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Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

1. A Few Wild Stats from Realtor Confidence Index 🤯

2. Multi-family starts hit a record high 🏗️

By the way, this article on Fed Coffee Corner is the most clicked link in this newsletter, you should check it out if you are interested.

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Nuwave Rates Today 📈

A Few Wild Stats from Realtor Confidence Index 🤯

The May Realtor Confidence Index Survey was released last week by NAR. This gathers on-the-ground information from Realtors based on their transactions in the month.

I will say one thing - this market continues to surprise me.

Here are the most interesting stats:

• Time on market declined to 18 days (from 22 days)

• 74% of properties sold in less than one month.

• Homes listed received an average of 3.3 offers

• First-time homebuyers represented 28% of buyers

• 25% of buyers waived the inspection contingency

• 23% of buyers waived the appraisal contingency

With the lack of inventory we continue to discuss, it is absolutely a seller’s market for those who choose to list their house.

Show these stats to potential sellers considering listing their homes. The demand is out there, even with elevated interest rates.

Multi-family starts hit record high 🏗️

After two years of contraction, homebuilders are reentering the market in a major way. Homebuilders are typically the leading indicators into and out of major housing swings.

Privately-owned housing starts in May were up 21.7% from April. Single-family housing starts were up 18.5%.

New construction is reemerging in the market as material costs fall and logistics constraints ease. Limited availability in the resale market is also pushing many potential buyers toward new construction, driving demand for the product.

Bloomberg suggests that new construction could be adding to GDP for the first time since 2021. This would add a much-needed lift in the housing sector.

You can expect this trend to continue. If limited inventory is the theme of the 2020s, a long-term solution is to build out of the problem. While this takes time, this data suggests we are in the first innings of a building boom.

The Cul-de-Sac

Economic Calendar

1. Tuesday 6.27 - Case Schiller, FHFA, New Home Sales Indexes

2. Friday 6.30 - PCE - Fed’s favorite measure of inflation

Thanks for reading - that is all we have for today 😎

Please forward this to your friends and colleagues if you found it valuable.

— Michael F DiLucchio