As a benefit to the homeowners and homebuyers using our platform, I share a regular summary of housing market news and data driving our decision-making here at Bluebid Homes. We call it the Bluebid Buzz.
Disclaimer: Views expressed here are my own and not the views of my coworkers or anyone else. I am not a financial advisor, investment advisor, or housing expert. I’m just a guy who cares deeply about saving the American Dream of homeownership.
Here's the buzz for the week of April 27, 2023…
This week saw modest inventory improvements, demand defying an uptick in mortgage rates, and new construction accounting for a growing share of for-sale inventory.
HousingWire reports that while US inventory finally rose last week from 405,468 to 414,010, new listings of 59,926 are slightly below the same week in 2022 (60,351) and 2021 (69,025). For historical perspective, the same week in 2016 saw 95,131 new listings.
While overall inventory remains severely challenged, Realtor.com observes new construction sales in March rose 9.6% on a monthly basis and represent the highest level since March 2022. While new construction is making up a growing share of for-sale inventory, more than 75% of new housing stock is still under construction.
CNBC shares that applications for mortgages rose 5% last week, even as average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.55% from 6.43%. This is a break from the recent trend of mortgage demand tracking alongside weekly rate fluctuations.
Redfin takes a look at homeownership broken down by generation and finds Gen Zers tracking ahead of their parents while Millennials track behind.
Bankrate says that while insufficient inventory may be obvious to house-hunters, it's a complex problem with no obvious solution. They cite contributions from rising materials costs, supply chain issues, pandemic-fueled labor shortages, the prevalence of institutional investors, insufficient construction since the Great Recession, and the current economic environment.
Our team has been hard at work building differentiated supply on our platform, and we recently shipped a number of features that make privately exploring off-market deals even easier for our community of users. Owners and buyers can take advantage of direct messages, enhanced alerts, and Bluebids for more than 1,000 homes that you won't find anywhere else. What's a Bluebid? It's a friendly, private indication of interest expressed as the dollar amount a buyer may pay for an off-market home that meets their requirements.
Have a great week.
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