Real Estate

Markets Wobbling As Fed Normalization Hits $30 Billion Per Month In Q2

The markets were wobbling again this week, but regardless, the Fed normalization will hit $30 billion per month in April. I must confess that I get a good laugh when I hear market apologists and real estate pundits talk up the magnificent economy and housing market we are blessed with in Texas. Yes, things are pretty good here in the Lone Star State, and the DFW housing market still seems to have legs. Unfortunately the real economy is not nearly as robust as many talking heads and sell-side practitioners would have you believe. The March employment [...]

Lennar Homes Posts Solid First Quarter After CalAtlantic Acquisition

Lennar Homes delivered 6765 homes during the first quarter of 2018, the first fiscal quarter capturing a portion of the CalAtlantic acquisition. New orders at Lennar jumped 30% with a dollar value of $3.4 billion. After absorbing CalAtlantic Homes, the combined company now boasts a backlog of 17,566 homes with a combined value of $7.7 billion. Contributing to that huge backlog were 7190 homes from CalAtlantic worth an estimated $3.6 billion. Lennar is now America's largest home builder looking at the total dollar value of homes. We'll have to wait for 2nd quarter results fully [...]

U.S. New Home Sales Flat In February

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for February at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000. This was slightly below expectations, but January was revised significantly higher so month over month the change was negligible. Compared to last year new home sales in February were up less than one percent. The median price for a new home contracted (signing of contract, not actually closing) was $326,800 while the average price of a new home last month posted at $376,700. The supply of new homes stood at 5.9 months in February, near the top of [...]

Fed Orders China Bank To Tighten Anti-Money Laundering Protections

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday faulted the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd for its weak anti-money laundering protections, ordering ICBC to tighten its screening of illicit money. Real estate money laundering from China into global property markets has been an ongoing theme for several years, and by all accounts the volumes of money being cleaned are still substantial. Last month the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) introduced new guidelines to replace its "Foreign Income Program". CIBC decided it should obtain income verification for foreign buyers gobbling up overpriced Canadian homes. Many of [...]

New Home Sales Softer In January At 593,000 (SAAR)

New home sales came in softer than expected for January, posting at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000. The Census Bureau numbers were 7.8 percent lower than Decembers revised numbers and 1 percent below January 2017. The median price of a new home contracted in January was $323,000, while the average price of a new home stood at $382,700. There was 6.1 months of supply for new homes in January, a gain of almost a full month compared to this time a year ago. As interest rates have spike during the past two months, [...]

DC’s Fiscal Lunacy, Fed’s Unwind Creating Waves For Housing Market

The fiscal lunacy in Washington and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet unwind are creating waves for the housing market. 2018 was starting off on the right foot with a noticeable, yet moderate rise in bond yields. As we received more concrete evidence that the Federal Reserve was actually unwinding some of that gigantic balance sheet, volatility erupted pretty quickly. After a 12oo point plunge in the Dow, some savvy mortgage borrowers probably took advantage of the temporary fear in the market to score a decent mortgage rate. It was a small window of opportunity, because [...]

Fed Adds $705 Million Agency MBS With Un-Unwind

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet unwind was MIA again this week as agency MBS increased with latest System Open Market Account Account Holdings report. SOMA January 24 holdings reflected a magical $705 million INCREASE in agency mortgage-backed securities. This is rather strange behavior indeed for what was advertised as a balance sheet "unwind". It's looking more like the un-unwind, at least for the past two weeks. Much like the crony capitalist elite dining in Davos, the fine purveyors of bogus economic theory inhabiting the halls of the Marriner Eccles building are probably a tad bit [...]

New Home Sales Get Reality Check In December As Median Prices Hit Record High

Following yesterday's relatively weak existing home sales numbers from NAR, December new home sales posted at at seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000. That was a 9 percent drop from the euphoric November new home sales numbers, which were revised sharply lower along with October numbers. The median price of a new home in the U.S. hit a new high of $335,400 while the average price rose to $398,900. Existing home sales continue to suffer from an acute shortage of inventory and inflated prices. New home sales, while still growing, are even more expensive compared [...]

Balance Sheet Unwind Hits Reverse As Interest Paid To Banks Soars

True to form, the Federal Reserve is taking a rather cautious approach to their balance sheet unwind with this week's System Open Market Account (SOMA) report showing an INCREASE of a $million in the Fed's bloated account holdings. So much for unwinding!  If you were wondering how equity markets could be marching to new highs every week in the face of tepid organic economic growth, you have your answer. Today's inflation numbers show that the Federal Reserve still can't seem to generate any inflation in the economy, with core inflation rising only 1.8% year-over-year. Home [...]

Another Fed “Senior Economist” Demonstrates Willful Ignorance

The Federal Reserve and its army of economists continue to demonstrate willful ignorance of their failed policies. This week it was the Kansas City Fed's Jordan Rappaport who penned another dose of misdirection on the housing market. Rappaport's piece, "Pent-Up Demand and Continuing Price Increases: The Outlook for Housing in 2018" is yet another example of how the Federal Reserve touts itself as a champion of real economy while they continue toe the line for Wall Street and wealthy investors. In the usual captured culture of Fed Mr. Rappaport lays out the theme of continued [...]

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