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Unemployment Rate Drops to 3.7%
After a stellar ADP Jobs Report on Wednesday, the official Jobs Report on Friday from the government was a mixed bag. Here are the highlights— Just 134k new jobs were created last month, less than the 180k expected. The government said Florence had some impact on this number. But, July and August jobs created were…
Home Sales Dropped by 16% Last Month
I reviewed the 7 county MLS sales report for September. The biggest takeaway is why did the number of sold properties drop by 16% from last September? I thought rising interest rates that began with the August Jobs Report on September 7th might cause under contracts to drop as rates rose by ¼% last month.…
“Balance of Power Shifting in Denver’s Housing Market”
This was the top story in the business section of Sunday’s Denver Post. I will highlight a few facts and quotes from the story. According to DMAR stats, our home inventory levels in September were the highest we have seen since the fall of 2013. One the hardest tasks for agents today is convincing sellers…
Why Housing is Slowing Down
The Denver Business Journal had a great story they shared last week from the NY Times about Denver’s real estate market. It was titled, “Housing market slows as prices outpace wages.” As evidence of this are fewer existing homes selling and building permits are dropping nationally. The story said, “Few analysts expect an outright…
“30 Year Mortgage Rates Bust Thru 5%…”
This was the headline in a first page story in the Denver Post on Saturday as interest rates rose another ¼% last week to 5.25% according to Jerry Kaplan EVP at Cherry Creek Mortgage. However, many consumers still think rates are about 4.75% and that’s not true anymore. I know our rates are up ½%…
Why Home Prices Have Increased So Fast
Zillow economist Jeff Tucker wrote a great story on August 1st that I recently read. His story was titled “Home Values Grew Most in Markets With Strictest Land Use Regulations.” He cites in his story of how job growth leads to home price growth; but the level of land use regulations has an even greater…
Financial News Update
The final read on Q2 GDP remained at a solid 4.2% Pending Home Sales Index in August was down 2.3% from a year ago. This year every month has seen this index be slightly less than it was for the same month in 2017. Consumer Confidence hit an all new record high of 138.4 in…
The Future of Interest Rates
The Fed has expected raised short-term rates, the Fed Funds Rate, by ¼% last week to 2.25%. The Prime Rate which affects home equity loans, car loans, and credit cards is now 5.25%. Fed Chair Powell said, “Inflation is low and stable. We don’t see any surprises to the upside. We don’t see that, it’s…
“But, I Don’t Want to Overpay”
This is another objection we hear often. So how do you answer this objection? Same as last week…buy now and wait. I remember thinking this myself 5 years ago when we bought our new home and we got in a bidding war and we had to pay $11,000 over list price which I believed…
How Self-Driving Cars May Impact Real Estate
It’s not just parking garages — the ripple effects of self-driving cars will require the entire real estate industry to undergo a large-scale re-imagination of how it allocates space. Bloomberg’s Noah Smith says faster and easier commutes will shift residential property value from properties in urban centers to those in suburban areas as commuting long…
Being Uninformed is Dangerous
According to Betterment.com 44% of 2,000 Americans surveyed in August thought that the stock market had been flat over the last 10 years. Another 18% thought the stock market was down over the last 10 years. That’s nearly 2/3 of Americans who are uninformed about the stock market. WOW!!! The truth is the S&P…
Personal Income Up Over 5%
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis personal incomes in Colorado rose at annual pace of 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, down slightly from 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal income includes income from wages, owning rentals, owning a business, interest, dividends, and capital gains, as well as government benefits. This measure is the most…
