Morning Report: Home price appreciation accelerates in September

Vital Statistics:

Stocks are flat this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are up.

Jerome Powell spoke last night and said that the Fed cut rates this year as the economy wasn’t as strong as anticipated. He reiterated that the Fed won’t be making any moves unless things change “materially” in the US economy: “Monetary policy is now well positioned to support a strong labor market and return inflation decisively to our symmetric 2 percent objective. If the outlook changes materially, policy will change as well. At this point in the long expansion, I see the glass as much more than half full. With the right policies, we can fill it further, building on the gains so far and spreading the benefits more broadly to all Americans.”

Home prices rose 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the FHFA House Price Index. They are up 4.9% on a YOY basis. They added an interactive map, so you can drill down to MSA-level home price appreciation. Separately, the Case-Shiller home price index rose 3.2% on an annual basis in September.

Mortgage delinquency rates fell in October, according to Black Knight’s First Look. The Deep South still has the highest delinquency rates, while the West Coast and Mountain states have the lowest levels. Prepay speeds are up 134% on a YOY basis.

Redfin makes its predictions for the 2020 housing market.

• a return of bidding wars
• 30 year fixed rate mortgage stabilizes at 3.8%
• home prices will rise in the Southeast as people get priced out of the cities

Author: Brent Nyitray

In the physical sciences, knowledge is cumulative. In the financial markets, it is cyclical View all posts by Brent Nyitray