New home sales jumped nearly five-percent in February from the previous month according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. February’s 4.9% increase was also up .06% year-over-year. The median sales price for new homes reached $315,300 and the average sales price was $379,600.
TEMPERING TREND
Existing home prices increased 4% year-over-year according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index (HPI). The February HPI showed home price growth trending slower in 2019 than the same time period last year. Idaho had the highest annual home price change with a 10.2% increase, while North Dakota suffered a 1.7% decrease from the previous year.
ANXIOUS INVESTORS
Mortgage interest rates experienced the sharpest one-week drop in over a decade according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending March 28. Freddie analysts cited investor anxiety driven by economic concerns expressed by the Federal Reserve.
DECLINING DOMICILES
Home prices in the swankiest parts of the most expensive cities are declining. Fewer millionaires are being minted each year and wealth creation is slowing. Also, stronger capital controls have made it harder to ferry money out of China. Transaction taxes on foreigners have hurt; increased supply is also to blame. Also, trophy properties are progressively behaving like a global asset class and increasingly rise and fall in unison.
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