Leonard BreckenAug 1, 20182 minEnding Housing Boom, Complacency & PlanningIts been increasing clear that the Housing/Construction boom is ending. It's also fairly clear that individuals tied to it as well as business owners alike ...
Leonard BreckenJun 27, 20181 minLeading Housing Indicator FallsThe Mortgage Bankers Association for the 6/22 week reported that Purchase Applications for homes fell on a seasonally adjusted basis 6% from prior week and r...
Leonard BreckenJun 19, 20181 minHousing Good & Bad NewsJust like the overall economy near-term indicators of the housing market appear to be very strong. Housing starts were reported this AM and jumped to a an 1...
Leonard BreckenMay 25, 20182 minRealestate: Better Prepared for Downturn?I recently posed this question to a few executives and my conclusion is maybe. Every down turn is different, although it may share similarities with those i...
Leonard BreckenMay 23, 20181 minMortgage Purchase Index Declines For week ending 5/18, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Mortgage Purchase Index declined for the second week in a row falling 2% week to week. As re...
Leonard BreckenMay 16, 20181 minAre We At A Real-Estate Peak?Recently I attended a networking event where the top executives at various commercial real-estate firms attended. As one executive put it: "we are in extra...
Leonard BreckenMay 9, 20181 minMBA Housing Applications for 5/4 WeekThe Mortgage Bankers Association reported Mortgage Applications for the week ending 5/4 for single family homes fell slightly at 0.2% from 2% from the prior w...
Leonard BreckenMay 1, 20181 minConstruction Spending DropsIn yet another sign of a slowing housing market nationwide, the Commerce Department reported Construction spending FELL 1.7% in March after rising 1% in the ...
Leonard BreckenApr 27, 20181 minWage Growth & Offsets in HousingOne of the more interesting things revealed this AM is that acceleration in Wage growth (see Chart courtesy of Bloomberg) in 1Q18. Both measures of Employme...
Leonard BreckenApr 23, 20181 minExisting Home SalesThe National Association of Realtors announced March existing home sales which beat beat Bloomberg expectations rising slightly instead of falling from the p...
Leonard BreckenApr 17, 20181 minHousing Update 4-18Housing Starts for March was mixed in that we saw Multi-family units rebound sharply after a period of weakness vs Single family homes which weaken considera...
Leonard BreckenApr 11, 20181 minMortgage Applications Confirm WeaknessMORTGAGE APPS CONFIRM WEAKNESS. The Mortgage Bankers Association for the 4/6 week reported that applications for mortgage to purchase homes declined 2% from...
Leonard BreckenMar 28, 20181 minMortgage Applications RiseThe Mortgage Bankers Associations reported for the 3/23 week that applications for mortgages to purchase homes rose 3% after rising 1% in the prior week. Th...
Leonard BreckenMar 23, 20181 minNew Home SalesHousing Data for February continues to show signs of stabilizing as long-term mortgage interest rates stabilize. According to the US Census Bureau New Homes...
Leonard BreckenMar 21, 20181 minLatest Housing Data PointsExisting Home Sales (National Association of Realtors) for February rebounded growing 3% vs last month vs a drop of 3.2% in prior period and rose 1% year ove...
Leonard BreckenMar 16, 20181 minHousing Starts & Permits FallAfter seeing some interest rate relief in the past week, but still up considerably from last year still near 4 year highs Housing Starts and Permits missed e...
Leonard BreckenFeb 23, 20181 minReal Interest RatesMost know interest rate remain low, but HOW low maybe not. Despite 5 0.25% interest rate increases from Federal Reserve, the real Fed Funds Rate (The stated...
Leonard BreckenFeb 21, 20181 minExisting Home Sales FallThe National Association of Realtors reported Existing Home Sales for January FELL 4.8% year over year (vs a rise of 1.1 last month) and 3.2% vs prior month....
Leonard BreckenFeb 17, 20181 minRising RatesTreasury rates once again rose today to cycle highs...those in interest rate sensitive business sectors (ie real-estate/construction) should be risk managing...
Leonard BreckenFeb 17, 20181 minHousing Demand vs RatesX marks the spot where rates are now and the corresponding housing indices. It clearly shows demand was 15-20% lower back in 2014 when rates were as high as...
