Why are house prices so high and will they stay high?

Why are house prices so high and will they stay high?

  Anytime you turn on the news  you hear about high house prices and that the culprit is that supply has not kept up with demand.  Is supply really the main culprit of housing prices or did something else that occurred during Covid radically alter the market? ...
One metric for risk is off the charts, impact on real estate

One metric for risk is off the charts, impact on real estate

  It is interesting that the market continues to focus on interest rates and employment as the barometer for the economy while totally ignoring one metric.  As a lender I just did a year end analysis on our portfolio and one metric jumped off the page increasing...
Fed reverses course, interest rates fall, my servicing data tells a different story

Fed reverses course, interest rates fall, my servicing data tells a different story

  Although the graph above looks like an old Atari game, it is the Federal reserve dot plot which shows a profound shift.  Ironically, just a few weeks ago the Federal Reserve was touting higher rates for longer.  Now the federal reserve has done a 180 and has...
Commercial real estate falls first time since 2011; what is causing the decline?

Commercial real estate falls first time since 2011; what is causing the decline?

US commercial real estate prices have fallen this year for the first time in more than a decade, according to Moody’s Analytics, heightening the risk of more financial stress in the banking industry.  What property types are declining? (hint not just office...
Has the housing market bottomed out?  Will housing prices continue to rise? What does this mean for interest rates

Has the housing market bottomed out?  Will housing prices continue to rise? What does this mean for interest rates

Like most, I have been surprised at the recent upward movement in prices.  Did we just experience the shortest housing cycle ever?  Are housing prices going to continue their recent upward swing?  Why are housing prices now moving higher after a very shallow decline...
Why do consumers keep spending and how does this impact real estate

Why do consumers keep spending and how does this impact real estate

According to a recent Federal Reserve Report, fourteen million mortgages were refinanced during the COVID refinance boom, and these refinances will have effects on the mortgage market, real estate, and the general economy for years to come. An astonishing 430 billion...