Real Estate News 07/26/2024

Today’s News Synopsis:

Homebuyers are getting a bit of relief as affordability conditions improved for the second consecutive month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

In The News:

MPmag – “Mortgage payments improve, boosting homebuyer affordability“ (07-25-24)

“MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI), which tracks how new monthly mortgage payments vary relative to income, also dropped 2.4% to 170.9 in June. Despite a 0.2% increase in payments, strong earnings growth, which rose 3.9% compared to a year ago, means the PAPI is down 3.6% on an annual basis.”

Realtor.com –  “President Biden Calls on Congress To Cap Rent Hikes at 5%“ (07-16-2024)

“President Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass legislation that would cap annual rent increases in apartments owned by large landlords at 5% annually.”

Yahoo Finance –  “Why small caps are showing up the tech titans: Morning Brief” (07-18-24)

“Though small caps stumbled Wednesday, in the five prior trading days, the Russell 2000 (^RUT) rocketed an eyewatering 12% as the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) barely remained green. It was a surge that had never been surpassed by any of the major US stock indexes, according to Bespoke.”

NAR – “June 2024 Existing-Home Sales Drop as Median Price Hits $426,900” (07-24-2023)

“NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity declined 5.4% from May 2024 to June. June existing-home sales reached a 3.89 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. June sales of existing homes declined 5.4% from June 2023.”

Yahoo Finance – “June 2024 Existing-Home Sales Drop as Median Price Hits $426,900” (07-24-2023)

“The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out the cost of food and energy and is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose 2.6% over the prior year in June; above economists’ estimate of a 2.5% increase and unchanged from the month prior. Still, the print marked the slowest annual increase for core PCE in more than three years.”