Fed said cuts ahead
No more reading between the lines! The notes from the Fed's last meeting were explicit: "The vast majority [of Fed members] observed that, if the data continued to come in about as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next [Sept 18] meeting." Note: since this meeting, the unemployment rate jumped to 4.3% and July CPI came in lower than expected. [Source: Federal Reserve]
Looking up from down low
July existing home sales rose 1.3% month-over-month, breaking a 4-month losing streak. But we're still selling homes at an annualized pace comparable to the mid-1990s! The good news is that with mortgage rates continuing to fall in August, there is a good chance that transaction volumes will continue to recover. The median sales price in July dropped 1.0% MoM to $423K. [Source: NAR]
Less competition
Competition levels always drop this time of year: fewer multiple offers, smaller % of homes selling above their list price, smaller % of homes selling in <1 month. The fall/winter has always been a good time to look for deals from motivated sellers. But with average mortgage rates down 1% in the last 12 months, it's particularly attractive this year. [Source: NAR]
