Home prices

As rising home valuations force first-time home buyers out of the market, expect to see non-owner-occupied loans to increase.

Competition amongst those shopping for homes fell for the second straight month as surging prices pushed consumers to the sidelines and inventory saw modest gains, according to Redfin.

The lack of homes for sale is supporting the record values, unlike what happened in the mid-2000s, analysts say.

Home prices grew at a record annual pace in April but indicators of a possible slowdown popped up in May, Redfin noted.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is dismissing claims that loose monetary policy has led to rising home values and shrinking inventory and insists that the market is buoyed by creditworthy borrowers and investors.

The increase won’t hurt the incentive for the average home shopper, but it means those who were looking to “buy the dip” in prices amid the pandemic may have missed their chance.

The price increase illustrates the extent to which federal rescue programs and a supply-demand imbalance have been counterweights to economic pressures from the pandemic.

With a dearth of inventory, September generated the largest price growth in the housing market since May 2014, according to CoreLogic.

Low mortgage rates and strained supply drove the housing market price growth to a 26-month high in August, according to CoreLogic.

More defaults will lead to an increase in distressed sales, and that will drive down prices, CoreLogic said.