MBA Newslinks Archive

“Instead of getting married or starting a family in their early to mid-twenties as was the norm in past decades, many are waiting until they are established in their careers. And the typical career trajectory has fundamentally changed since the 1960s as well–rather than climbing a corporate ladder, many are choosing to hop from one role or function to the next, often requiring a move to a new location.” –Sarah Mikhitarian, senior economist with Zillow, Seattle.

“We are seeing Millennial homeowners who may have purchased homes only a few years ago quickly taking advantage of the industry’s extremely low interest rates. We will also be watching to see if the increased purchase power from a lower rate environment enables some Millennials to make the leap into homeownership as we enter the fall home buying season.”–Joe Tyrrell, chief operating officer with Ellie Mae, Pleasanton, Calif.

“Although refinance activity slowed in September compared to August, the months together were the strongest since October 2016. The slight changes in rates are still causing large swings in refinance volume, and we expect this sensitivity to persist.”–Joel Kan, MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.

“The millennial cohort has now entered the housing market in force and is already driving major changes in buying and selling patterns. Almost half of the millennials over 30 years old have bought a house in the last three years. These folks are increasingly looking to move out of urban centers in favor of the suburbs, which offers more privacy and a greener environment. Perhaps most significantly, almost 80% of all millennials are confident they will become homeowners in the future.”–Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif.

“Strong borrowing and lending, coupled with relatively low levels of loan maturities, are helping to boost the amount of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding. All four major capital sources increased their holdings during the quarter. With strong demand expected to continue, debt levels are likely to climb even more and end the year at a new high.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“The YIMBY Act will help communities recognize their own agency in the housing shortage and provide them with a framework for smarter policymaking. The bipartisan sponsorship of this bill demonstrates the congress’ commitment to innovative solutions to improve the lives of American families.”–From an MBA/trade group letter urging support for a House bill that would eliminate discriminatory land use policies and remove barriers that prevent production of housing.

“Borrowing and lending backed by multifamily rental properties set a new record in 2018, driven by strong property fundamentals, rising property values, low interest rates and strong demand from both borrowers and lenders. We’ve seen these trends continue throughout 2019 and expect multifamily borrowing and lending will rise again both this year and next.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Research and Economics Jamie Woodwell.

“The recent data on increased existing home sales and new residential construction points to the underlying strength in the purchase market this fall.”–Joel Kan, MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.

“The strong economy, low interest rates and liquid finance markets are all contributing to delinquency rates that are at or near record lows for commercial and multifamily mortgage loans. Despite uncertainty on many economic fronts, it is hard to identify factors that would dramatically change the delinquency rate picture in the near term.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Research & Economics Jamie Woodwell.

“Home sales are accelerating as buyers eat into a diminishing number of homes for sale. While these trends are to be expected given that mortgage rates have been declining since late last year, global economic uncertainty and talk of a looming recession in the U.S. are staving off many aspects of hot seller’s market–think bidding wars, fast sales and huge price escalations–at least for now.”–Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather.