
January 25, 2013 | by MRIS_CMO
Here’s a reprint of a very interesting article by Rhonda Porter+. Full article here. Thanks to our friend Jonathan Miller for the article. “Today the CFPB released the “ability-to-repay” and “qualified mortgage” rule which is set to go into effect next year on January 10, 2014. These new laws will require that lenders consider a borrowers ability to repay a mortgage.... Continue Reading

September 12, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
To the surprise of many, and despite earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro area home buyers and sellers went about their business consistent with seasonal expectations in August. Here are the latest Pending Home Sales Index reports I prepare using RBI’s data for August: RBI Pending Home Sales Index [Washington, D.C. Metro Area] RBI Pending Home Sales... Continue Reading

August 30, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index was released today reflecting the average of April-May-June closings which likely went to contract as early as January-February-March when the housing market began to wake up after a post-tax credit slumber in the second half of 2010. While there are 20 cities in the index, the chart above contains some of the cities I... Continue Reading

August 29, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
The NAR released its national pending home sales index on re-sales today covering the same period (warning: gloat) we released the RealEstate Business Intelligence‘s RBI Pending Home Sales Index for Washington, D.C. Metro and Baltimore Metro back on August 10th. I’m not a fan of seasonal adjustments since it becomes one more variable to get comfortable with (remember the misleading... Continue Reading

August 17, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
After releasing the RBI Pending Home Sales Index last week, I thought I’d add some additional context to how signed contracts were trending this summer. As it turns out, the level of activity between buyer and seller is somewhere in the middle of what we have seen over the past decade, circa 2006. A ‘Goldilocks’ housing market as in: “Not... Continue Reading

August 16, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
Low mortgage rates are a key reason why the housing market and the economy remain anemic. Has there ever been a better time to buy? Mortgage rates are at record lows and housing prices have fallen sharply in the past several years yet overall demand remains modest. Affordability remains near all-time highs so logic would suggest that we should be in... Continue Reading

August 10, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
July went into the record books as the fourth-warmest month in U.S. history as temperature records fell across the country. Although Washington, D.C. had its warmest month in history, with an average temperature of 84.5 degrees, breaking the previous record of 83.1 set in the previous July 2010 and Baltimore was hot as well, there were a few signs that... Continue Reading

August 8, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
Placing my feelings about the economic ineptitude of Congress and the power S&P has over the US economy despite being a key enabler of our current economic conditions aside, the S&P downgrade certainly won’t help the US housing market, a critical pillar of future economic recovery. Today’s Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac S&P downgrade was not unexpected since they are... Continue Reading

July 15, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
Over at Curbed DC, I posted a chart in my regular Three Cents Worth column titled “Length Of Time On The Market Is Right About Average” showing how monthly absorption rate has behaved in the Washington, D.C. metro area over the past decade. I like the absorption rate as a market indicator because it shows the interaction between supply and... Continue Reading

July 11, 2011 | by Jonathan Miller
It’s been a little over a week into July and both RBI and moi have been busy. We just released the June market recap for the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro area housing markets via our Pending Home Sale Index series for both markets. Rest assured, in about 3 weeks you’ll get the NAR National Pending Home Sales Index and... Continue Reading