First American: No equity, no sales

From HousingWire:

Lack of equity drags down existing home sales

The existing home sales report for March from the National Association of Realtors isn’t due until next week, but Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American, said his early look suggests that a lack of equity is continuing to dog the housing market.

Housing has seen a weak start to the year overall. Mortgage applications have been soft – more down than up – and indicators like sales, starts, and new home purchases have underperformed. This is despite the fact that buying is cheaper than renting in three out of four markets nationwide.

Existing home sales were tepidly positive in February, and the primary reason cited was tightening inventory.

Fleming says the main reason for the weakness in the existing home sale market is lack of equity.

“Lack of equity remains a significant constraining factor for market participants and is the primary reason the existing-home sales market is underperforming. Existing homeowners are the largest share of the existing-home sales market, and they can’t be home buyers if they don’t have the sufficient equity to be home sellers,” Fleming says. “This is one of the key reasons we are observing tight inventory in many markets.

“Yet the appreciation we do observe, returning equity to existing homeowners, is the most significant key driver of the improvement in expected sales,” Fleming said.

“Lack of equity is a reason, but it is not the only reason,” Sanders said. “Dismal wage growth and real median household income continues to weigh down the housing market.”

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21 Responses to First American: No equity, no sales

  1. Fast Eddie says:

    “Lack of equity remains a significant constraining factor for market participants and is the primary reason the existing-home sales market is underperforming. Existing homeowners are the largest share of the existing-home sales market, and they can’t be home buyers if they don’t have the sufficient equity to be home sellers,” Fleming says.

    Any questions, b1tch?

  2. Fast Eddie says:

    “Lack of equity is a reason, but it is not the only reason,” Sanders said. “Dismal wage growth and real median household income continues to weigh down the housing market.”

    Not here, we’re bleeding wealth. Thank G0d we’re insulated!

  3. Liquor Luge says:

    Where, oh where, are the qualified sellers?

    BC Bob was saying this in what, 2010?

    We’re totally fuct, folks. Enjoy the nice weather.

  4. D-FENS says:

    Bought my first house after I was married, in 2006. It initially appraised higher, then the value dropped like a stone. Paid the principal down over the course of time and finally are above water. Refinanced into a mortgage with a 4.19% rate.

    It’s doable, heck we did it on one salary so my wife could stay home with the kids. The state and local governments seemed hell bent on policy that made things harder along the way.

    Hindsight is 20/20. I’ll do it differently in the next life.

  5. Fast Eddie says:

    Chr1st, I’d love to sit down with the “winners” who bid on that split in Park Ridge that I saw last weekend. They staged that f.ucking place beautifully. It was a helpless worm on a hook. Sh1t, I’ll even buy them a drink or two after the closing to ease the panic after they realize they were $75,000 too high.

  6. Essex says:

    Mmmmmmm splits!

  7. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Check out this article from USA TODAY:

    Is it better to buy a home or rent?

    http://usat.ly/1G3Htan

  8. Liquor Luge says:

    Punkin’ finally reaches his own level: USA Today.

    Job done.

  9. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [7] Great Pumper – time to change tube socks.

    Check out this article from USA TODAY:

    Is it better to buy a home or rent?

    http://usat.ly/1G3Htan

  10. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Propaganda article. This is the crap that hardcore conservatives read and become brainwashed with, never realizing that it’s bs propaganda. It’s sickening how they use talking points that hardcore conservatives want to hear to push more bs economic myths to support the trickle down fallacy. These individuals pushing this crap are mentally sick. Someone needs to help them.

    http://www.westernjournalism.com/15-minimum-wage-looms-seattle-restaurants-close-doors/

  11. The Great Pumpkin says:

    10- This article proves the bs that article was pushing. Unfortunately, some idiot conservative will now use that false article to push for low wages for American workers. You know, it’s impossible to pay your worker a living wage and stay in business, impossible I tell you. Idiots!!

    http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/truth-needle-is-15-wage-dooming-seattle-restaurants-owners-say-no/

  12. Essex says:

    S’mores Cappuccino is here so we got that going for us.

  13. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Bunch of clowns.

    “ADD: Christie is lucky he’s polling so poorly that few pundits paid attention to this plan. But one who did, liberal columnist Charles Lane of the Washington Post, recognized immediately what a gift this would be to the big-government types inside the Beltway:

    “You might even say Christie’s plan restores the basis for future active government — a point that neither he and his fellow Republicans nor their Democratic foes have the slightest interest in acknowledging.”
    You might indeed. This is the most progressive tax scheme that I’ve ever seen – though I’m sure Christie would not term it a tax hike.

    Neither would Grover Norquist.

    Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist defended Christie Wednesday in an email to TIME, praising him as a acolyte of President Reagan.
    “To date Christie has opposed and vetoed all tax hikes in New Jersey,” Norquist said. “Reducing a benefit is not a tax hike. Shame on any conservative who confuses spending cuts and tax increases. For a Northeast Republican he is very Reaganite.”

    Nonsense. When you sit down with your tax accountant prior to April 15, as I did a couple of weeks ago, he adds up all the various government actions that dictate how big a check you send the feds on April 15. When he tells you that because of Christie’s plan you’re going to lose perhaps $15,000 in Social Security and pay perhaps an additional $10,000 for Medicare, you won’t care what the feds call it.

    Kotlikoff calls it a big increase in the marginal bite the Beltway takes out of your income.

    “That’s enough to disqualify him from any public discourse,” he said of Norquist.

    Actually I’ve consider him disqualified ever since I interviewed him a few years ago and listened to him argue against the Balanced Budget Amendment.

    I suspect no one in Washington deserves more blame for our $16 trillion in debt than Norquist. His taxpayer pledge lets politicians pose as conservatives by not raising taxes while borrowing billions to fund their spending addication.”

    http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/04/chris_christie_should_retire_that_retirement_plan.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

  14. The Great Pumpkin says:

    13- The first comment from this article talks about exactly what I stated on this board. Everybody gets mad at public workers like they are taking advantage of the tax payer when it’s the complete opposite. Christie got the public worker to pay more towards a pension, while at the same reducing the benefits(hence, pay a higher tax) and took the money promised to the pension system and instead used it to fund the budget(no tax on everyone else because a certain group is paying it). Rather brilliant plan to raise taxes without using the word “tax hike”. Dirty dirty game this guy is playing and it’s unfortunate that he demonizes the very people he put the tax hike on. Well played, sir.

    “What’s the issue? The 2011 pension reform law has PW’s paying higher rates towards their pension. It turned out that the Christie administration didn’t put that extra money towards the pension, but rather diverted it into the general fund. So in essence PW’s are paying extra taxes simply for being PW’s. I don’t hear people complaining about that.”

  15. Midnight Pumpkin says:

    Ragnar for you. From another website article “Jesse’s Crossroads”

    Unregulated greed will rise to exceed and overwhelm all rational expectations of theoretical market behavior over time, always and everywhere, because men are no angels. And since money is power, the greater the concentration of money in a society, the less free it will become, and the less reliable all decision based market-based models of it will be. Rational expectations, and therefore market forces, will fail when undermined by the unbridled greed for money and power. Passion and obsession will trump reason, unless reason arms itself against the excesses of human nature. History proves this.

  16. Rags R no fun says:

    For the R man. From another website article “Jesse’s Crossroads”

    Unregulated greed will rise to exceed and overwhelm all rational expectations of theoretical market behavior over time, always and everywhere, because men are no angels. And since money is power, the greater the concentration of money in a society, the less free it will become, and the less reliable all decision based market-based models of it will be. Rational expectations, and therefore market forces, will fail when undermined by the unbridled greed for money and power. Passion and obsession will trump reason, unless reason arms itself against the excesses of human nature. History proves this.

  17. Comrade Nom Deplume, Loan Snark says:

    [13] pumpkin

    Only increasing the marginal rate is a tax hike.

    You know who said so? Obama.

    So if you believe that Christie raised taxes in violation of his pledges, you have to believe that Obama did as well. The. Exact. Same. Thing.

    So who’s right? The author who takes issue with Christie and Norquist or Obama?

  18. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I have no problem lining them up and letting clot go to work on them.

    Comrade Nom Deplume, Loan Snark says:
    April 19, 2015 at 5:37 pm
    [13] pumpkin

    Only increasing the marginal rate is a tax hike.

    You know who said so? Obama.

    So if you believe that Christie raised taxes in violation of his pledges, you have to believe that Obama did as well. The. Exact. Same. Thing.

    So who’s right? The author who takes issue with Christie and Norquist or Obama?

  19. chicagofinance says:

    Are you fking kidding?
    Jon Corzine Considers Launching Hedge Fund

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