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QUOTE OF THE WEEK... "If at first you don't succeed, blame your
parents." --Marcelene Cox, American writer
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE ... People were certainly looking at where to place the blame for February's 7.1% drop in Existing Home Sales, to a 5.08 million annual rate. Winter storms in the Northeast did slow down contract signings in January, which lowered February closings. More importantly, housing data can be volatile, month to month. So thank goodness the broader trend in Existing Home Sales keeps going up. The past six months have seen an average 5.27 million annual rate, increasing to 5.33 million the last three months, with sales up 2.2% over last year. Supply is tight, but new homes are going up at the fastest pace since 2007.
Best of all, people are buying those new homes. February saw New Home Sales move up 2.0% for the month, to a 512,000 annual rate, the fourth increase in the last five months. Analysts are putting this to employment gains and a pickup in wage growth, making buying a home within the reach of more people. Buyers have shifted slightly to newly built condos, which aren't counted in the New Home Sales report. The inventory of new single-family homes grew by 4,000 in the month, but is still very low by historical standards. Finally, the FHFA index of homes bought with conforming mortgages was up 0.5% in January and up 6.0% versus a year ago.
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Grow your network strategically. Decide who you want to meet and why. Then determine how you're going to do it, and what you'll say when you first meet them.
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE ... People were certainly looking at where to place the blame for February's 7.1% drop in Existing Home Sales, to a 5.08 million annual rate. Winter storms in the Northeast did slow down contract signings in January, which lowered February closings. More importantly, housing data can be volatile, month to month. So thank goodness the broader trend in Existing Home Sales keeps going up. The past six months have seen an average 5.27 million annual rate, increasing to 5.33 million the last three months, with sales up 2.2% over last year. Supply is tight, but new homes are going up at the fastest pace since 2007.
Best of all, people are buying those new homes. February saw New Home Sales move up 2.0% for the month, to a 512,000 annual rate, the fourth increase in the last five months. Analysts are putting this to employment gains and a pickup in wage growth, making buying a home within the reach of more people. Buyers have shifted slightly to newly built condos, which aren't counted in the New Home Sales report. The inventory of new single-family homes grew by 4,000 in the month, but is still very low by historical standards. Finally, the FHFA index of homes bought with conforming mortgages was up 0.5% in January and up 6.0% versus a year ago.
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Grow your network strategically. Decide who you want to meet and why. Then determine how you're going to do it, and what you'll say when you first meet them.
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