up 12% YoY, while months of inventory increased to 3.8 months, indicative of greater supply in the market. Sales of lower-priced homes increased YoY, while sales of mid and higher-priced homes dec...

This week will prove a particularly significant one for the housing market. On Wednesday, August inflation data (i.e., the CPI) will be released. Headline inflation may measure higher on a YoY basis than the readings for the past several months due to the rise in oil prices. Last week, the 10-year Treasury yield, an important determinant of the direction of mortgage rates, remained elevated amid i...

Dive into the NEW "Truth in Austin's Missing Housing" report and explore the severe undersupply of housing in Austin and actionable policy recommendations aimed to help bridge the gap between residents and missing housing. https://www.abor.com/thetruth Download the Audio Transcript + Episode Summary: https://www.abor.com/content/uploads/2023/09/DIH-9-6-23.pdf Download the Buy Vs. Ren...

Dive into the NEW "Truth in Austin's Missing Housing" report and explore the severe undersupply of housing in Austin and actionable policy recommendations aimed to help bridge the gap between residents and missing housing. https://www.abor.com/thetruth Job growth in the Austin MSA moderated in July to 3.1%, slightly lower than that of Texas (3.3%). The Information sector (which is la...

Mortgage rates edged higher last week amid the rise in the 10-year Treasury yield. Stronger than expected economic data—including resilient consumer spending (with retail sales posting 0.7% MoM growth in July) and an upward revision to 2Q real GDP growth—have led to upheaval in the bond market. The uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield is driven by several factors, including a change in investors’...

Download the Audio Transcript + Episode Summary: https://www.abor.com/content/uploads/2023/08/DIH-8-15-23.pdf Download the Buy Vs. Rent Index: https://www.abor.com/buyrentindex Access the One-Page Customizable Buy Vs. Rent Index Summary: https://www.abor.com/customizables Connect with us on socials: https://www.abor.com/socials Connect with Dr. Clare Losey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/...

Download the Audio Transcript + Episode Summary: https://www.abor.com/content/uploads/2023/08/DIH-8-8-23.pdf Download the Buy Vs. Rent Index: https://www.abor.com/buyrentindex Access the One-Page Customizable Buy Vs. Rent Index Summary: https://www.abor.com/customizables Connect with us on socials: https://www.abor.com/socials Connect with Dr. Clare Losey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/c...

Did you miss the 2023 Central Texas Housing Summit? We unveiled some major announcements, heard from a stacked panel of experts, and Dr. Clare Losey presented her Buy Vs. Rent Index! Get the recording at https://www.abor.com/housingsummit and access the Buy Vs. Rent Index at ABoR.me/buy-rent. Download the Audio Transcript + Episode Summary: https://www.abor.com/content/uploads/2023/07/DIH-8-1-23.p...

Don't forget that Dr. Losey will present the Buy vs. Rent Index this Wednesday, July 26 at the Central Texas Housing Summit. In-person attendance is sold out, but you can still join us virtually. Save your spot here: https://www.abor.com/housingsummit Download the Audio Transcript + Episode Summary: https://www.abor.com/content/uploads/2023/07/DIH-7-25-23.pdf Connect with us on socials: https:...

The June housing statistics depict a relatively robust market despite a continued uptick in mortgage rates. (The average mortgage rate measured 6.71% in June, up from 6.43% in May). The median sales price declined 9.7% from last June to $483,000 but rose modestly 2.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from May. Meanwhile, the uptick in mortgage rates prompted a decline in closed sales—down nearly 9%...

On June 30, the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, which would have canceled over $400 billion in debt held by tens of millions of borrowers. Under the proposed plan, student loan forgiveness for individuals (households) earning less than $125,000 ($250,000) annually would have been $10,000. Low-income families who received Pell Grants would have seen...

Despite broader macroeconomic lags—including decelerating, albeit still-high inflation, tighter monetary policy, and recent stress in the regional banking system and dampened bank lending, the U.S. economy remained resilient over the first half of 2023. A robust labor market and strong consumer spending helped mitigate the effect of those lags, but also contributed to the Federal Reserve’s continu...

Still-elevated home prices and mortgage rates continue to dampen purchase affordability for potential buyers—particularly first-time buyers. All else equal, this raises the demand for single-family rentals, the most comparable alternative to purchasing a home. In May 2023, while the median sales price and closed sales fell 15% and 4% YoY, respectively, the median rent and closed leases measured 0%...

Inflation continued to decelerate last month—in May, headline inflation moderated to +4% YoY and +0.1% MoM, while core inflation—which strips the more volatile categories of food and energy—measured +5.3% YoY and +0.4% MoM. However, inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's long-term target of 2%. The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, opted to pause its rate hike cycle, although...