Market Update 10.27.2022

01  Contracts signed for the sale of newly built single-family homes in September fell nearly 11% from the month prior, a decline that comes as mortgage rates topped 7% last week, adding to the cost of purchasing a home. New single-family homes in September were sold at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 603,000, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development said, a 10.9% dip from August’s revised rate of 677,000, but better than expected. Consensus had anticipated homes to have been sold at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 580,000. (WSJ)

02   Over the past year, average down payments in the US’s 50 biggest metros have grown by more than 35%, based on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage data from Jan. 1 through Oct. 10, 2022. The 5 metros with the largest downpayments are San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle. Nationwide, all-cash purchases accounted for 35.4% of all single-family home and condo sales in the 2nd quarter of 2022, the highest level since the first quarter of 2014. Investors bought 24% of all single-family houses sold nationwide last year, up from 15-16% annually going back to 2012. (Pew/CNBC/ATTOM)

03  The national median rent for a one-bedroom fell 0.8% in the past month, while year-over-year rents increased by 9.2% after a year of double-digit growth.  This is a pattern in many cities across the U.S. (Marketwatch)

04  Ferguson - the firm that supplies plumbing and heating supplies to contractors via its 1,500-plus US outlets (200 in Canada) - posted large third quarter sales and profit gains...another insight perhaps why inflation and building costs are so high? Double digit sales growth in the 20-plus percent range when 'supply chains' are blamed for everything....hmmm....

05 One interesting test yesterday in a learning session at the COMPASS REtreat in Atlanta was when super-coach Steve Shull asked the audience to raise their hand if they took off one entire day every week.....a handful - out of hundreds did so.....365-24-7, real estate never sleeps? WOW!  I am the first to admit to being a bit of a workaholic, but we all need to take some time off regularly to re-charge and place our lives in balance.