by Calculated Risk on 9/13/2024 07:23:00 PM

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios.

For deaths, I'm currently using 4 weeks ago for "now", since the most recent three weeks will be revised significantly.

Note: "Effective May 1, 2024, hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, hospital capacity, or hospital occupancy data."  So I'm no longer tracking hospitalizations.

COVID Metrics
	Now	Week Ago	Goal
Deaths per Week	998	998	≤3501
1my goals to stop weekly posts, 🚩 Increasing number weekly for Deaths ✅ Goal met.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the weekly (columns) number of deaths reported.

Although weekly deaths met the original goal to stop posting, I'm going to continue to post now that deaths are above the goal again.  

Weekly deaths are more than triple the low of 302 in early June.

And here is a graph I'm following concerning COVID in wastewater as of September 13th:

This appears to be a leading indicator for COVID hospitalizations and deaths.

COVID in wastewater is mostly moving sideways.

by Calculated Risk on 9/13/2024 03:13:00 PM

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in August

A brief excerpt:

NOTE: The tables for active listings, new listings and closed sales all include a comparison to August 2019 for each local market (some 2019 data is not available).

This is the second look at several early reporting local markets in August. I’m tracking over 40 local housing markets in the US. Some of the 40 markets are states, and some are metropolitan areas. I’ll update these tables throughout the month as additional data is released.

Closed sales in August were mostly for contracts signed in June and July when 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.92% and 6.85%, respectively (Freddie Mac PMMS).
...
In August, sales in these markets were down 5.3% YoY. Last month, in July, these same markets were up 4.1% year-over-year Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA).

Important: There was one fewer working day in August 2024 compared to August 2023 (22 vs 23), so seasonally adjusted sales up be up more than NSA sales. Last month, in July 2024, there were two more working days compared to July 2023 (22 vs 20), so seasonally adjusted sales were lower than the NSA data suggests.
...
This was just a several early reporting markets. Many more local markets to come!

There is much more in the article.

by Calculated Risk on 9/13/2024 09:16:00 AM

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-September 2024

A brief excerpt:

This 2-part overview for mid-September provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always focus first on inventory, since inventory usually tells the tale!
...
Here is a graph of new listing from Realtor.com’s August 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report showing new listings were down 0.9% year-over-year in August. New listings are still well below pre-pandemic levels. From Realtor.com:

Just like buyers, sellers pulled back this August as newly listed homes were 0.9% below last year’s levels and a reversal from July’s 8.4% gain. This breaks a nine-month streak of increasing listing activity. We think the sharp decrease in mortgage rates seen in mid-August could lead to an increase in listings in the coming months as lower rates begin to entice the marginal homeowner to sell.

Note the seasonality for new listings. December and January are seasonally the weakest months of the year for new listings, followed by February and November. New listings will be up year-over-year in 2024, but still below normal levels.

There are always people that need to sell due to the so-called 3 D’s: Death, Divorce, and Disease. Also, in certain times, some homeowners will need to sell due to unemployment or excessive debt. Neither is much of an issue right now, except possibly in Florida with very expensive homeowner’s insurance (due to impacts from climate change), and special assessments for condo owners due to deferred maintenance.

And there are homeowners who want to sell for a number of reasons: upsizing (more babies), downsizing, moving for a new job, or moving to a nicer home or location (move-up buyers). It is some of the “want to sell” group that has been locked in with the golden handcuffs over the last couple of years, since it is financially difficult to move when your current mortgage rate is around 3%, and your new mortgage rate will around 6.15%.

But time is a factor for this “want to sell” group, and eventually some of them will take the plunge. And early data suggests new listings will be up year-over-year in September.

There is much more in the article.

by Calculated Risk on 9/13/2024 08:17:00 AM

From BofA:

Since our last weekly publication, our 3Q GDP tracking estimate remains unchanged at 2.3% q/q saar while our 2Q GDP tracking estimate went down two-tenths to 2.8% q/q saar. [Sept 13th estimate]
emphasis added

From Goldman:

We lowered our Q3 GDP forecast to 2.5% (qoq ar) [Sept 10th estimate]

And from the Atlanta Fed: GDPNow

The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the third quarter of 2024 is 2.5 percent on September 9, up from 2.1 percent on September 4. [Sept 9th estimate]

by Calculated Risk on 9/12/2024 07:06:00 PM

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios.

Friday:
• At 10:00 AM: University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Preliminary for September).

by Calculated Risk on 9/12/2024 04:30:00 PM

What this means: On a weekly basis, Realtor.com reports the year-over-year change in active inventory and new listings. On a monthly basis, they report total inventory. For August, Realtor.com reported inventory was up 5.8% YoY, but still down 26.4% compared to the 2017 to 2019 same month levels. 

 Now - on a weekly basis - inventory is up 33.4% YoY.

Realtor.com has monthly and weekly data on the existing home market. Here is their weekly report: Weekly Housing Trends View—Data for Week Ending Sept. 7, 2024

• Active inventory increased, with for-sale homes 33.4% above year-ago levels

For the 44th consecutive week dating to November 2023, the number of listings for sale has grown year over year, and this week continues a string of growth rates in the mid-30% range that started in April. This is a slight decrease from last week’s gain of 34.6%.

• New listings—a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale—ticked higher this week by 9.9% from one year ago

The recent easing of mortgage rates has encouraged many sellers to return to the market, with the year-over-year growth in new listings experiencing its largest increase in a month. What’s more, the rate was nearly double last week’s gain of 5.5%.

Here is a graph of the year-over-year change in inventory according to realtor.com. 

Inventory was up year-over-year for the 44th consecutive week.  

However, inventory is still historically low.

New listings remain below typical pre-pandemic levels.

by Calculated Risk on 9/12/2024 12:58:00 PM

Today, in the Real Estate Newsletter: The "Home ATM" Mostly Closed in Q2

Excerpt:

During the housing bubble, many homeowners borrowed heavily against their perceived home equity - jokingly calling it the “Home ATM” - and this contributed to the subsequent housing bust, since so many homeowners had negative equity in their homes when house prices declined.

Unlike during the housing bubble, very few homeowners have negative equity now. From CoreLogic this morning: Homeowner Equity Insights – Q2 2024

The report shows that U.S. homeowners with mortgages (which account for roughly 62% of all properties) saw home equity increase by 8.0% year over year, representing a collective gain of $1.3 trillion and an average increase of $25,000 per borrower since the second quarter of 2023, bringing the total net homeowner equity to over $17.6 trillion in the second quarter of 2024. …

From the second quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2024, the total number of mortgaged homes in negative equity decreased by 4.2%, to 1 million homes or 1.7% of all mortgaged properties. 

Here is the quarterly increase in mortgage debt from the Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts of the United States - Z.1 (sometimes called the Flow of Funds report) released today. In the mid ‘00s, there was a large increase in mortgage debt associated with the housing bubble.

In Q2 2024, mortgage debt increased $99 billion, up from $31 billion in Q1, and down from the cycle peak of $467 billion in Q2 2021. Note the almost 7 years of declining mortgage debt as distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) wiped out a significant amount of debt.

However, some of this debt is being used to increase the housing stock (purchase new homes), so this isn’t all Mortgage Equity Withdrawal (MEW).

There is much more in the article. You can subscribe at https://calculatedrisk.substack.com/.

by Calculated Risk on 9/12/2024 12:29:00 PM

The Federal Reserve released the Q2 2024 Flow of Funds report today: Financial Accounts of the United States.

The net worth of households and nonprofits rose to $163.8 trillion during the second quarter of 2024. The value of directly and indirectly held corporate equities increased $0.7 trillion and the value of real estate increased $1.8 trillion.
...
Household debt increased 3.2 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter of 2024. Consumer credit grew at an annual rate of 1.6 percent, while mortgage debt (excluding charge-offs) grew at an annual rate of 3 percent.

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows Households and Nonprofit net worth as a percent of GDP.  

Net worth increased $2.8 trillion in Q2 to an all-time high.  As a percent of GDP, net worth increased in Q2, but is below the peak in 2021.

This includes real estate and financial assets (stocks, bonds, pension reserves, deposits, etc.) net of liabilities (mostly mortgages). Note that this does NOT include public debt obligations.

The second graph shows homeowner percent equity since 1952.

Household percent equity (as measured by the Fed) collapsed when house prices fell sharply in 2007 and 2008.

In Q2 2024, household percent equity (of household real estate) was at 74.9% - up from 74.2% in Q1, 2024. This is close to the highest percent equity since the 1960s.

Note: This includes households with no mortgage debt.

The third graph shows household real estate assets and mortgage debt as a percent of GDP.  

Mortgage debt increased by $98 billion in Q2.

Mortgage debt is up $2.34 trillion from the peak during the housing bubble, but, as a percent of GDP is at 45.9% - down from Q1 - and down from a peak of 73.3% of GDP during the housing bust.

The value of real estate, as a percent of GDP, increased in Q2 - but is below the peak in Q2 2022, and is well above the average of the last 30 years.

by Calculated Risk on 9/12/2024 09:51:00 AM

From CoreLogic: CoreLogic: US Homeowners See Equity Gains Continue to Climb, but at a Slower Pace in Q2

CoreLogic® ... today released the Homeowner Equity Report (HER) for the second quarter of 2024. The report shows that U.S. homeowners with mortgages (which account for roughly 62% of all properties) saw home equity increase by 8.0% year over year, representing a collective gain of $1.3 trillion and an average increase of $25,000 per borrower since the second quarter of 2023, bringing the total net homeowner equity to over $17.6 trillion in the second quarter of 2024.
...
“Persistent home price growth has continued to fuel home equity gains for existing homeowners who now average about $315,000 in equity and almost $129,000 more than at the onset of the pandemic.” said Dr. Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The substantial accumulation of home equity for existing homeowners has served as an important financial buffer in times of uncertainty, as some homeowners facing higher costs of homeowners’ insurance and taxes and have had to tap into their equity to prevent falling behind on their mortgages. As a result, mortgage delinquency rates have remained at historical lows despite the inflationary pressures and higher costs of almost all non-mortgage homeownership-related expenses.”

Negative equity, also referred to as underwater or upside-down mortgages, applies to borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth.

Negative equity has continued to see a recent decrease across the country. Las Vegas and Los Angeles are the least challenged, with negative equity shares of all mortgages at 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

As of the second quarter of 2024, the quarterly and annual changes in negative equity were:


Click on graph for larger image.

• Quarterly change: From the second quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2024, the total number of mortgaged homes in negative equity decreased by 4.2%, to 1 million homes or 1.7% of all mortgaged properties.

• Annual change: From the second quarter of 2023 to the first second of 2024, the total number of homes in negative equity decreased by 15%, to 1.1 million homes or 2.0% of all mortgaged properties.

emphasis added

The above graph is from CoreLogic and compares Q2 2024 to Q1 2024 equity distribution by LTV. There are still a few properties with LTV over 125%.  But most homeowners have a significant amount of equity.  

This is a very different picture than at the start of the housing bust when many homeowners had little equity.

The second graph is from a 2011 CoreLogic report and shows a large number of homeowners with negative equity - even as house prices were nearing a bottom!

On a year-over-year basis, the number of homeowners with negative equity has decreased to 1.11 million.

by Calculated Risk on 9/12/2024 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending September 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 227,000 to 228,000. The 4-week moving average was 230,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 230,000 to 230,250.
emphasis added

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 230,750.

The previous week was revised up.

Weekly claims were above the consensus forecast.