Morning Report: Pending home sales rebound in May

Vital Statistics:

Stocks are flattish a the US gets more cases of COVID. Bonds and MBS are flat.

We have a short week, with the markets closed on Friday and SIFMA recommending an early close on Thursday. We will get the FOMC minutes and the jobs report, which could be market-moving.

Freddie Mac reported that delinquencies hit a 2 year high, rising to 0.81% in May from 0.64% in April.

Demand for affordable homes is outpacing the demand for more expensive ones. According to Redfin, affordable home prices rose 5.5%, while luxury homes rose 2%. “Spending so much time at home during quarantine has made a lot of people realize that it might be time to stop renting a cramped apartment in the city and time to start owning their first single-family home,” said Pam Henderson, a Redfin agent in Dallas. “With mortgage rates at record lows and remote work on the rise, some renters are having an epiphany: They could buy a lower-priced home in the suburbs for close to what they’re paying in rent.”

Pending home sales rose 44% in May as the real estate market rebounded. “This has been a spectacular recovery for contract signings, and goes to show the resiliency of American consumers and their evergreen desire for homeownership,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “This bounce back also speaks to how the housing sector could lead the way for a broader economic recovery. More listings are continuously appearing as the economy reopens, helping with inventory choices,” Yun said. “Still, more home construction is needed to counter the persistent underproduction of homes over the past decade.”

Author: Brent Nyitray

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