ECONOMIC NEWS
Barron’s
America’s housing crisis isn’t going away—Even with rate cuts and help from D.C.
Today’s housing market is either a bounty of riches or a landscape of despair, depending on your side of the fence. (Subscription may be required.)
MarketWatch
A record share of Americans expect mortgage rates to fall over the next 12 months. How low will rates go?
A record share of American consumers expect mortgage rates to fall over the next 12 months, a new survey by Fannie Mae found. And they’re probably right, two economists said. (Subscription may be required.)
Fox Business
Mortgage rates fall to lowest level in over 18 months
Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in over a year and a half, but elevated rates and high home prices are still keeping would-be buyers and sellers out of the housing market. Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.20%, down from the 6.35% reading of the past two weeks. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.18% a year ago.
The Wall Street Journal
Sunbelt manufacturing boom lures property investors
Investors are planning to acquire or build warehouses, hotels, office buildings and apartments near coming factories. (Subscription may be required.)
MarketWatch
Jittery home buyers want the election to be over before they make their move
Fall is traditionally a slower time for home sales, but this year, buyers seem extra wary. Uncertainty over the presidential election, questions over the direction of the U.S. economy, and confusion about new rules for home-buying brought on by the National Association of Realtors legal settlement have some buyers hitting the brakes on what could potentially be the biggest purchase they will ever make. (Subscription may be required.)
MarketWatch
Cooling consumer inflation data clears path for lower mortgage rates
With the Federal Reserve widely expected to cut interest rates next week, the housing market is saying goodbye to 7% mortgage rates and rock-bottom home sales. (Subscription may be required.)
The Washington Post
Rent, utilities rose faster than home values for first time in a decade
The cost of rent and utilities in 2023 rose faster than home values for the first time in a decade, the latest sign that a distorted housing market has pushed more people into renting. (Subscription may be required.)
The New York Times
The American Dream without a house? Believe it
As housing costs soar, younger adults are trying to reimagine prosperity — without the white picket fence. (Subscription may be required.)
HOUSING POLICY
Bankrate.com
Experts: How Harris and Trump’s plans could impact housing affordability
The housing market has an affordability problem. During the pandemic, historically-low mortgage rates boosted demand, driving home prices to record highs. After decades of underbuilding, construction labor shortages and rising material costs, the supply shortage continues to push homeownership further out of reach.
USA Today
How do Harris and Trump propose to make housing affordable?
As affordable housing stays stubbornly out of reach for renters and buyers alike, the candidates for president are making the issue part of their campaigns. (Subscription may be required.)
Bloomberg
Housing’s worst crisis in decades reverberates through 2024 race
The Democratic mayor of Phoenix recently declared the US housing crisis an “all hands on deck challenge.” Her counterpart in Columbus, Ohio, lamented its toll on “every rung of the socioeconomic ladder.” The mayor of New York City bluntly proclaimed, “We have to get in the business of building housing.” (Subscription may be required.)
The Wall Street Journal
How not to make housing affordable
Kamala Harris is promising to make housing more affordable, and her answers so far are more subsidies, rent control and national intervention in local zoning. She’d be wiser to look at how New York City’s interventions have made housing more costly. (Subscription may be required.)
The Wall Street Journal
How to break — and fix — housing markets
Are you ready to spend $1,000,000 for a starter home in middle America? That’s where the market is headed if current trends continue. (Subscription may be required.)
PRODUCT NEWS
Simpson Strong-Tie
Powerful Software for Building Construction Documents.
LotSpec gives you a smart way to optimize the building process. You can quickly manage design options in 2D or 3D workflows, generate construction documents, and automate the task of creating both master plan and lot-specific sets. Turn hours of work into minutes with LotSpec.
RENT CONTROL
The Wall Street Journal
Rent control is a great destroyer
Rent control is in vogue among Democrats. President Biden in July proposed capping landlords’ annual increases at 5%, and Kamala Harris vowed to “take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases.” Those ideas are destructive, and Argentina offers the latest proof. (Subscription may be required.)
WOTUS
Inside EPA
Industry faces significant uncertainty amid lack of EPA WOTUS guidance
Farm and building industry groups are telling House lawmakers of widespread uncertainty as a result of EPA’s failure to issue guidance implementing its amended “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule and are urging Congress to codify the high court’s Sackett decision that narrowed WOTUS’ reach and clearly define terms laid out in the ruling. (Subscription may be required.)
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