Market Intel

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.67% for the week of March 31, up from 4.42% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.18%. “Mortgage rates continued moving upward in the face of rapidly rising inflation as well as the prospect of strong demand for goods and ongoing supply disruptions,” says Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Purchase demand has

The housing market is expected to return to pre-pandemic, 2019 norms — at least in terms of housing inventory and the share of purchases made by first-time home buyers — by 2024 according to a panel of housing market experts polled in the latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. The dwindling supply of homes for sale has been a key driver of the recent explosion in U.S. home values, which have risen 32% in the past

Maricopa County added more new residents than any county in the nation last year, continuing a trend of Maricopa County growth that local officials call a credit to the region’s opportunities and affordability. The Census Bureau said Thursday that the county added 58,246 people from July 2020 to July 2021, topping Texas’ Collin County and boosting Maricopa County’s estimated county population to just under 4.5 million. The Phoenix region as a whole saw the second-biggest

Maintaining a trend from recent years, the Phoenix metro climbed three spots to crack the top five on the Milken Institute’s prestigious 2022 Best-Performing Cities list, which ranks cities on a variety of metrics, including job creation, wage growth, and output growth. Phoenix landed at No. 4 in the rankings, which the Santa Monica, California-based economic research nonprofit has produced since 1999. That’s part of a steady climb for Arizona’s capital, up from No. 7 in

CBRE has released a cap rate survey for H2 2022. The report focuses largely on national trends, but certain markets – including Phoenix and Greater Los Angeles – are highlighted throughout. Industrial assets are hot and arguably efficiently priced, as the significant growth of e-commerce has elevated property values in the logistics hubs best positioned to benefit. There is little concern about the burgeoning development pipeline. This is exemplified by very low cap rates in Riverside, Calif. and Phoenix. Supply-constrained port markets such

Aspiring home buyers may have watched as mortgage rates in recent months rose (though to be fair they are still near historic lows — see the lowest rates you may qualify for here), as did home prices. And it all begs the question: What will happen to the housing market in 2022? MarketWatch Picks dug into the latest predictions and asked pros to share their thoughts. Prediction 1: Mortgage interest rates will rise We’ve already seen

When the pandemic struck two years ago, the Federal Reserve used nearly every lever at its disposal to combat the COVID-19 recession. That included cutting its benchmark interest rate to zero. Lower interest rates incentivized businesses to invest and borrow cheap money. It also encouraged buyers—enticed by record low mortgage rates—to jump into the housing market. That’s all behind us now. The Federal Reserve has moved its focus from helping the economy recover to getting inflation under control. Last week,

There’s no doubt multifamily design has changed since the pandemic. Renters want more square footage—at lower price points—and they are willing to relocate for both. Increasingly they are opting for single-family rentals instead of apartments. During “Multifamily Product, Unit and Amenity Trends,” a session moderated by Walter Hughes, vice president & chief innovation officer, Humphreys and Partners Architects at NAHB‘s International Builders’ Show in Orlando, panelists discussed the features shaping successful multifamily development in 2022 and beyond. New

A bill to decrease Arizona’s commercial property tax assessment ratio to 15% over the next five years would achieve a goal set decades ago by the Citizen’s Finance Review Commission and others if it becomes law. Senate Bill 1093, sponsored by state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, would continue the scheduled assessment ratio decrease under last year’s SB 1108, which called for a gradual reduction from 18% to 16%, but lower it an additional percentage point

New rental data shows affordability issues are on the rise, as Americans spent 30% of their monthly budgets on rent in February on average, according to the Realtor.com® Monthly Rental Report released today. And rent affordability is even more dire in Phoenix, where the average person spends 34.7% of their income on rent. February rents accounted for an even higher portion of household incomes in 14 of the 50 largest U.S. markets, with the list of least