In addition to the quandary of ongoing housing pricing increases and affordability concerns in many U.S. markets, the first quarter of 2019 saw a fair share of adverse weather as well. Sales totals were mixed across the nation and sometimes dependent on what was a persistent wintry mix, especially in the Great Plains, Midwest and Northeast. Meanwhile, new listings and total homes for sale have been trending lower in year-over-year comparisons in many areas, and last year’s marks were already quite low.
New Listings increased 7.3 percent for Single Family homes but decreased 9.0 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes. Pending sales increased 0.6 percent for Single Family homes and 1.6 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes. Inventory decreased 0.4 percent for Single Family homes and 11.8 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes.
The Federal Reserve recently announced that no further interest rate hikes are planned for 2019. Given the fact that the federal funds rate has increased nine times over the past three years, this was welcome news for U.S. consumers, which carry an approximate average of $6,000 in revolving credit card debt per household. Fed actions also tend to affect mortgage rates, so the pause in rate hikes was also welcome news to the residential real estate industry.
